[SensitiveBug0]

Hi Guys,

I'm the proud owner of a BMW e91 and was quickly going to replace a failing battery, but that turned out to be a little bit more painful :-)
After replacing the battery, the FRM3 module didn't boot up anymore I'm afraid. (light switch doesn't function, lights are always on, windows don't open, blinkers don't work, head light doens't work, ..)

I did my research and these seem actually pretty easy to fix if you know what your doing. Unfortunately for me, I'm totally new to repairing cars. I do have a strong IT background tho, so that helps for sure with this issue.

For my experience with repairing the e91 (and any other car actually): I replaced the battery and coded it in. That's it. I couldn't find a how to that matched my exact car and ECU, so I figured out what ECU I had by using NSCExpert (I figured if I can read the milage counter for a specific model I must have that model ;-)). Then coded it with Toolset32. That's all the experience I have really.

My question to those who've done this before:

1) should I be able to repair this module myself if I buy a (probably clone) xprog-m from china?
I understand that I must solder 4 cables on the FRM module for which I fear a bit. How hard is this actually the first time you perform this? I'm afraid of shorting 2 circuits, would that be a real risk? I could also buy a clip from china for 30 euros. I do own a (cheap) soldering iron with several heads, including small ones.

2) I'd buy the XProg-M v5.55. It fits my needs and is considerably cheaper. I know it's limited to 32bit so I plan to run this in a virtual windows xp, the same one I'm using to run NCSExpert etc. Should it work in a virtual environment? Has anyone done that before?

3) Given that the xprog-m modules from china are likely clones, has anyone got any experience with them? Should they work? I purchased my usb to OBD cable in china too, likely a clone, but it works just fine. If anyone aquired a working module and could point me to a trusted seller, that would be very welcomed.

4) reading / writing the ROM seems easy enough. Can't miss if I follow the instructions I think. Or is there a catch?


Alternatively I can have a local guy do it for 90 euros, but it bothers me a little bit to pay 90 euro's for something I can do myself if I purchase some hardware for 60 euro's (with the added benefit that I do not have to fear the FRM breaking everytime I disconnect the battery)