[ticklemethere]

Hey fellas,

I have a 2013 328i w/ dinantronics stage 1 tune.

I have an issue where the drivetrain malfunction and chassis stabilization malfunction messages come up, putting the car in limp mode. If I try to use cruise control, I get a cruise control malfunction message. This happens roughly once a month and resolves itself if I drive the car for about 45 minutes.

I've taken the car into two different dealers several times, and each time they stated that the warnings had gone off when they tested the car but that the computer did show low voltage for the battery around the time of the issues. They had no idea what the problem was, stating that I should monitor it and take it back if it happens again.

Well, it happened again today, and rather than take it back and get the same answer as the past several times, I'm appealing to you folks to see if anyone has had the same unique set of monthly error messages or has any idea what could possibly be causing them.

The only thing I can think of is that the tune is checking for updates (if it can be remotely and automatically updated, I'm not sure) or otherwise phoning home for some reason roughly every month and is getting stuck in loop, which is draining the battery. Whatever it is, it's too consistent to be a basic short IMO. I have a feeling it's something computer related, whether from the tune ecu or from stock bmw software. Another reason I think it may be the tune is that I had problems with it initially (drivetrain malfunction), which required a visit to the dealer to fix. I was one of a handful of users that required thicker wiring to the electronic wastegate than the stock tune harness provided. Not sure if somehow this could play a part. Any ideas?

[E90Fleet]

How far is your daily commute ?
Battery may not be charging fully if its short.
Weekly charge with a proper electronic charger like a Cteck should keep it away if thats it.

Or the tune is messing with the charging.
Same weekly charge could fix that aswell


Low battery cases all kinds of strange electronic faults

[G30 B58]

Check the battery w/ a voltmeter every morning and keep a log.

Or, trickle charge the battery every third day, use a volt meter and keep a log.

No or low cost, low impact start to troubleshooting your issue.

[ticklemethere]

Sound ideas. I'll give them a shot. My commute is 20 highway miles though, so I don't think the issue is to do with not enough highway miles.

What I find interesting is that the low voltage causes exactly the same faults each time, and this is the fourth time. It's always drivetrain + chassis stabilization malfunction and then a cruise control malfunction when I attempt to use cruise control. Another interesting thing is that it can happen very quickly. For example, the last time I had just parked my car at a grocery store after a 10 mile drive to downtown. When I went back to the car after 30~ minutes of grocery shopping, I started the car and got the errors. I would have thought that the 10 mile drive, all of which were highway miles, would charge the battery. I think that something discharged it in those 30 minutes, but only to the point where the malfunctions occurred and then stopped. The other times I've had the errors I started the car after it had been in the garage for a full night, so if something was sucking up power for hours on end I would think the battery would be completely dead.

[Halsifer]

Originally Posted by ticklemethere

Sound ideas. I'll give them a shot. My commute is 20 highway miles though, so I don't think the issue is to do with not enough highway miles.

What I find interesting is that the low voltage causes exactly the same faults each time, and this is the fourth time. It's always drivetrain + chassis stabilization malfunction and then a cruise control malfunction when I attempt to use cruise control. Another interesting thing is that it can happen very quickly. For example, the last time I had just parked my car at a grocery store after a 10 mile drive to downtown. When I went back to the car after 30~ minutes of grocery shopping, I started the car and got the errors. I would have thought that the 10 mile drive, all of which were highway miles, would charge the battery. I think that something discharged it in those 30 minutes, but only to the point where the malfunctions occurred and then stopped. The other times I've had the errors I started the car after it had been in the garage for a full night, so if something was sucking up power for hours on end I would think the battery would be completely dead.

If you want to check the current voltage of the battery, you can use the instrument cluster to see the current voltage before you start the vehicle.

Like the other members said, battery draining can be a number of issues. The battery may have gone bad to the point of not being able to maintain a charge. There may be an ECU that's actively draining the battery while the vehicle should be off. I would have a tough time blaming the Dinan tune, since it's not really doing another except for altering the parameters for air, fuel, turbo boost, etc, but it's a possibility. So many ECUs, so many possibilities.

Had a 2009 Audi A6, the battery would completely drain every 2-3 days. Battery replacement didn't work, ECU replacements didn't work, had two german engineers fly out to work on the car, but they took so many steps of probable cause and still couldn't find the issue because of all the possibilities. It eventually became a lemon and they bought the car back! They replaced it with a brand new equivalent 2010 Audi A6 with additional options. These draining problems can be a number of things. It may be fixed the first repair or it may be fixed the third repair.

[BavarianFanatic]

Pull the tuner out and see what happens. My money is on it being the cause...

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by BavarianFanatic

Pull the tuner out and see what happens. My money is on it being the cause...

That's what I'd suggest. It is as if it is outside the normal energy management control. If it is a typical battery drain, when the car is supposed to be asleep, there ought to be a warning on start up. Something like; "Increased battery discharge when stationary. Electrical consumers were temporarily switched off". Also in the check control you'd get an amber triangle linked to the message; "Battery, discharging while stationary".

HighlandPete

[CJ0920]

Any updates on this OP?

[ahero4eternity]

Updates?

[ticklemethere]

Hi,

I realize this is almost 3 years later, but better late than never.... I still have not fixed the issue. I have spent probably $2000 trying to get it fixed (car is now out of warranty, both factory warranty and Dinan warranty), and am tired of wasting time and money on the issue. I am confident it is the Dinan tune. I ordered a code reader, and will attempt to diagnose the issue myself. Does anyone know if it's a relatively simple manner to uninstall (and reinstall, later) the Dinan harness? I'd like to do everything myself, as I simply do not trust dealerships or third-party shops after about 4 years of failures on their end and unnecessary replacement of parts.

[Billfitz]

Originally Posted by ticklemethere

I ordered a code reader, and will attempt to diagnose the issue myself.

You should have done that three years ago. I ordered one long before my warranty expired, and before I had experienced any problems, on the theory that I'd rather have it and not need it than the other way around. Within a few weeks it paid for itself:
https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...2#post23288222

[ticklemethere]

Live and learn, as they say.

[Wires]

Directions to remove the Dinan is right on their website:
http://files.dinancars.com/webresour...5b1b7117cd.pdf


If you wanted to confirm that is the issue, it's two plugs on off the ECU (Dinan connects inline with them). Literally a <5 minute removal/install process.

I doubt it calls home. It's a piggy back controller that just gets power from the ECU wiring which powers down after 5-minutes from locking the car.