Rollover Protection ECU Issue

[the_g_ster]

Hello all

You can imagine how chuffed I was to learn today that the ECU on my rollover system on my e46 has blown, well, suspected to be.

Has anybody had this before, if so, words of advice to get it fixed. I have taken to an indy and they quote 550 to fix it. The part number is 6918515, sadly non servicable.

Anybody seen this before? Would a winge to BMW customer services be worth it even though out of warranty.

The G

[< FORZA WEST]

I have replaced one before due to water ingress,but otherwise the system is redundant in the back ground and I would have to say extremly rare for them to fail....The only time they are woken up (except during roll) is during a service where they are activated for ensure they work.

What happened to yours?

[the_g_ster]

Well the Rollover protection light came on one day so had the fault read and turns out it's that unit.

The car hasn't had any shocks, hints of a roll, it's not driven that hard either. Is odd.

How do they activate the bars during service?

[< FORZA WEST]

open the roof first, then using GT1 (BMW diagnostic equipment) we send an activation signal via service functions.

[the_g_ster]

Do you think it would be possible for me to source the part direct from BMW, fit it as I know it's behind the drivers side rear seat and then take to BMW for reprogramming?

I am told that it is not just plug and play, and once the old is removed the new one is in the rest of the car systems won't know it's there until the thing is reprogrammed.

[Ean218]

the_g_ster said:

Hello all
You can imagine how chuffed I was to learn today that the ECU on my rollover system on my e46 has blown, well, suspected to be.

Being a bit of a pedant, ECU stands for Engine Control Unit, surely its just a CPU in the rollover system that's failed.

[Roop]

Ean218 said:

the_g_ster said:

Hello all
You can imagine how chuffed I was to learn today that the ECU on my rollover system on my e46 has blown, well, suspected to be.

Being a bit of a pedant, ECU stands for Engine Control Unit, surely its just a CPU in the rollover system that's failed.

ECU is also a common abbreviation for Electronic Control Unit, so invalid pedantry I am afraid...

[< FORZA WEST]

You could buy from BMW or maybe see if FAB direct have one...if they do you should get away with encoding....But if not then BMW will encode the new one which should take about 1/2 hour (by the time they have set up progman).

ECU relates to any control unit fitted to a car although originally it was Engine control unit it now generally means electronic control unit.

Most companys dont use this abbreviation anyway. BMW DME digital motor electronics