That's almost like dealing with a flood car. Actually it's a bit crazy to think that something so simple as a plugged sunroof drain can take down such an expensive car.
That was so exciting! Narrowing it down to a couple of modules was a great idea, I didn't believe it's a good idea because the relay is there to protect the car but sure enough it caused more errors to pop up than necessary. I gasped out loud when I saw the last shot with the water buildup and another module dangling in the pool, that's crazy!
Hey Sam! Congrats on the result! I'd advise you to buy oscilloscope anyway - it costs about 50$ (simplest one, that'll be enough for CAN diagnostics) and will make your life much easier in situations like this
In colder climates a common clue there is damp sound deadening are windows misting up overnight. Rear light seals leaking is another common point of water ingress.
I know the rice bit at the end was a joke, but you might consider getting a big bag of Silica Gel desiccant to leave in the car once the bulk of the water is out and the drain is working. Just spread it out on some cheap cooking sheets for maximum surface area and leave it in there with a humidistat to confirm levels. The lower the level gets, the more water will get sucked out of the connectors with practically no effort. There is color changing desiccant you can get on Amazon for cheap so you can tell when it needs to be dried out.
Send the car over to Eric at South Main Auto. The guy is a bit of a wizard when it comes to troubleshooting electrical faults. Always enjoy watching his videos on youtube.
A good chance drain should be accessible by removing A post trim and kick panel. I have known blocked drains cause all manner of crazy problems. Likewise blocked scuttle drains so that might be something worth checking too.
My wife's 2017 MB SLC 300 went into the limp mode several times and until I took a test ride with the senior MB tech no one would believe the problem. It turned out to be a small module that controlled the shifting! Sadly it was one of three problems detected right after the warranty ended, yikes! Good news is, it's fixed and now back in love with the car!
Had a 325 with blocked sunroof drain. Footwell filled and took out the Yaw sensor module under drivers seat. Car would randomly apply one or more brakes as the module failed. The module was $1300 from BMW and rightfully this should have resulted in a safety recall.
These days almost everything on a BMW connects to the CAN bus and any one can corrupt as yours was. Diagnose Dan has a video fixing same where the problem came from a BMW door handle ! Get a cheap 'scope and use it to look at CAN signals at the OBS port. It is actually very easy to see the change when either a cable fault or CAN chip takes the bus down a bit harder to see sporadic problems but not rocket science.
I can't believe after all that the solution was just a dumb computer box for the seat. Like WHY does that even need to be a thing? My 1988 Supra has a ton of fancy seat motor functions and it's just a cable!
I'm going to have to get a Carly OBD2 scanner for my BMW. It seems that if you do not have something that's Carly compatible. BMWs will only show you a very limited list of diagnostics. Sometimes it won't even show you them at all, unless you have an OBD2 reader with Carly
Sorry Sam. I knew straight away that this whole issue was water getting onto the electrics as my 1982 Ford XR3i got water into a relay for the fuel pump and kept the car buzzing during the night. I should have told you on the first video. Sorry my friend.
Hey guys. The new batteries... if you jump start them from battery terminal and connect positive first you can fry the electric boards. I blew a FEM module and car would not start. Be careful when using power packs to start.
Have fun with that. The drain exits just inside the front fender. You have to remove the fender to get access to it. Sometimes they kink inside, but they're virtually inaccessible. You can pull off that kick panel inside the car, and there is a small hole where you can see the drain tube, but you can't get your fingers in there.
@@grandtheftautotune7715 as you saw from the video, weed eater line isn't cutting it, and he needs access to the actual drain tube exit....... which is behind the front fender and requires fender removal for access.
The dislike button is like, well it’s warm and you stack spaghetti sauce and the lawn mower votes matter in cow C02 emissions contributes to you know the thing. I’m sleepy, God bless ZzZzz
Sam, 1 carly (all car brands) on it's way to Norway, Love you're videos, they are just like if i go and buy some beat up old car, and start to repair it, frustrating but fun at the same time 😊
A very big reason why Ihate OBD2 era cars. These kinds of failures are absolutely inexcusible. The only thing that should happen if your sunroof drains become clogged is...rust.
Locate the pipe where it exits the car,usually somewhere below the pedals,there will be a one way valve at the end of the pipe,that get full of muck,drill it out and refit,then do a test with water and watch it run clean,problem solved.
I’ve caught myself accidentally hitting the thumbs down. That is a possibility too. Or a video is open and I have to put away my phone and If it’s still on I’ve pocket pressed a lot of crazy things.
Gawd damn sunroofs! How many cars have been destroyed by something so simple as a blocked drain? I have had entire roofs rust out because of that problem. I only ask a roof to do one thing: keep me dry when it rains! Anyway, nice catch Sam. I am actually looking forward to hearing the full scope of the "car-nage".
That is exactly the reason I will never buy a car with a sunroof. It's not a question if they start leaking, it's when. The same with the blocked drains, it's a when rather than a if...
Goddam it. That's is the very reason I will not own a car without rust holes in the floor. The water has nowhere to go and will eventually cause damage
@@meeder78 I wish it were that easy. Both my current cars have one .. not by choice... standard with the model I wanted. One car I have opened it about twice in 4 years, the other, NEVER.
@Samcrac, Take the front wheel off, pull the arch liner, then pull off the rubber cross seal on the end of the drain pipe. Wedge a screwdriver in to clear out all the leaf litter and rubbish, then you can clear it out from the blockage end. Not the top. It's much easier. Ask me how I know :D
Hey Sam - just a tip - when you're filming a PTC - go manual on the camera focus - stops it hunting for focus - 👍 😎 Also, what's happening with the DB9? Keep up the great work!
Someone forgot to clean out the sunroof drain, rendering a $90,000 symbol of mighty German engineering prowess useless. Great video. Solution: Duct Tape around the sunroof, pull the fuse.
TIP: fill the drain all the way with water and immediately blow it with air, hydraulic pressure will clean it. Repeat few times. Second tip: grease sunroof gasket.
Bad idea to blow it with air. 100% there is push-on fitting that is loose enough to get blown off by pressure and then you will have to remove the headliner to fix it.
Best way to do it is with hot water and dish soap and laundry detergent, pour the mixture in front of the tube and use a thick weed wacker line and keep poking and prodding. Whatever is clogging it will come loose.
@@rustler08 it's the most reliable way to clean it, you don't need big air pressure to do that. In the most cars it's holded by clamp under the headliner.
@@feluke8396 @rustler08 it's the most reliable way to clean it, you don't need big air pressure to do that. In the most cars it's holded by clamp under the headliner.
Hey Sam. Your videos are so much interesting to watch. As an ECU designer from Bosch, this takes me back to my field failure investigation sessions. About the seat control module that went bad due to water intrusion, you may be able to revive it. Try to warm the circuit board with a hair drier and then clean up the board using some isopropyl alcohol. Dry again and put it back. If the seat control functions were working fine from the beginning, it means that the module wasn't fully affected by water. Waiting for your next video on this BMW.
Power seats shouldn't need modules at all. Just use: some motors, some switches, and some wire. Lose all the cutesy features that make modules necessary. It is much easier to diagnose problems when there are no modules involved!
@@tempest411 True. But when it comes to being able to diagnose electrical faults easier and to ensure safety from thermal incidents, it is advisable to use such modules. Automotive standards also mandate certain features to come with advanced technologies that make sure safety of the vehicle is met in all circumstances. However I agree on your point about not complicating things and implementing them in simpler ways!
Good job 👍🏻….CAN bus issues can be a nightmare….a water leak is never a good thing, but having the wet carpet to point you directly to the modules on the floor is a beautiful thing when u start thinking about testing every module on the can bus
I’m so proud of you for getting better at diagnostics and actually pushing a few steps further to fix cars. I am so stoked on your channel, and I’m loving the DIY style on the euro cars that get a bad rap for being needy.
Hi, Sam…as you now know, the seats, console and carpet all need to come out. Take the carpet to a car wash and throughly wash it, both sides. Any damaged padding can be replaced. Let all of this dry for a few days until you can feel no dampness anywhere. Wash the floor of the car with a disinfectant and let it dry. The front sunroof drain hoses run through the A pillars (with a few exceptions) so check the underside of the car to see if you can find the drain hoses-good chance that’s where the blockage is, either because of an insect or just dirt. Be careful with compressed air through the hoses, you could pop one, and they’re a lot of work to replace. Reassemble, and your BMW should be like new. Being in the auto upholstery, convertible and sunroof business years ago I dealt with lots of cars wet inside because of bad sunroof drains-it’s way more common than you’d think. Hope this helps! -Don
Great job Sam! Just went through this on my X5M. Only way to get to the drain is to pull the left fender. The drains tend to get clogged at the outlet. BMW recommends pulling/cutting the outlet end out completely or it will clog again. Watch using compressed air as you can blow off the fitting from the sunroof cassette. Drop the headliner a bit to make sure they’re still on there. Also, your leather dash is probably ruined near the A pillar :( Don’t forget about the rear drains! They clog too and ruin your trailer module, comfort access, and sometimes the amp! 💸💸💸 flow lots of hot water through the drains. the fronts should make an audible sucking sound or they are not clear and will overflow again!! Also replace your sunroof gasket
I owned a 1999 540i for about 6 years. Beautiful car and a great drive. It was very reliable, but it did develop a very weird electrical issue at one time. The Climate Control system would intermittently start showing outside temp as -40C. This would cause the Air Con to start blowing really hot air, which could not be over-ridden. It had my Dealer stumped for a while, so they gave me a courtesy car and kept it for a couple of weeks whilst they investigated whether any other dealers has seen the problem. Turned out it was a short in the Petrol Tank Gauge Sender!!??
Sam, try to use vacuum to clear the drain line, the best way is to use a vacuum pump like for A/C system. Just use a jar or can in line to prevent introducing water into the pump oil.
Sam - All it takes is one bad module screaming on the bus making it so others cant talk to each other. I had this issue with my Cayenne - Alternator went bad and it made it so nothing on that bus could talk to each other. I didn't need an osiliscope but I couldn't ping most of the modules until I pulled the bad module. Then like yours everyone started talking to each other
Wow great job Sam I can’t believe you figured this out I figured it would be awhile remember the ax drain in the interior could be clogged and cause water intrusion.
Honestly its a big downside about having sunroofs they tend to clog and most people arent exactly car people and never know or realize these things, then get themselves in a pickle thinking they need a new car, to us its golden and easy flip sometimes and to them its just trouble
@@stinkysoulscanttellyou8695 I can’t agree with you more I’m always checking mine on my Audi just to be safe every time I was I check but ya never know sunroofs are a pain for what they are
The ending made me laugh so much, I rebuilt a flood title Audi about two years ago and had a similar experience. There was a Comfort Control Module under the drivers seat that got ruined by some water intrusion and once I replaced it all of the electronics worked!
You have to pull that carpet up, expose the carpet insulation. I guarantee you'll pull out a few gallons of water. But then you'll have to dry it. If you don't want to pull all of the seats and carpet out to dry in the sun you'll have to hold the carpet up somehow and put some fans beneath it to let it dry for a week. Vacuuming from the top won't accomplish much especially involving mould.
This is the problem with CANBUS. It's great when it's all working properly but it doesn't take much for a faulty module to corrupt the CANBUS data bus and make other modules data become garbled. It's fine if a module fails completely but a module that's not entirely dead, like this seat module, will cause a massive headache. You can see why even a dealer wouldn't bother with it due to the time, and hence money, it would take for a technician to troubleshoot all the modules in the vehicle.
When diagnosing phantom electrical gremlins do the following. Look for alterations from factory delivery first. Trailer plug wiring and trailer breaking systems, Entertainment units and alarm systems and headlights remote starters anything non standard and non factory. Look for crash and water damage signs. Look at fault code history to see what errord first and what’s connected to it. Then look at what fuses you can pull to power off those modules. Also if there are things that move and have wires that can break look at where they might break for broken and or shorting wires. If you have a thermal imaging camera and you live in a cold climate or have aircon in your garage you can use it to look for hot spots in wires and components.
Have to say that I’m impressed that you’ve pretty much nailed down what’s wrong with the car and that you’ve also found the source of the problem and a bmw couldn’t figure it out .
You know Sam.. I just realized that I would be you if my father wasn't a mechanic. He'd never let me buy half this stuff. Anyways, I really love that you do some really in-depth wortk on your vehicles. Most quit when it comes to things like problng wires. Awesome stuff!
I think by how easy he poped open that box.. someone else already diagnosed it, sam just taking credit and making content for this video... youtubers be faking so much...
I had the same problem with my E60 2.5i saloon and auto electrician could not find out what was wrong until I got a puncture and got my space saver wheel out the wheel well was full of water there was a module under spare wheel that I replaced from a breakers yard car runs great now I also took the rubber grommet out so no more water problems
That's almost like dealing with a flood car. Actually it's a bit crazy to think that something so simple as a plugged sunroof drain can take down such an expensive car.
I've seen the same issue with an late 2010 model with idrive
How is this possible, do they even warn you?
Now in a Toyota you wouldn't find this. Just saying
@@alfy11111 It could happen in a Toyota with a sunroof. Just saying
That’s why I buy Toyotas without a stupid sunroof. Double blessing.
That was so exciting! Narrowing it down to a couple of modules was a great idea, I didn't believe it's a good idea because the relay is there to protect the car but sure enough it caused more errors to pop up than necessary. I gasped out loud when I saw the last shot with the water buildup and another module dangling in the pool, that's crazy!
I love the trolling of Rich's site.
Hey Sam! Congrats on the result!
I'd advise you to buy oscilloscope anyway - it costs about 50$ (simplest one, that'll be enough for CAN diagnostics) and will make your life much easier in situations like this
And Carly don’t sell those😉
Yeah I was surprised by the $700 price tag; oscilloscope are quite simple technology nowadays
In colder climates a common clue there is damp sound deadening are windows misting up overnight. Rear light seals leaking is another common point of water ingress.
I know the rice bit at the end was a joke, but you might consider getting a big bag of Silica Gel desiccant to leave in the car once the bulk of the water is out and the drain is working. Just spread it out on some cheap cooking sheets for maximum surface area and leave it in there with a humidistat to confirm levels. The lower the level gets, the more water will get sucked out of the connectors with practically no effort. There is color changing desiccant you can get on Amazon for cheap so you can tell when it needs to be dried out.
10:33 that sound, you only hear some days before thanksgiving
Congratulations - it is usually a physical problem that causes an electrical nightmare, looking forward to the next episode! (no thumbs down!)
Thumbs up 👍 Sam for getting your hands dirty in this video, even if it was only at the very end.
I would advise u to check the front cowl drain plug and the wiper cowl drainage .. it should be located at the bottom of the firewall
"I'll talk about Carly later"--Immediately goes into a five minute sales pitch for Carly!!!!
Send the car over to Eric at South Main Auto. The guy is a bit of a wizard when it comes to troubleshooting electrical faults.
Always enjoy watching his videos on youtube.
A good chance drain should be accessible by removing A post trim and kick panel. I have known blocked drains cause all manner of crazy problems. Likewise blocked scuttle drains so that might be something worth checking too.
My wife's 2017 MB SLC 300 went into the limp mode several times and until I took a test ride with the senior MB tech no one would believe the problem. It turned out to be a small module that controlled the shifting! Sadly it was one of three problems detected right after the warranty ended, yikes! Good news is, it's fixed and now back in love with the car!
I can’t believe the bmw muppets at the dealership couldn’t fix this and auctioned it , yet a Sam fixed it 👍👍🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
First time on your channel and only 6 min in, I'm giving a thumbs up for sure, awesome awesome stuff my dude.
We love your videos Sam. No reason to dislike. 🎉
Had a 325 with blocked sunroof drain. Footwell filled and took out the Yaw sensor module under drivers seat. Car would randomly apply one or more brakes as the module failed. The module was $1300 from BMW and rightfully this should have resulted in a safety recall.
I spent so much money on parts trying to fix my own car and still not running lol I feel just like sam
Cant wait for next video dude. Bravo on finding the culprit
These days almost everything on a BMW connects to the CAN bus and any one can corrupt as yours was. Diagnose Dan has a video fixing same where the problem came from a BMW door handle ! Get a cheap 'scope and use it to look at CAN signals at the OBS port. It is actually very easy to see the change when either a cable fault or CAN chip takes the bus down a bit harder to see sporadic problems but not rocket science.
I have had the stupidest module corrupt the can signal and keep the vehicle from starting or operating correctly.
I can't believe after all that the solution was just a dumb computer box for the seat.
Like WHY does that even need to be a thing? My 1988 Supra has a ton of fancy seat motor functions and it's just a cable!
German over-engineering
So people can program their seats to desired position and module remembers. I cant think of any other function than that 🙂
@@clixium other functions like massage and bolster inflating while cornering so you dont slide out
Wow that's a lot of water, you could try small brush's to un block the pipe.👍
I'm going to have to get a Carly OBD2 scanner for my BMW. It seems that if you do not have something that's Carly compatible. BMWs will only show you a very limited list of diagnostics. Sometimes it won't even show you them at all, unless you have an OBD2 reader with Carly
WOW THE WATER AT THE END OMG
The damaged engine cover the grill piece falling out may indicate damage repair/air bag issue.
Why can I see this video
There are none so blind as he who refuses to see.
Good diagnosing man.
Sorry Sam. I knew straight away that this whole issue was water getting onto the electrics as my 1982 Ford XR3i got water into a relay for the fuel pump and kept the car buzzing during the night. I should have told you on the first video. Sorry my friend.
Hey guys. The new batteries... if you jump start them from battery terminal and connect positive first you can fry the electric boards. I blew a FEM module and car would not start. Be careful when using power packs to start.
This got me thinking, my wife's CR-V has water inside the tailgate and I can't figure out how its getting in. I wonder if there is a similar drain.
I would check out the trailer hitch fault 8:20., especially seeing you don’t have a trailer hitch 😂
It does have a trailer hitch!
Have fun with that. The drain exits just inside the front fender. You have to remove the fender to get access to it. Sometimes they kink inside, but they're virtually inaccessible. You can pull off that kick panel inside the car, and there is a small hole where you can see the drain tube, but you can't get your fingers in there.
You dont have to remove to whole fender, just the liner.. even that isnt necessary, just run some weed eater line down the drain tube...
@@grandtheftautotune7715 as you saw from the video, weed eater line isn't cutting it, and he needs access to the actual drain tube exit....... which is behind the front fender and requires fender removal for access.
felt like the longest ad I've ever watched
I saw someone with 3 series with faulty door handle that stop the engine from starting.
The dislike button is like, well it’s warm and you stack spaghetti sauce and the lawn mower votes matter in cow C02 emissions contributes to you know the thing. I’m sleepy, God bless ZzZzz
How come I can see the dislikes ?
I absolutely hate moonroofs and I hate that nearly all manufacturers force them on you.
Man this kind of modern cars are nightmare. They are built to be trown away when the warranty ends. Long live planet eart 🔥
This shows that a home diy-er is way smarter in finding the problem than any dealer mechanic/technician.
dealerships sell cars, thats how they make money
Man I had soo much water in my Mini Cooper due to the door frame rubber and the windshield. BMW are like boats
I love your channel, makes me almost wish I still owned my gremlin prone 3 and 5 series.... well maybe not that much:)
Nah Sam, I love you. It's always the like button for you.
Sam, 1 carly (all car brands) on it's way to Norway, Love you're videos, they are just like if i go and buy some beat up old car, and start to repair it, frustrating but fun at the same time 😊
A very big reason why Ihate OBD2 era cars. These kinds of failures are absolutely inexcusible. The only thing that should happen if your sunroof drains become clogged is...rust.
The seat module may have been from the active seat bag leaking out!
What is a seat bag in a car?
you had me at gas prices lmao
U currently have 1k doslikes. All Rich’s burner accounts😂. U tube hasnt forced update on me yet.
Nice fix Sam! Nice to win one every once in a while. This one should be satisfying to fix :)
Hehe, don't ever update the youtube app. Mine is so old I don't even get ads anymore.
Hi, enjoy your videos, pure gold. Now that you found the faulty seat module can you test the Mario method with oscilloscope, if it detects it?
You could probably just use a voltmeter instead of oscilloscope.
That intro was classic hahahaha
I do love these videos 👍
Locate the pipe where it exits the car,usually somewhere below the pedals,there will be a one way valve at the end of the pipe,that get full of muck,drill it out and refit,then do a test with water and watch it run clean,problem solved.
Watching on my TV the video is about quarter screen?
Life always find’s a way.
Not sure about Sam though 😂
I’ve caught myself accidentally hitting the thumbs down. That is a possibility too. Or a video is open and I have to put away my phone and If it’s still on I’ve pocket pressed a lot of crazy things.
UA-cam got rid of the dislike button so their UA-cam rewind won’t show that they get more dislikes than likes. Change my mind.
That's the type of fault a stealer would charge 000s to 'fix'.
This will be a nice car sam
the ones hitting it straight away are your so called friends and stepmom
Great debug video
lol Poor Rich, leave him alone 🤣
I see the count on the dislike, but I am on a PC.
Dude. Surely you could smell wet carpet in the drivers side?
Gawd damn sunroofs! How many cars have been destroyed by something so simple as a blocked drain? I have had entire roofs rust out because of that problem. I only ask a roof to do one thing: keep me dry when it rains! Anyway, nice catch Sam. I am actually looking forward to hearing the full scope of the "car-nage".
You would think with all the sensors the have every ware else they would put on to detect the blocked drain
That is exactly the reason I will never buy a car with a sunroof. It's not a question if they start leaking, it's when. The same with the blocked drains, it's a when rather than a if...
Goddam it. That's is the very reason I will not own a car without rust holes in the floor. The water has nowhere to go and will eventually cause damage
@@meeder78 I wish it were that easy. Both my current cars have one .. not by choice... standard with the model I wanted. One car I have opened it about twice in 4 years, the other, NEVER.
@@marhot where I live it is almost always an expensive option to get a sunroof.
@Samcrac, Take the front wheel off, pull the arch liner, then pull off the rubber cross seal on the end of the drain pipe.
Wedge a screwdriver in to clear out all the leaf litter and rubbish, then you can clear it out from the blockage end. Not the top.
It's much easier.
Ask me how I know :D
just put towels at the top of the drain in the sunroof and around the seats, makes a heck of a mess.
As an e70 owner I agree with the above :))
@@damianwright6819 perhaps temporarily tape a running vacuum-cleaner to the top before and voila 2 for the price of 1
Sam, this: 👆!!
I always found pouring boiling water from the kettle down the drain holes works with older cars
Hey Sam - just a tip - when you're filming a PTC - go manual on the camera focus - stops it hunting for focus - 👍 😎 Also, what's happening with the DB9? Keep up the great work!
Also great in POV.. 😉 Ask his step mom
Or buy a real camera, I mean, how much money does this guy have to have?
It gave me a bit of motion sickness!
Why the F did you upload this at 8pm central on a Friday night lol . Sam looking out for the forever alones among us
Take the old school way of fixing the problem, drill a hole in the lowest point of the floor board..... problem solved!
Lmao
Surely the American way is to shoot it full of holes? UK.
Yeah i removed the drainplugs in my old convertible. Problem solved.
He could use that shot gun from before
...and avoid driving through water afterwards...
Someone forgot to clean out the sunroof drain, rendering a $90,000 symbol of mighty German engineering prowess useless. Great video. Solution: Duct Tape around the sunroof, pull the fuse.
Or an afternoon with a welder and some sheet metal. 😆 Down with sunroofs!
@Robert Anna I'm thinking way more downtown. Absolutely cover the roof in clumsily torn strips of silver tape. Maybe changing color if I run out.
Panel bond.
@@bobmcl2406 Or a zip tie as it turns out.
@@gglen2141 oh sure, take the easy way out! 😁
TIP: fill the drain all the way with water and immediately blow it with air, hydraulic pressure will clean it. Repeat few times. Second tip: grease sunroof gasket.
Bad idea to blow it with air. 100% there is push-on fitting that is loose enough to get blown off by pressure and then you will have to remove the headliner to fix it.
Best way to do it is with hot water and dish soap and laundry detergent, pour the mixture in front of the tube and use a thick weed wacker line and keep poking and prodding. Whatever is clogging it will come loose.
@@rustler08 it's the most reliable way to clean it, you don't need big air pressure to do that. In the most cars it's holded by clamp under the headliner.
@@feluke8396 @rustler08 it's the most reliable way to clean it, you don't need big air pressure to do that. In the most cars it's holded by clamp under the headliner.
@@pirate2998 and if you’re wrong then you’ll be pulling the headliner to reattach that drain hose and that would be a nightmare. Not worth it at all.
Hey Sam. Your videos are so much interesting to watch. As an ECU designer from Bosch, this takes me back to my field failure investigation sessions. About the seat control module that went bad due to water intrusion, you may be able to revive it. Try to warm the circuit board with a hair drier and then clean up the board using some isopropyl alcohol. Dry again and put it back. If the seat control functions were working fine from the beginning, it means that the module wasn't fully affected by water. Waiting for your next video on this BMW.
@@Jison9 Thanks Mono...👍
Yes sometimes residue from the water can cause micro bridges and voltage to flow
@@pollcrazy exactly
Power seats shouldn't need modules at all. Just use: some motors, some switches, and some wire. Lose all the cutesy features that make modules necessary. It is much easier to diagnose problems when there are no modules involved!
@@tempest411 True. But when it comes to being able to diagnose electrical faults easier and to ensure safety from thermal incidents, it is advisable to use such modules. Automotive standards also mandate certain features to come with advanced technologies that make sure safety of the vehicle is met in all circumstances. However I agree on your point about not complicating things and implementing them in simpler ways!
I have unclogged a lot of sun roofs and was sitting here thinking you need to pull the carpet out. Glad to see you made it that far. So classic
Yes, with that much water what is on top is just the beginning. Tip of the iceberg.
Good job 👍🏻….CAN bus issues can be a nightmare….a water leak is never a good thing, but having the wet carpet to point you directly to the modules on the floor is a beautiful thing when u start thinking about testing every module on the can bus
I’m so proud of you for getting better at diagnostics and actually pushing a few steps further to fix cars. I am so stoked on your channel, and I’m loving the DIY style on the euro cars that get a bad rap for being needy.
I swear he has so much patience to fix cars like this I would’ve given up and junked it 😂
Still got a ways to go to catch up to Diagnose Dan :)
This is why I love M539 restorations: 44 minutes of actually working on the car, not 16 minutes of ads for some random auto gimmick.
Wtf, I get no ads from crac unless he does it himself in vid. And yes539 kicks ass
My god, half way thru the video I decided to leave and block the channel. Fucking 16 minutes ad.
I love both channels but remember this is all free content and bitching about ads is lame since they have bills to pay to bring this content to us.
at first i was like "no way they branded the title on this car because of a seat module"
Hi, Sam…as you now know, the seats, console and carpet all need to come out. Take the carpet to a car wash and throughly wash it, both sides. Any damaged padding can be replaced. Let all of this dry for a few days until you can feel no dampness anywhere. Wash the floor of the car with a disinfectant and let it dry. The front sunroof drain hoses run through the A pillars (with a few exceptions) so check the underside of the car to see if you can find the drain hoses-good chance that’s where the blockage is, either because of an insect or just dirt. Be careful with compressed air through the hoses, you could pop one, and they’re a lot of work to replace. Reassemble, and your BMW should be like new. Being in the auto upholstery, convertible and sunroof business years ago I dealt with lots of cars wet inside because of bad sunroof drains-it’s way more common than you’d think. Hope this helps! -Don
Great job Sam! Just went through this on my X5M. Only way to get to the drain is to pull the left fender. The drains tend to get clogged at the outlet. BMW recommends pulling/cutting the outlet end out completely or it will clog again. Watch using compressed air as you can blow off the fitting from the sunroof cassette. Drop the headliner a bit to make sure they’re still on there. Also, your leather dash is probably ruined near the A pillar :( Don’t forget about the rear drains! They clog too and ruin your trailer module, comfort access, and sometimes the amp! 💸💸💸 flow lots of hot water through the drains. the fronts should make an audible sucking sound or they are not clear and will overflow again!! Also replace your sunroof gasket
The dislike is still in Scotland
Canada as well.
Do you see my dislike on your comment?:) not personal.
America as well
@@jerrydwyer9057 no just on videos
Great video! I love following clues and finding success. Always sucks getting stumped but at least every issue is leading you to another idea 💡
I owned a 1999 540i for about 6 years. Beautiful car and a great drive. It was very reliable, but it did develop a very weird electrical issue at one time. The Climate Control system would intermittently start showing outside temp as -40C. This would cause the Air Con to start blowing really hot air, which could not be over-ridden. It had my Dealer stumped for a while, so they gave me a courtesy car and kept it for a couple of weeks whilst they investigated whether any other dealers has seen the problem. Turned out it was a short in the Petrol Tank Gauge Sender!!??
Sam, try to use vacuum to clear the drain line, the best way is to use a vacuum pump like for A/C system. Just use a jar or can in line to prevent introducing water into the pump oil.
Or maybe a hand operated vacuum pump like the Mityvac? Those come with an inline catch container and they are excellent for bleeding brakes too.
Sam - All it takes is one bad module screaming on the bus making it so others cant talk to each other. I had this issue with my Cayenne - Alternator went bad and it made it so nothing on that bus could talk to each other. I didn't need an osiliscope but I couldn't ping most of the modules until I pulled the bad module. Then like yours everyone started talking to each other
lol, that module was basically holding the transmit button down on the radio and shouting bad instructions. it never let go, no one else could talk.
Number one ztbn
no zero zzn
"screaming" is a very good way to put it 😁👍
Just came home from work and ate my dinner watching this. I need the next episode ASAP!
ASAP! Especially after that ending
Wow great job Sam I can’t believe you figured this out I figured it would be awhile remember the ax drain in the interior could be clogged and cause water intrusion.
Honestly its a big downside about having sunroofs they tend to clog and most people arent exactly car people and never know or realize these things, then get themselves in a pickle thinking they need a new car, to us its golden and easy flip sometimes and to them its just trouble
@@stinkysoulscanttellyou8695 I can’t agree with you more I’m always checking mine on my Audi just to be safe every time I was I check but ya never know sunroofs are a pain for what they are
@@martinmicheal4595 Is your audi the one in the picture? Audi a4 avant?
@@stinkysoulscanttellyou8695 yes the one in the picture a allroad Quattro twin turbo
@@martinmicheal4595 the 2.7t? Honestly they are extremely hard to find these days they either trashed or high price
The ending made me laugh so much, I rebuilt a flood title Audi about two years ago and had a similar experience. There was a Comfort Control Module under the drivers seat that got ruined by some water intrusion and once I replaced it all of the electronics worked!
You have to pull that carpet up, expose the carpet insulation. I guarantee you'll pull out a few gallons of water. But then you'll have to dry it. If you don't want to pull all of the seats and carpet out to dry in the sun you'll have to hold the carpet up somehow and put some fans beneath it to let it dry for a week. Vacuuming from the top won't accomplish much especially involving mould.
This is the problem with CANBUS. It's great when it's all working properly but it doesn't take much for a faulty module to corrupt the CANBUS data bus and make other modules data become garbled. It's fine if a module fails completely but a module that's not entirely dead, like this seat module, will cause a massive headache.
You can see why even a dealer wouldn't bother with it due to the time, and hence money, it would take for a technician to troubleshoot all the modules in the vehicle.
When diagnosing phantom electrical gremlins do the following.
Look for alterations from factory delivery first. Trailer plug wiring and trailer breaking systems, Entertainment units and alarm systems and headlights remote starters anything non standard and non factory.
Look for crash and water damage signs.
Look at fault code history to see what errord first and what’s connected to it.
Then look at what fuses you can pull to power off those modules.
Also if there are things that move and have wires that can break look at where they might break for broken and or shorting wires.
If you have a thermal imaging camera and you live in a cold climate or have aircon in your garage you can use it to look for hot spots in wires and components.
This car needs a Bilge pump! Thanks Sam.
Interesting video, aside from a third of it basically being a commercial. Uncle Rich wouldn't do us like that, Sam.
This is one of those classic Sam videos that I love to watch. Reasonable quality car for low dollars, fault find and fix.
Good on you Sam!
Cheers 👍👍🍻
That car deserves to live, and you are the ONLY guy to do it!!! Well done, sir!
With that red blue color combination? Not so sure.
@@OMGWTFLOLSMH whaat??? I love that combination. To each their own I guess
Have to say that I’m impressed that you’ve pretty much nailed down what’s wrong with the car and that you’ve also found the source of the problem and a bmw couldn’t figure it out .
You know Sam.. I just realized that I would be you if my father wasn't a mechanic. He'd never let me buy half this stuff. Anyways, I really love that you do some really in-depth wortk on your vehicles. Most quit when it comes to things like problng wires. Awesome stuff!
That’s crazy that a BMW mechanic failed to notice this - glad you found the problem and it was so obvious.
Its such a common problem on literally every x5 and x6 from that generation.
I think by how easy he poped open that box.. someone else already diagnosed it, sam just taking credit and making content for this video... youtubers be faking so much...
I had the same problem with my E60 2.5i saloon and auto electrician could not find out what was wrong until I got a puncture and got my space saver wheel out the wheel well was full of water there was a module under spare wheel that I replaced from a breakers yard car runs great now I also took the rubber grommet out so no more water problems
The chicken farmer just went hi-tech on us!