08-02-2020, 05:02 AM | #1 |
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F30 Driver Restraint System Malfunction
Posted this on reddit a few months back, posting here in the hope that someone can help me out.
So, for the past several months, I've been having an issue in my 2013 F30 where I get a "Driver restraint malfunction: Continue wearing safety belt. Consult nearest service center" error, and the corresponding airbag light. It appears randomly, and there's nothing that correlates with its appearance (at least I haven't noticed anything that correlates with the error notification). When it appears, the error stays there for like 2 weeks at a time (not exactly 2 weeks, but it's a close estimate), at which point, it'll simply go away. Again, I haven't noticed anything that would indicate a cause for this. Also, whenever the "Driver Restraint Malfunction" error is present, all of the electronics to the driver's seat don't work. So, that means that my heated seats don't work while I have the error message, nor can I move/adjust my seating position. When the error is gone, everything works fine. It's so odd. There have been times where I'm driving home from school with the error message present, and then halfway through my drive, it'll randomly disappear, and my heated seats will work once I turn them on. Same thing goes for when everything is working fine; I'll be driving to school, or somewhere else, and then out of nowhere, I'll get the error message, and the heated seat and seat adjustment will no longer work. This isn't restricted to while I'm driving the car, though. For example, at night, the error message will be present, and then I go to bed, wake up in the morning, and hop in my car and voila! The error message has disappeared, and everything works fine again. I've done an iCarly test using my friend's device, and it gave me this message (verbatim): "C95409 river's seat module (seat memory): Module does not send / Driver's seat module:Module does not send / Datenantriebsstrang2: Communication failure" Does anyone know what's going on with my car? Is there anything I can do to try and fix it myself? I'd rather not take it to the BMW dealership in my area and get charged an arm and a leg just to diagnose, and then a kidney to fix it. The fact that it is an intermittent error makes me think that it won't be a crazy huge fix—correct me if I'm wrong, though. Any help would be greatly appreciated. |
08-02-2020, 06:22 AM | #2 |
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Have you made any modifications or changes to electrical components or removed your steering wheel or airbag recently? I removed my airbag and wheel and reinstalled them and the bag as my seated in the wheel properly and it threw that error. As soon as I reinstalled it properly the error went away.
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charliegreens7.00 |
10-19-2020, 03:37 PM | #3 | |
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No, I haven't made any modifications of the sort to which you refer. The only mod that I've done to the car is that I got someone to code Bluetooth audio capability into the car. I have some updates, for anyone else who might've been following the post: I took the car to a mechanic to whom I was referred by a friend. He took a look at the car, and said that I needed a new seat module. I said fine, go for it. He ordered a seat module, installed it, but it didn't work. He said he'd order another part, and to come back when it arrived. I drove the car from his shop, and, voila! The heated seat worked again and the driver restraint malfunction error and airbag light were gone, but, oddly enough, the seat controls didn't. The heated seat only worked for a couple of days before the driver restraint malfunction error resurfaced, and I lost all functionality. A few days later, I take it back to him because he got a new seat module, he installed it. He showed me my old seat module, and showed me that one of the connecting sockets (sorry, I have no clue what they're actually called!) was "burnt out," and that was the issue all along. I paid, left, and everything (heated seat AND seat adjustment control) was working... for only a couple of days. I was driving on the highway and then, out of nowhere, the driver restraint malfunction error and airbag light returned, and I lost all functionality. Driving home afterwards, the driver restraint malfunction error went away, and everything worked for a few hours. I went out again that night, turned the heated seat on, and it worked for like 30 minutes before it crapped out again, and the driver restraint malfunction error resurfaced—and it hasn't worked since. So I called him the next morning, told him what happened, then I brought the car back to his shop, but he could not identify what the issue was. He said that he checked the wiring harness to see if there were any wires touching or a short, but he found nothing wrong there. At this point, he said it might be good to just go to BMW and get them to do the diagnostic for $250.00 CAD. Luckily, though, the mechanic is refunding me the money that I paid for the part. Not sure about the labour, but I think I'll get the inspection report from BMW when I take it in tomorrow, and take that report to my mechanic. I think he'll complete the repairs for a much cheaper price than the dealership. My apologies for the long post. I am just trying to be as detailed as possible so that I can get to the bottom of this, and maybe get some tips so that BMW doesn't try and charge me an arm and a leg when I take it in. Does anyone have any clue whatsoever as to what might be wrong with my stupid car?? Thanks in advance to anyone who reads this, and might be able to help me out. |
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haagm58809.50 |
10-19-2020, 03:59 PM | #5 |
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Intermittent faults are usually caused by wiring. $250 for a diagnostic is a total rip off. You can buy your own OBD diagnostic and repair tool for less than that, while Bimmer-tool Lite freeware will do 90% of what dealer diagnostic software will. When a shop does repair work the diagnostic should be included in the price. Also, any indy that specializes in German cars will have the same diagnostic tools that dealers do.
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haagm58809.50 charliegreens7.00 |
10-19-2020, 04:05 PM | #6 | |
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I changed the seat module, so what could it be? |
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10-19-2020, 04:18 PM | #7 |
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Sounds like an intermittent wiring issue to me. Start with the basics, when it's not communicating check the integrity of the wiring (12v, ground, CAN high and CAN low). You might need to study the schematics and see if there's anything common between the seat module wiring and the restraints wiring. For example, if they are both sharing a ground then it's possible that this is the culprit.
As always, when working with airbags etc be careful, disconnect the battery and give the system some time to discharge. I would start with the seat module wiring tbh, you could even wire a small LED getting power from the positive terminal and ground from the ground terminal and drive around. If the LED goes out, you know where to look. |
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10-19-2020, 04:33 PM | #8 | |
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What do you think caused the seat module to become "burnt out?" My mechanic showed me a part of the module and it did, indeed, look as though something had been burnt. Plastic was melted around the "burnt" area. |
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10-19-2020, 04:37 PM | #9 |
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Do you mean the connector on the module was burnt out? A short somewhere, the module pulling more power than designed etc. I would have expected a fuse to blow though, but I suppose stranger things have happened. If the module was burnt out, damage to the wiring and/or inline connectors might exist upstream from the module.
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10-19-2020, 04:49 PM | #10 | |
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10-19-2020, 04:58 PM | #11 |
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A few weeks ago I got a CEL, which was diagnosed as a fuel tank leak module problem. Knowing that this module has been known to fail I replaced it, but the CEL remained on. The read out said there was no connection between the module and the DME. I traced the wiring and found it had been chewed by a mouse.
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10-19-2020, 05:42 PM | #12 | |
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I was reading online that the iCarly error code I got was fixed by adjusting the connection to the seat belt. Do you think that might be what’s causing all of my problems with the driver restraint system malfunction? |
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10-20-2020, 05:00 AM | #13 |
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Have you had a chance to pull codes when the restraints issue is present? The seat module DTC you mentioned makes sense for when the seat doesn't move/heat up. On its own I am not sure if it explains the restraints message, which leads me to think there must be something wrong with the wiring to the airbag/seat belt. Can you try pulling codes with ISTA or Bimmerlink? I find that iCarly isn't always accurate.
Edit: I've made a quick study on the schematics, I don't see a direct link between the restraint components in the seat and the seat module & associated functions. However, there is in an interesting note in the Crash Safety Module's wiring diagram which differentiates between seat memory/no seat memory for the seat position sensors. Which leads me to suspect that it's possible the Crash Safety Module gets seat position information from the Seat Module via CANbus when such an option exists. So, long story short, the link between the restraints malfunction and your electrically-operated seat not working is indeed the seat module. Now, by this I don't mean the module itself, as you've already replaced it and the issue came back, which means there is something wrong with the wiring to the module (you sort of did an A-B-A swap and the fault stayed with the vehicle, it didn't go away completely). Focus your efforts on the wiring to the seat module. It is ultimately grounded in the driver's footwell area, but there are other components hanging off of that, so we can probably rule that out for the moment, but it might be worth checking the connection to that just to make sure. I would check the wiring from the seat module to the big connector under the seat, and then from that one to the grounding point. Last edited by drdino; 10-20-2020 at 07:06 AM.. |
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10-20-2020, 10:41 AM | #14 | |
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I have an appointment booked with BMW tomorrow to take a look at my issue, but I might just screenshot your response and send it to my mechanic to see if he can try what you're suggesting. Maybe I don't need to go to BMW after all! I'll keep everyone posted. Again, thank you so much. Let's hope you're correct! |
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haagm58809.50 |
10-22-2020, 09:20 AM | #15 |
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Good luck!
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10-22-2020, 02:57 PM | #17 |
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Here's what the Shop Foreman emailed me:
"Good morning, We tested the resistance of the heated seat circuit and inspected the wiring under the seat as best as possible without the ability to move the seat. The wiring at the hinge between the driver’s seat bottom and seat back also appears intact. Inside the seat module, which appears to be used rather than new, the printed circuit board also looks fine (though we know it is not). What we find unusual is the very large terminal and pin are burnt with no other readily visible damage to much smaller circuits or even a burnt fuse. From our conversation it sounds like your mechanic had the same burnt pin on the original seat module and did not change the burnt connector or terminal. We speculate the original module or the contact of the pin/terminal have an issue, the module burnt out, and the burnt terminal and connector then created an issue for the used module. Our recommendation is to replace the terminal and connector, then we will temporarily isolate(protect) the circuit and test all the seat motors and seat heaters further. Basically we need the seat to be fully functional with new parts to continue testing at Bavaria BMW." I think they're really just being idiots now. They want me to pay for more parts so that they can adequately diagnose an issue? What do you guys think? |
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10-22-2020, 03:06 PM | #18 |
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So are they saying the original module damaged the connector on the harness which then damaged the replacement module as well? Unless it has always been the connector on the harness that's the issue and has damaged the modules. Ask them what they think the issue is with the current connector and pin terminals on the harness. Do they have pictures that show damage ?
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10-22-2020, 03:08 PM | #19 | |
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10-22-2020, 03:33 PM | #20 |
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That's pin 7, it's a high-current one (you can understand that by the size of it) and looking at the drawings it's the 12v power line that's fed off the Power Distribution Box. It's fused (fuse 67, a 30 amp one) so it's odd that it has damaged the connector without blowing the fuse. Have you had the car from new? I wonder if a previous owner replaced it with a higher current one because it kept blowing without addressing the root cause.
In any case, technically they are right, that connector and the pin probably needs replacing, however for troubleshooting purposes they could fit a fused jumper cable, but that's not official BMW process... I suspect they want to change the connector+pin to get a working module and pull the fuse to test the motors/heaters directly or fit a lower amp fuse and test them while connected. Doesn't sound too unreasonable but I would check the individual circuits out before connecting anything back up. |
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10-22-2020, 03:40 PM | #21 | |
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What do you think I should do/tell the BMW dealer next? Should I tell them to go ahead with everything or should I suggest to them to use a fused jumper cable and get on with it as quickly as possible? |
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10-22-2020, 03:47 PM | #22 |
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The connector and possibly the terminal for that circuit need replacing for sure. It doesn't really matter when they replace it, as long as they make sure they don't burn it again and charge you.
They then need to determine why it's burning out; something is obviously pulling too much current and overloading the circuit, perhaps right on the edge of blowing the fuse but not blowing it. A full short would 99% blow it straight away, these things are validated in the design phase of vehicles. |
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