Hi,
First post looking for advice.
I'm an owner of a 2008 30d seven seater. Have had water ingress problems due to, I believe, blocked front drains on the panoramic sun roof. Still to get to the bottom of that one, but in anticipation of resolving the water getting into the cabin, I'm hoping for advice on how to fix the various electrical problems this has caused. Things started to fail intermittently and then totally. First I lost the power tailgate, then the reversing camera and finally all parking sensors.
At its worst I had half an inch or more of water sloshing round in the back below the battery tray and all across the floor panel. I can see one module fixed directly to the floor panel that would have been totally submerged at times. This one looks like it has a coaxial cable connection to it, so maybe the camera control module?
Regardless, I'd greatly appreciate any advice on what modules I'm likely going to need to replace and where in the car I'm likely to find them. Also, are these all plug and play, or will any programming be needed, i. e., simple enough to do it myself?
Cheers, Dan
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Water damage to electronics
Water damage to electronics
Hello and 
Sorry that you’ve been caught by this and it isn’t an uncommon issue either.
If you can upload images of the modules, or better still, the part numbers then members may well be able to help out. Most of the modules will be plug and play as far as I understand it. Some may not be and we may be able to advise where others have had the same.
The video module is below the left rear cubby and the TV amplifier close by (there may also be one the other side).
Audio Amp is left rear, above boot floor level behind a flap in the cubby.
Sorry that you’ve been caught by this and it isn’t an uncommon issue either.
If you can upload images of the modules, or better still, the part numbers then members may well be able to help out. Most of the modules will be plug and play as far as I understand it. Some may not be and we may be able to advise where others have had the same.
The video module is below the left rear cubby and the TV amplifier close by (there may also be one the other side).
Audio Amp is left rear, above boot floor level behind a flap in the cubby.
Never anthropomorphise computers. They hate that.Water damage to electronics
Thanks for the welcome and the reply.
I'll try to take some pics and upload them tomorrow.
I'm saying that the water ingress is only due to the front sunroof drains as I know that the back ones are clear, however, I have to say that I'm surprised by the amount of water that has been getting in the car. I've seen suggestions elsewhere of the potential for water to get in via the doors, if the inner membrane has been torn and around the rear lights if their gaskets are perished. The jury is still out on these other possibilities, but I do know that the front sunroof drains are blocked and so far I haven't been able to clear them.
I'll try to take some pics and upload them tomorrow.
I'm saying that the water ingress is only due to the front sunroof drains as I know that the back ones are clear, however, I have to say that I'm surprised by the amount of water that has been getting in the car. I've seen suggestions elsewhere of the potential for water to get in via the doors, if the inner membrane has been torn and around the rear lights if their gaskets are perished. The jury is still out on these other possibilities, but I do know that the front sunroof drains are blocked and so far I haven't been able to clear them.
Water damage to electronics
In the front there’s a myriad of electronics and wiring with modules all over the place. The drains cannot be replaced as they are part of the body shell. I can’t find a diagram that shows the route they take unfortunately.
If there’s any sign of water inside the door beyond the seal (as in within the passenger compartment) then suspect a membrane failure. It is often as a result of the adhesive going bad, and shows up along the bottom edge of the door card.
Also worth having a look at the bottom of the doors to check the drains there too. If they block then the door fills up.
Tailgate control unit is at the bottom of the right rear cubby.
The manual simply makes mention of a PuMA procedure but doesn’t say what that actually is! Image from TIS:
If there’s any sign of water inside the door beyond the seal (as in within the passenger compartment) then suspect a membrane failure. It is often as a result of the adhesive going bad, and shows up along the bottom edge of the door card.
Also worth having a look at the bottom of the doors to check the drains there too. If they block then the door fills up.
Tailgate control unit is at the bottom of the right rear cubby.
The manual simply makes mention of a PuMA procedure but doesn’t say what that actually is! Image from TIS:
- IMG_2822.jpeg (122.48 KiB) Viewed 10214 times
Never anthropomorphise computers. They hate that.Water damage to electronics
YouTube video? https://youtu.be/QRY8Y7GMrXg?feature=shared
Also found this, not sure if it will help at all - the strike though bits ARE relevant to the E70. Not sure why it’s doing that as I just copied.
There is a TECH Bulletin for this:
1.Blow compressed air into each of the front drains on the sunroof cassette to ensure that no debris is clogging the drain.
IF there is debris taht will not dislodge:
2.To access the drains, remove both the left and right kick panels to access the point where the lower sunroof drain tube exits the lower A-pillar:
a.Remove the left and right kick panels
b.On the left side, remove the Footwell Module (FRM) from the A-pillar
c.On the right side, remove the lower instrument panel cover.
d.Pull back the carpet behind both kick panels to expose the opening into the A-pillar, where the drain resides.
3.Inspect the drain tubes (inside). If they have been rotated around and are kinked, rotate the drain tubes back to a position where they are no longer kinked.
If the drain tubes are not kinked, proceed.
4.If the drain tube was not kinked in that area, remove the fender liner to inspect where the end of the drain tube exits the car.
a.Remove the fender liner on the side that is kinked to inspect the end of the drain tube and to ensure that the spout is still facing downward.
b.If necessary, rotate the spout enough for it to face downward, ensuring that the tube on the inside of the A-pillar does not become kinked again.
5.If the end of the tube is being pinched by a foam block on the back side of the fender, pull it free and trim off about 10mm of material from the end of the tube, so that flow is not restricted in the future.
Note:If a front drain tube (one or both) is found to be permanently damaged, it must be replaced. The vehicle must be brought to a BMW certified body shop, because the front drain tubes are integrated into the A-pillars
Also found this, not sure if it will help at all - the strike though bits ARE relevant to the E70. Not sure why it’s doing that as I just copied.
There is a TECH Bulletin for this:
1.Blow compressed air into each of the front drains on the sunroof cassette to ensure that no debris is clogging the drain.
IF there is debris taht will not dislodge:
2.To access the drains, remove both the left and right kick panels to access the point where the lower sunroof drain tube exits the lower A-pillar:
a.Remove the left and right kick panels
b.On the left side, remove the Footwell Module (FRM) from the A-pillar
c.On the right side, remove the lower instrument panel cover.
d.Pull back the carpet behind both kick panels to expose the opening into the A-pillar, where the drain resides.
3.Inspect the drain tubes (inside). If they have been rotated around and are kinked, rotate the drain tubes back to a position where they are no longer kinked.
If the drain tubes are not kinked, proceed.
4.If the drain tube was not kinked in that area, remove the fender liner to inspect where the end of the drain tube exits the car.
a.Remove the fender liner on the side that is kinked to inspect the end of the drain tube and to ensure that the spout is still facing downward.
b.If necessary, rotate the spout enough for it to face downward, ensuring that the tube on the inside of the A-pillar does not become kinked again.
5.If the end of the tube is being pinched by a foam block on the back side of the fender, pull it free and trim off about 10mm of material from the end of the tube, so that flow is not restricted in the future.
Note:If a front drain tube (one or both) is found to be permanently damaged, it must be replaced. The vehicle must be brought to a BMW certified body shop, because the front drain tubes are integrated into the A-pillars
Never anthropomorphise computers. They hate that.Water damage to electronics
Took a little longer to come back than intended. Managed to get a couple shots of the modules I can see under the back floor panel. First photo is the module fixed to the floor pan that has been submerged
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Last edited by DanForsh on Wed Oct 04, 2023 5:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Water damage to electronics
Pics
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Water damage to electronics
Last one
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Water damage to electronics
Smart nav unit (first picture) isn’t a BMW product. I think it used to be part of what was then Trackstar - now Teletrac Navman - and provided smart routing to destinations in the days before satnav became common.. I had it fitted in a fleet of 100 vehicles used by a Government Agency up to the mid-2000s - I wasn’t buying OEM satnav options as they were megabucks back then.
Image 2 is the control unit for the xDrive transfer box (the transfer box itself is an ATC700). That controls the xDrive system itself.
Image 3 is the control unit for the fuel pump and has been superseded by later models.
Image 4 is the battery control module TRS152/1. What it actually is I can’t tell as it doesn’t have a BMW Part number, however it is used across a wide range of BMWs.
RealOEM will help you track down the parts. You need a 7-digit number such as the one in picture 2: 2760 7569969 -01. Ignore the numbers either side of it (not in bold). Use the last 7 characters of your VIN in the ‘Serial Number’ box to bring up your model. RealOEM only covers up to Dec 2019 as that is the last release date of the DVD based part catalogue. In 2020 BMW went to a dealer only accessible on line system meaning no more releases available to the knowing public. You will still be able to take the part number to a Dealer who will be able to tell you the part number for the latest modules if you have a dead one.
Image 2 is the control unit for the xDrive transfer box (the transfer box itself is an ATC700). That controls the xDrive system itself.
Image 3 is the control unit for the fuel pump and has been superseded by later models.
Image 4 is the battery control module TRS152/1. What it actually is I can’t tell as it doesn’t have a BMW Part number, however it is used across a wide range of BMWs.
RealOEM will help you track down the parts. You need a 7-digit number such as the one in picture 2: 2760 7569969 -01. Ignore the numbers either side of it (not in bold). Use the last 7 characters of your VIN in the ‘Serial Number’ box to bring up your model. RealOEM only covers up to Dec 2019 as that is the last release date of the DVD based part catalogue. In 2020 BMW went to a dealer only accessible on line system meaning no more releases available to the knowing public. You will still be able to take the part number to a Dealer who will be able to tell you the part number for the latest modules if you have a dead one.
Never anthropomorphise computers. They hate that.Water damage to electronics
Thanks for the detailed reply.
On the 'wet' unit on the floor pan, so this is a non-BMW addition. I haven't looked at it in detail, but I did question the wisdom of fixing it to the floor. So pardon my ignorance, but did this just enhance the factory navigation then?
Trackstar isn't something I've heard of, but in the book pack there are a couple other booklets with Navteq on them. Is this something that can just be removed? I've two cars with factory fitted navigation in them, albeit they are both 15-16 year old cars, so I've never used either of them.
I'll start looking up numbers on realOEM.
I'll check out the YouTube link too, thanks for that. I've sat through a few of these previously, and the general consensus was not to use an airline on the drains, so interesting that the official advice is to. I've tried to locate the outlets on the drains previously, dropped the splash guards in the wings and a couple undertrays around the A post, but never found them. I will go again with this new information.
I'll post updates (hate reading posts that don't have a conclusion).
Many thanks, Dan
On the 'wet' unit on the floor pan, so this is a non-BMW addition. I haven't looked at it in detail, but I did question the wisdom of fixing it to the floor. So pardon my ignorance, but did this just enhance the factory navigation then?
Trackstar isn't something I've heard of, but in the book pack there are a couple other booklets with Navteq on them. Is this something that can just be removed? I've two cars with factory fitted navigation in them, albeit they are both 15-16 year old cars, so I've never used either of them.
I'll start looking up numbers on realOEM.
I'll check out the YouTube link too, thanks for that. I've sat through a few of these previously, and the general consensus was not to use an airline on the drains, so interesting that the official advice is to. I've tried to locate the outlets on the drains previously, dropped the splash guards in the wings and a couple undertrays around the A post, but never found them. I will go again with this new information.
I'll post updates (hate reading posts that don't have a conclusion).
Many thanks, Dan
Water damage to electronics
Trackstar make a number of anti-theft vehicle tracking systems, and are one of two ‘BMW Approved’ suppliers of trackers available from BMW when you order a car. The other is Tracker. If you’ve ever noticed a group of 4 aerials on the roof of a police traffic unit, those are for the Tracker direction finding system.
If you don’t have an active Trackstar subscription then removing it should be fine. Chances are it’s 3G and no longer works anyway (3G services are being retired in the UK to make room for 5G). The power connector should be three wires (+12V, Ground and switched +12V). The aerial cable will go to a hidden aerial often placed in the C-pillar. That floor location is not the normal one used (as they’re much better hidden than that!) and it’s likely only held in place with double sided tape. Given it’s sitting in water, it’s also likely frizzed!
Navteq used to be the supplier of the mapping data in BMW (and VW amongst others) cars that used disc-based navigation. The latest supplier is Here, who are part owned by BMW, and updates come over the air (OTA) or on USB sticks.
If you don’t have an active Trackstar subscription then removing it should be fine. Chances are it’s 3G and no longer works anyway (3G services are being retired in the UK to make room for 5G). The power connector should be three wires (+12V, Ground and switched +12V). The aerial cable will go to a hidden aerial often placed in the C-pillar. That floor location is not the normal one used (as they’re much better hidden than that!) and it’s likely only held in place with double sided tape. Given it’s sitting in water, it’s also likely frizzed!
Navteq used to be the supplier of the mapping data in BMW (and VW amongst others) cars that used disc-based navigation. The latest supplier is Here, who are part owned by BMW, and updates come over the air (OTA) or on USB sticks.
Never anthropomorphise computers. They hate that.Water damage to electronics
Hi, no update as such, been too busy with other stuff, but I just happened upon this video on YouTube
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cucZCb4mPxM
And wonder if this is likely another cause for the water getting into the car? Given the amount of water getting in, I've never been convinced that it's all due to the blocked front sunroof drains. I know these are a problem as the water will come through the overhead console and the driver's side sun visor mounting point too (I have had a soaking from folding the sunvisor down to see where the dripping was coming from).
This possibility for water ingress sounds more logical to me, given that the modules I have lost are located relatively high off the floor pan and at the base of the D pillars. Anyone had this specifically happen in theirs?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cucZCb4mPxM
And wonder if this is likely another cause for the water getting into the car? Given the amount of water getting in, I've never been convinced that it's all due to the blocked front sunroof drains. I know these are a problem as the water will come through the overhead console and the driver's side sun visor mounting point too (I have had a soaking from folding the sunvisor down to see where the dripping was coming from).
This possibility for water ingress sounds more logical to me, given that the modules I have lost are located relatively high off the floor pan and at the base of the D pillars. Anyone had this specifically happen in theirs?