[chickenxgeorge]

Hoping to gain some insight to my issue.

Car started fine this morning, but had a flashing inactive light in the dash (TPMS?).
Started driving and gauge cluster started flashing along with the RPM and Speedo going nuts. Eventually car lost all interior power. No heat, radio, gauge cluster, nothing. I got the car back home (seemed sluggish, maybe reduced power mode?) and shut it off. Will start again, but no interior power, locks, still nothing.

I'm working on getting into my trunk now so I can check on the battery. Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks,

[ptpending]

probably frm3 died due electricity flap
check battery connection to fuse box under glovebox and in trunk

[djh2]

Random electrical issues usually point to a bad battery with these cars.

I would have it checked out first. Would be good to read the BMW specific error codes too, if possible.

[chickenxgeorge]

Update:

I heard about the B+ cable recall about the fuse box connection. I had wiggled the fuse box originally and it didn't make a difference. The day after i went out and started the car and everything seemed fine, except for the (_!_) warning light (TPMS malfunction?), the same error light that appeared the same day it started acting up.

I backed it out of the garage and let it idle, unable to get it to repeat the loss of interior power. At this point i thought what the heck, ill but the B+ cable kit that cost $18 and give it a shot.

Well 4 days later (tonight) i fired up the car and again, nothing out of the ordinary other than the error light. I tore apart the glove box and removed the fuse box just to find out that this recall had actually already been done. Both the connection to the fuse box and where the splice was done seemed tight.

I tried checking error codes previously with the JB4 and nothing was popping up, which i thought was weird. At this point im thinking my battery may be on the way out? Although it cranks and everything is working fine (at the moment.

Can the FRM cause these issues and not be 100% fried/broken? I'm working on borrowing a scanner so I can check for codes again.

Thanks all to the suggestions so far.

[MTK24]

Same issue happened to me. The speedo going nuts is a result of low battery power. If the car starts fine and drives normal the battery is OK

All my interior lights went out and my angel lights too and power windows. It happened when I disconnected the battery and put the negative terminal back on. It fried my FRM module.

There is a recall on them so I would go to the dealer if you are getting FRM codes. They are very sensitive and crappy designed by BMW. The dealer replaced mine and programmed it into the car for free.

[chickenxgeorge]

Another update:

Tore the B+ cable from the fuse box and double checked all of the connection surfaces. Everything looked fine.

Measured the voltage at the battery, was seeing 14.2 - 14.5 volts.

Drove the car down the street and back, let it idle, and the only warning light was the TPMS light.

When the ignition is ON but the car isnt running, while scrolling thru the menus in the gauge cluster, i occassionally get a glitch where several warning lights flash then disappear. Similar to what i got when the problem initially started happening (prior to everything electrical in the interior loosing power).

I removed my JB4, so only mods are charge pipe and intercooler at the moment.

I scanned for codes, got the following:
U0100 - Lost Comm. With ECM/PCM Module A
P15FE (Pending) - Manf Cntrl Veh. Spd. Idle Speed Control Auxiliary Inputs

I'm kinda at a loss at the moment. Car drives fine. I would assume the next in line to check is the FRM. Anyway I can check this to see if its faulty? Again, when i first started having issues ALL interior electronics quit working. I have yet to have this issue again, but am having some where electronical glitches.

Any help or suggestions would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

[dsjr2006]

This seems to be an increasingly common issue. I'm trying to troubleshoot it myself right now. For some people it has been a faulty RDC/TPMS module, others it was JBE (Junction Box Electronics), possibly bad battery, broken/shorted CANbus wire.

[chickenxgeorge]

I think you may be onto something with the RDC/TPMS Module.

I called a local BMW dealer and talked to one of their service managers. I explained my issue and asked about the probability of the TPMS module causing a complete electrical shutdown. He said it is definitely possible as all of the modules on the Fiber-optic BUS are connected in series, and if one goes out it can cause the others to lose connection as well.

I don't think there is anyway to test the module myself. The service manager said they can run some diagnostics for around $140. May see if the car can make it without having another shut down.

More to come.