[QueenCityLurker]

Hi all. I'll try to keep this as short as possible but provide details.
I bought a Copart project 2018 440i. Car was listed as runs/drives and totaled out for flood damage.
Got the car home and assessed the damage.
Looks like car was in a light/medium front end collision, had a broken coolant hose and would not start unless put in to diagnostic mode.
Scanned the car with ProTool and found all kinds of errors.
No headlight power, no central locking, no lock/unlock with the key fob, windows are rolled down and won't go up, seat adjustments do not work, no radio, etc. Symptoms and codes pointed to a bad FEM, which makes sense if this was a flood vehicle. Hell I've read of FEMs going bad in a bad rain storm.
Anyways, desperate to get the windows up for storage reasons, I shelled out $870 at the dealer for a new FEM "pre-coded" for my VIN.

Installed the new FEM and vehicle will not start, windows won't go up, seats don't work, etc, etc. BMW tech did say after installing the new FEM that the dealership needs to code the vehicle for everything to work. So I put the old FEM back in just so I could start/move the car in the driveway as needed.
Well yesterday I decided to "try" to address the bad coolant hose that runs under the intake manifold. When I started pull stuff apart to assess, I quickly discovered the only way to replace it was to pull the intake manifold off which I ran out of time because I tore the whole front end off the car to assess what parts needed to be replaced and take inventory.
Started out like this:


Ended like this:


Now the car won't attempt to start.
I go through the diagnostic mode and get the "engine start possible" message on the dash but it won't start.
I unplugged, fog lights, headlights, front PDC and coolant sensor at bottom of coolant reservoir. Figuring it was angry about the coolant reservoir sensor, I plugged that back in but the car still won't start.
Current active codes are:



Battery is registered to the car using ProTool.
Anyone have any ideas? Doesn't make any sense why I was able to start and move the car yesterday, but after removing headlights, fog lights, PDC and coolant reservoir the car won't attempt to start now?
Please help me save an F32 440I!

[QueenCityLurker]

I should note that I don't think the REM module is bad. Rear tail lights and blinkers work fine, which in my research seems if the REM is bad, you don't get brake lights, running lights or blinkers in the rear.

[WDE82]

Originally Posted by QueenCityLurker

Hi all. I'll try to keep this as short as possible but provide details.
I bought a Copart project 2018 440i. Car was listed as runs/drives and totaled out for flood damage.
Got the car home and assessed the damage.
Looks like car was in a light/medium front end collision, had a broken coolant hose and would not start unless put in to diagnostic mode.
Scanned the car with ProTool and found all kinds of errors.
No headlight power, no central locking, no lock/unlock with the key fob, windows are rolled down and won't go up, seat adjustments do not work, no radio, etc. Symptoms and codes pointed to a bad FEM, which makes sense if this was a flood vehicle. Hell I've read of FEMs going bad in a bad rain storm.
Anyways, desperate to get the windows up for storage reasons, I shelled out $870 at the dealer for a new FEM "pre-coded" for my VIN.

Installed the new FEM and vehicle will not start, windows won't go up, seats don't work, etc, etc. BMW tech did say after installing the new FEM that the dealership needs to code the vehicle for everything to work. So I put the old FEM back in just so I could start/move the car in the driveway as needed.
Well yesterday I decided to "try" to address the bad coolant hose that runs under the intake manifold. When I started pull stuff apart to assess, I quickly discovered the only way to replace it was to pull the intake manifold off which I ran out of time because I tore the whole front end off the car to assess what parts needed to be replaced and take inventory.
Started out like this:

Ended like this:


Now the car won't attempt to start.
I go through the diagnostic mode and get the "engine start possible" message on the dash but it won't start.
I unplugged, fog lights, headlights, front PDC and coolant sensor at bottom of coolant reservoir. Figuring it was angry about the coolant reservoir sensor, I plugged that back in but the car still won't start.
Current active codes are:
Battery is registered to the car using ProTool.
Anyone have any ideas? Doesn't make any sense why I was able to start and move the car yesterday, but after removing headlights, fog lights, PDC and coolant reservoir the car won't attempt to start now?
Please help me save an F32 440I!

You bought a flood project car and you are stumped by literally the first real issue? I don't think this "project" is for you. This is the type of shit that flood cars do. Get rid of it. You're never going to get it fixed up. It was a bad idea and you need to realize that and dump it. You will end up replacing every single module and harness at best.

[Icarium81]

There's a reason they total ALL of the cars labeled as flood damage. The cost to replace every electric part is more than the car is worth and a huge time sink. Maybe searching the forum for other flood car projects would've been a good idea before wasting money.

[quakerroatmeal]

You could try and reach out to this guy on youtube see if he could help. He's all about DIY and is a very knowledgeable guy his channel features fixing up BMW's.

https://www.youtube.com/c/VehicularDIY/featured

It sounds like you went out of your league with this one though..how much did you end up paying for the vehicle? I'd have to agree with WDE82 and dumping this project. You'd end up spending more money on what the vehicle is worth with its salvage / rebuilt title.

[QueenCityLurker]

Originally Posted by quakerroatmeal

You could try and reach out to this guy on youtube see if he could help. He's all about DIY and is a very knowledgeable guy his channel features fixing up BMW's.

https://www.youtube.com/c/VehicularDIY/featured

It sounds like you went out of your league with this one though..how much did you end up paying for the vehicle? I'd have to agree with WDE82 and dumping this project. You'd end up spending more money on what the vehicle is worth with its salvage / rebuilt title.

Thanks for an actual response
I will look up that youtube channel and see if he's able to help at all.
I paid $11000 for it and as previously stated, it was running/driving until I removed the broken bits in the front end, which was the headlights, fog lights, front PDC.
If I can get it back to starting again, I'd be a happy camper so I can move it around in the driveway as needed.
I'm not one to give up easily and I'm determined to bring this one back.

Does anyone definitively know what conditions must be met for the car to start? Meaning DME needs to see xyz signals from sensors to satisfy a start condition? I figure if I can start there, it'll help me narrow things down to focus on to get her to start again.

Thanks!

[pshovest]

Originally Posted by QueenCityLurker

..........it was running/driving until I removed the broken bits in the front end, which was the headlights, fog lights, front PDC.........

Seems to be related to the disassembly you did.
What else did you remove or disconnect?
Did you disconnect the ambient temp sensor?
Does the starter spin the engine or is there no starter activity at all?
Do you have fuel pressure and spark?

[QueenCityLurker]

Originally Posted by pshovest

Seems to be related to the disassembly you did.
What else did you remove or disconnect?
Did you disconnect the ambient temp sensor?
Does the starter spin the engine or is there no starter activity at all?
Do you have fuel pressure and spark?

Excellent questions. I do remember unplugging the ambient air sensor when removing the bumper, but I'm 99% sure I plugged the sensor back in after I removed the sensor from the bumper. I will double check that.
The motor does not attempt to turn over, so some kind of "fail safe" is causing this no start condition.
Thank you for the response!

[pshovest]

Charge the battery and try again.
If battery is below ~40%, the DME won't even attempt to engage the starter.
Did air bag(s) discharge? If so, the crash module, on older Bimmers anyway, would sever the (+) battery cable (BST terminal) with an explosive charge, and shutdown the low pressure fuel pump.

[QueenCityLurker]

Originally Posted by pshovest

Charge the battery and try again.
If battery is below ~40%, the DME won't even attempt to engage the starter.
Did air bag(s) discharge? If so, the crash module, on older Bimmers anyway, would sever the (+) battery cable (BST terminal) with an explosive charge, and shutdown the low pressure fuel pump.

I can try charging the battery. It is a new battery that I purchased last week and installed. Car has been running / driving for the past two weeks in the driveway.
No airbags deployed. I don't think the + cabling severed unless it did it on its own from sitting in the driveway lol.
Thanks!

[SuperLomi]

You might want to consider taking detailed notes and pictures of what you’re doing. If you are having trouble remembering now, you’ll likely have trouble remembering when you go to put it all back together.

[QueenCityLurker]

Originally Posted by SuperLomi

You might want to consider taking detailed notes and pictures of what you’re doing. If you are having trouble remembering now, you’ll likely have trouble remembering when you go to put it all back together.

Great advice. I did make notes in a notebook with specific references and labeled all bolts in baggies so there is no confusion when re-assembling.

I'll be in a great spot if I can figure out why the car won't start so I can pull it back in to the garage instead of it blocking my driveway LOL.

My next steps to try are:
1) Pull the negative battery cable and let it sit at least 2 hours to discharge all modules.
2) Check the fuse panels under hood and in trunk for any blown fuses.
3) Reconnect battery and connect charger and let it charge for a few hours,
then see if she'll start.

[BimR]

A simple suggestion - take pictures from 2-3 angles before disassembly/unplugging so that is easier to put back. There is a sensor on the front bumper that might be the culprit.

Btw, I am not a DIY expert so maybe this tip of taking pics only helps me! 🤷*♂️

[440i6MT]

What was the water line?

Some of the electronics might be going haywire/failing, which explains irregularities.

I have my own Dealer's license, so I buy and sell a lot on CoPart. I strictly avoid flood damage.
That being said, my pop's CLS63 AMG was flood damaged and it's been damn-near perfect since we got it.
My 440i is also salvaged (not flood) and it's been a dream since I got it.

You can save a lot of money going this route if you have 1.The disposable, immediate liquidity 2.Knowledge of what to look for

[shoman24v]

Man, I mean you got a deal, but I have a feeling this could/will turn bad being that it was a flood car.

Project cars are fine, but you are not saving any money when they end up costing the same or more than just buying one not messed up. Not to mention, the car will always carry a rebuilt title.

The fact that you are having electrical problems probably means other things are messed up. But, best I can say is good luck and hopefully its not as bad as it can be.

[QueenCityLurker]

Originally Posted by 440i6MT

What was the water line?

Some of the electronics might be going haywire/failing, which explains irregularities.

I have my own Dealer's license, so I buy and sell a lot on CoPart. I strictly avoid flood damage.
That being said, my pop's CLS63 AMG was flood damaged and it's been damn-near perfect since we got it.
My 440i is also salvaged (not flood) and it's been a dream since I got it.

You can save a lot of money going this route if you have 1.The disposable, immediate liquidity 2.Knowledge of what to look for

Thanks for the reply!
Unlike most Copart flood vehicles, this one did not have the water line marked on it. But from what I can tell, it looks like there are signs that the car was flooded at an angle to where the trunk was in deeper water than the engine bay. I don't see any signs of flooding in the engine bay like I do in the trunk. Which would kind of explain why the car was running / driving. Engine did not ingest any water.
However I think the water was just deep enough in the cabin to zoink the FEM, hence why all of the electrical stuff the FEM controls is not working.
I know the REM is in the trunk. I checked all the fuses and they all look good and I have brake lights, blinkers and reverse lights in the back, which are all controlled by the REM, so I don't think the REM is bad.

Cycling the negative terminal on the battery for 2+ hours did not resolve the no start condition unfortunately. Checked all fuses and they look good.
If you put the car in to diagnostic mode, it will light up the dash like it should and it sounds like the fuel pump has power, it just won't turn over.
I still think there is some other fail safe condition that is not being met to allow the engine to turn over.
I'm trying to figure out a way to get ISTA+ on to my laptop so I can run a more thorough diagnostic on the car to see what are the main failure points preventing a start condition.

Again, this is just weird that I was able to start and move this car in the driveway several times before it decided to stop after pulling the front bumper, headlights and fog lights

[pshovest]

I applaud risk takers and hope this works out for you.
You need to scan for codes.
I struggle with why this ran before you disassembled the front end.
Not sure about BMW, but some cars check for headlight continuity to trigger airbags. I wonder if removing the headlights and/or headlight module caused the crash module to treat the missing headlights as an accident and disable the fuel pump.
Here's a way to get ISTA-D or ISTA-P. You'll need a laptop. i3 minimum, and a $25 E-Net cable. If you get ISTA-P, I think you can code the FEM module.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/26542062574...EAAOSwmXhhnzur

https://www.ebay.com/itm/265257848569

Keep us posted.

[QueenCityLurker]

Originally Posted by pshovest

I applaud risk takers and hope this works out for you.
You need to scan for codes.
I struggle with why this ran before you disassembled the front end.
Not sure about BMW, but some cars check for headlight continuity to trigger airbags. I wonder if removing the headlights and/or headlight module caused the crash module to treat the missing headlights as an accident and disable the fuel pump.
Here's a way to get ISTA-D or ISTA-P. You'll need a laptop. i3 minimum, and a $25 E-Net cable. If you get ISTA-P, I think you can code the FEM module.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/26542062574...EAAOSwmXhhnzur

https://www.ebay.com/itm/265257848569



Keep us posted.

Dude -- THANK YOU.
This is a very helpful post.
I do already have the BimmerGeeks Pro K+DCAN cable which I've been using for a few years on my MHD Stage 2+ 135I and it has proven very handy. I wonder if I can use this cable with ISTA or if I absolutely need the E-net cable. Not opposed to buying the E-net cable but if the K+DCAN cable works just the same, I can run with that.
I have an HP 840G3 with the i5 processor and 8GB of RAM running Win10. I was hoping I could use this laptop to run ISTA. I had no idea that you could find HDDs on Ebay with BMW diagnostic software preloaded. As an IT guy, I would think it would not play nice once you installed it and Win10 sees a different hardware profile immediately.
I have been spending the past day or so looking in to how I can get ISTA+ software installed on to my laptop which seems trickier than usual.
The ISTA+ app takes a hardware inventory of your machine and generates an auth code, which needs to go in to a keygen to generate a key to authorize the software and unlock it. This is the step I'm currently blocked at.

[pshovest]

My understanding is the F-series must use the E-Net cable w/ISTA and K+DCAN is a no-go.
I just noticed that the ebay links aren't claiming to sell you ISTA-D/P, but something they call DS28. This may or may not be ISTA. It may be a way to dodge the ebay police. They do have a fair number of sales and 100% feedback.
It looks like this HD replaces the one in your laptop, so your Win10 HD/license should not be at risk. Some of the overseas sellers of similar products were claiming their disks included Win10. Not clear what operating system the ebay links are using.
I use ISTA+ on my E60/70 w/o any issues, but haven't yet connected to my F32, mainly be cause it's been trouble free at ~8 years and 50k. I'm not aware of the auth code issue you mention.

[Wires]

Originally Posted by pshovest

My understanding is the F-series must use the E-Net cable w/ISTA and K+DCAN is a no-go.

That is correct. E series used the K+DCAN which doesn't work on the F.

[QueenCityLurker]

Originally Posted by pshovest

My understanding is the F-series must use the E-Net cable w/ISTA and K+DCAN is a no-go.
I just noticed that the ebay links aren't claiming to sell you ISTA-D/P, but something they call DS28. This may or may not be ISTA. It may be a way to dodge the ebay police. They do have a fair number of sales and 100% feedback.
It looks like this HD replaces the one in your laptop, so your Win10 HD/license should not be at risk. Some of the overseas sellers of similar products were claiming their disks included Win10. Not clear what operating system the ebay links are using.
I use ISTA+ on my E60/70 w/o any issues, but haven't yet connected to my F32, mainly be cause it's been trouble free at ~8 years and 50k. I'm not aware of the auth code issue you mention.

Ok -- again, invaluable info.
As you and others have mentioned, it seems the K+DCAN won't work on F series so I'll grab the correct cable.
Last year I downloaded and installed Rheingold ISTA-P on my laptop and although it installed ok, when you launched the app it prompted for a key hash that is based on a number of factors designed to produce a unique identifier for my laptop. I was unable to go any further without the key for the app, sadly.
I will pull the trigger on the HDD and cable. Hopefully it will allow me to troubleshoot further than I've gotten so far.
I do plan to update this thread with info as I make progress in hopes that others can benefit from the information should they find themselves in a similar situation.
Thanks very much sir!

[pshovest]

Key hash....now I understand the issue. ISTA-P is difficult to setup, which is why there are so few DIY's on it. ISTA+ will give you all the diagnostic tools you need, including the ability to run test plans for the various codes. Let us know how the HD works out. I may have to buy one.