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2002-2010 E53 x5 E60 E63 E64 E65 E66 Intermittent Crank Issue Solved

October 29, 2015 by BavTek

2002-2008 E53 x5 E60 E63 E64 E65 E66 Intermittent Crank Issue Solved

Part Number: 12.52 7 510 638

THE STORY:

Carol called to tell me she was having starting problems with her 2008 750Li. We set up an appointment so that I could inspect it. The starting problem was intermittent and we couldn’t be replicated it on demand, so she decided to leave it with me. It took a couple of days before the no start problem happened again. I scanned the car to see if there was a fault was being registered. Nothing was coming up indicating everything in the car was ok. Since there was no fault to go by, the only thing that occurred to me was to find out what relay or module was responsible for operating the starter. At the moment, I regret that I could not figure it out. She picked up her BMW days later.

Several months had passed when I experienced the same issue with my personal 2005 750Li. I stumbled across a YouTube video that mentioned a module I’ve seen before but hadn’t made the connection with the problem. The module is called the Integrated Supply Module (ISM) located by the DME (Engine Computer). After opening it up I found out that it has a series of relays that operate the starter. Curious to see if one of the relays was the problem, I started removing the casings looking for signs of wear. I found that one of the middle relays had darker contact points with carbon build-up. If these relays were serviceable, I could’ve taken the relay out to clean it. But since it’s not, I decided to buy another module and see if it would fix my car.

I knew that this part was just a simple module made of relays and resistors that would require no coding or programming at all, regardless of what BMW would say. So I called them up to order the part. That same day I replaced it in my car and solved the mysterious starting problem completely.

The same customer happened to call me again, asking me if I had learned anything knew before she took it to BMW to get it fixed. She had been quoted $1,500 between diagnosis, parts, installation, and programming. I told her that I had just experienced this exact same issue with my personal car and told her to bring it in. We replaced it the next day and I’m happy to report her BMW has also been fixed saving her a total of $1,220 she can take to the bank.

SYMPTOMS: 

Does your BMW have trouble starting let alone cranking at times ? Does it click at first, but not turn over and start? Does it randomly shut off while driving?

I have even seen sluggish performance under 4k RPM and the occasional P R N D Lights Flash which will cause your car not to crank as well.

POSSIBLE SOLUTION:

 If so, your Integrated Supply Module (ISM) may be the problem. As these BMW’s continue to get older, this issue is becoming more and more common. It might even get to the point where the car doesn’t even start at all. Below you’ll find pictures to help you locate and replace it the part yourself. You can purchase this module directly from us by clicking here or on the image below. You can also call me if you have any questions or concerns. Tomas at (951) 522-4032

OTHER BMW’s THAT MAY HAVE THIS PROBLEM:

X5 E53 4.4i 4.8i 2004-2006

5 Series E60 E61 545i 550i M5 2004-2010

6 Series E63 E64 645ci 650i M6 2004-2010

7 Series E65 E66 745i 745li 750i 750li 760i 760li Alpina B7 2002-2008

PICTURE OF ISM MODULE:

DSC_9755

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?

DSC_9797

Check underneath the passenger cabin filter.

DSC_9798

Lift the plastic cover.

DSC_9799

This is where the ISM is located.

DSC_9802

Start unplugging and remove the old ISM.

DSC_9801

Insert the new ISM module.
DSC_9806

Make sure all plugs are connected properly.

DSC_9807

Secure ISM in its proper location.

DSC_9808

Installation is Complete.

 

DSC_9803

 

 

 

Filed Under: N62 ISM Module Issue

The 1995 BMW E31 850Ci

September 1, 2015 by BavTek

1995 BMW E31 850Ci 


BMW 850Ci

A couple months back we had the rare opportunity of purchasing a M5 with a blown engine. When I went to look at the M5 I saw this car right next to it and it caught my eye. Fast forward a couple weeks and now he brought this car to us since he saw that we know what we are doing with the M5 Rebuild we did.

The owner brought us this car to us in hopes of us repairing it so he could sell it afterwards but after checking it out it’s going to need cosmetic front end work. Its either going to need transmission service. It will need a new engine since 3 years ago it overheated so Bank 2 lightly blows moisture but then goes away once its heats up. Repair totaling in $2500 for mechanical defects only so he decided to sell the car complete as it is.

It’s a running, driving, car. Tags are current.

Customer wants $4,800

SOLD FOR $3,900

Filed Under: E31 850Ci

The 1982 BMW E21 320is

July 6, 2015 by BavTek

1982 BMW E21 320i

So in May of 2012 I purchased this garage beauty from a Older lady in Los Angeles. She had owned it since 1985 when it was purchased Certified Preowned. Couldn’t believe my eyes as to how clean the paint was and well kept. Certainly not withouts its defects but definitely above the rest of the E21’s out there. It was Cosmetically sound (very important for me since I hate doing body work, and messing with rust and mismatched paint colors etc.) but mechanically sluggish and unresponsive and unreliable (which is OK for me since I know mechanics and electronics). So this was the perfect project for me.

Specs:

  • CALIFORNIA CAR SINCE NEW
  • 1982 BMW 320i SEDAN
  • VIN: WBAAG3302C8376361
  • 1.8L M10 4 CYL ENGINE
  • 5 SPEED MANUAL TRANSMISSION
  • 184,000 MILES
  • CLEAN CarFax Above Average Ratings

REPAIRS/MODS COMPLETED:

  • Authentic BBS Front Spoiler Painted
  • Front and Rear Bumper Tuck
  • New Front Grilles
  • New HVAC Control Panel
  • New Tail Lights Lenses
  • New Positions Lenses
  • New Bilstein Struts all 4
  • New BavAuto Springs
  • New Control Arms and Bushings
  • New DUNLOP 205/50R15 85V Tires
  • New Front Brake Pads and Rotors
  • New Rear Drum Brakes
  • New Water Pump
  • New Thermostat
  • New Coolant Hoses
  • New CARB Catalytic Converter
  • New Rear Muffler
  • New Battery
  • New In-Tank High Pressure Fuel Pump
  • New Fuel Pressure Regulator
  • New Fuel Filter
  • Full Tune Up, Spark Plugs, Distributor, Oil
  • Original DINAN Intake
  • Original Recaro 320is Cloth Bucket Seats
  • Original 15″ BBS GOLD Wheels
  • Rebuilt 3.91 LSD 320is Differential
  • Rear Sway Bar 320is
  • Sport Steering Wheel 320is
  • Porsche 911 Radiator and Electric Fan with Fan Controller
  • All Paint Body Panels match in paint except for BBS Front Spoiler

DEFECTS/FLAWS

  • Engine Oil Leak at Exhaust Manifold
  • A/C Condenser and Compressor Removed
    (Still have the Parts)
  • Random chips/scuff flaws on the paint
  • Exhaust tip will rattle occasionally
  • Haven’t Finished the Black Carpet Install
    (All Pieces are in the Trunk)

Ok so I’ll stop with all the teasing and give you some pictures! Ill even throw in a video for you.

***UPDATE*** 7/20/2017 – I’m thinking of selling my car for the right price. Anyone interested can contact me at bavtekinc@gmail.com – Phone/Text: 951-522-4032

 

Filed Under: E21 320i

The 2006 BMW E60 M5

July 6, 2015 by BavTek

Bought this 2006 BMW M5 V10 for $7,200!….With a Blown Engine…

February of 2015, BMW of Riverside called me to find out if I could get a used S85 Motor for them. I told them a used motor would run about $9k. To my surprise he then asked me how much the car would be worth as scrap. He mentioned that a yard in San Fernando Valley had offered them $4,500 for the 2006 M5. I knew I could easily pay more than $4,500, but they weren’t sure what the owner wanted to do with it yet. From that day forward I had my sights on this ///M5. When I’d go pick up parts at the dealership and I’d see the M parked in the back lot. About 3 months passed and I had no new news. I was giving up hope. I asked if I could contact the owner myself, but they wanted to respect the owner’s privacy. It killed me seeing the car just sitting in the back doing nothing. Luckily, one Saturday I went to go grab some parts and I saw the tow truck driver and the owner pulling the car into the middle of the road. I pulled over and I had a friend hand him my business card just incase he wanted to sell it. I didn’t want to seem eager to buy it even though it had been on my mind for 3 months already. I got a call back 3 long days later and was able to sort out a time and date to see the car in Orange County.

June of 2015: I was so excited to see and hear the car running, and perhaps buy it. I was dying to know what was really going on with the engine and why it needed to be replaced. I checked out the car and everything looked and sounded great. The parts guys at the BMW Dealer had told me the engine had a bad rod bearing and would knock. I couldn’t replicate the issue. So hoping that the engine could still be saved, I offered the owner $7,000 for the broken 2006 M5. He told me that he needed to make a phone call really quick. Turns out he was calling was another shop that had offered to buy the car too. Luckily for me, the shop didn’t pick up the phone and he ended up selling it to me for $7,200.00.

I towed the car to my warehouse and started to get to work. Right off the bat, I saw bad signs.

Glitter in the oil filter housing! Yeah, except that’s not glitter. This is the sign of $10,000 worth of repairs on the horizon.
Just to confirm that this wasn’t something else, we hoisted up the engine and got to work.

Took off the whole subframe and remove the Oil Pan. Low and Behold:

We saw a chewed up Crank and Rod that needed to be replaced. Anyone who knows how much a new S85 crank costs knows this is pretty much done and will need to be fully redone. I estimated the cost at about $7000 with all parts at wholesale prices. It was still doubtful that even with all that work that the build would be good since we had never done this before.

Since there was so much money at stake I had to opt for a good used engine. After about 2 days of hunting I had found a Guaranteed Used Motor from LKQ on the East Coast for $7,450 delivered to my door. They only wanted a $100 core charge so I was excited to spend the $100 to keep the old engine (more on that later).

They brought it to me with all of the throttle and throttle actuators and goodies attached! Since that was now here, and knowing the Bearing Issues that these have I had to tear apart the bottom end on this new motor to make sure everything was not already destroyed. Then rebuild it so that it would last another 100k miles.

This new motor would have only lasted another 20k miles before it would have done the same thing my original motor did.

We put all new bearings, bolts, gaskets, plugs, cooler, lines, and oil into this new engine. I had to even put another clutch kit on it since the throw out bearing was broken on mine and the bearing alone was $300 which is half the cost of a new clutch kit $600


Here is the New Clutch Installed on the Motor.

I spent 3 days rebuilding the bottom end and tidying up all the loose ends.I also swapped the whole freakin engine harness since the one on the motor had broken plugs. The engine was now ready to be matted to the Transmission and put into the car.

Here we are pre-setting everything making sure it all looks good.

2 hours later the engine is in!
To be honest, everything after this point was a huge blur. I got so excited I forgot to take pictures of us putting the whole front end back on and double/triple checking all the bolts and connections.

We finally finished, but we still needed to find out if there were any additional surprises. We primed the engine (which felt like forever) to build up pressure in the Vanos’s. Once the CAM knocking subsided we cranked it up and it turned it on right away.
I did the VANOS bleed Function with the ISTA ICOM A+B+C which takes out any air bubbles from the system and everything checked out great.

I gotta say I am not sure if I would have bought the car knowing I was going to have to put $12,000 into rebuilding it. Luckily, I was able to absorb the surprises over time and with some luck I was able to make it through. It only took us 2 weeks to get a good running M5.

Fast Forward 2 years:

I was able to part out the whole ($100.00 Core) broken motor for $8,000 on eBay. I still have about $2,000 worth of parts left so it’s looking up!

Car is still running strong. Since then, I’ve had to install a new SMG Pump Motor ($550.00). The brushes on my old motor were going out so it would get weaker on higher shift settings. I have put about 7k miles on the motor and I couldn’t be happier! Although I’m not so happy about the gas mileage. But who buys a V10 M for fuel efficiency? It gets 130 miles to the tank when I test its limits compared to 200 miles driving normally. I can’t seem to get any better than that. Its 550i counterparts will get 300 miles easy. So, yeah, I basically throw money out the window when I drive it. But it’s an enjoyable beast to drive. A beast I personally brought back to life.

Regards,

Tomas

951-522-4032

Filed Under: E60 M5

Categories

  • Guides (1)
    • N62 ISM Module Issue (1)
  • Projects (3)
    • E21 320i (1)
    • E31 850Ci (1)
    • E60 M5 (1)
Posted in N62 ISM Module Issue

2002-2010 E53 x5 E60 E63 E64 E65 E66 Intermittent Crank Issue Solved

2002-2008 E53 x5 E60 E63 E64 E65 E66 Intermittent Crank Issue Solved Part Number: 12.52 7 510 638 THE STORY: Carol called to tell me she was having starting problems with her 2008 750Li. We set up an appointment so that I could inspect it. The starting problem was intermittent and we couldn’t be replicated it on…

Continue Reading
Posted in E31 850Ci

The 1995 BMW E31 850Ci

1995 BMW E31 850Ci  A couple months back we had the rare opportunity of purchasing a M5 with a blown engine. When I went to look at the M5 I saw this car right next to it and it caught my eye. Fast forward a couple weeks and now he brought this car to us…

Continue Reading
Posted in E21 320i

The 1982 BMW E21 320is

1982 BMW E21 320i So in May of 2012 I purchased this garage beauty from a Older lady in Los Angeles. She had owned it since 1985 when it was purchased Certified Preowned. Couldn’t believe my eyes as to how clean the paint was and well kept. Certainly not withouts its defects but definitely above the…

Continue Reading
Posted in E60 M5

The 2006 BMW E60 M5

Bought this 2006 BMW M5 V10 for $7,200!….With a Blown Engine… February of 2015, BMW of Riverside called me to find out if I could get a used S85 Motor for them. I told them a used motor would run about $9k. To my surprise he then asked me how much the car would be worth as…

Continue Reading
BavTek
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Based on 35 Reviews
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Joshua M.
Joshua M.
2024-03-12 20:08:36
great work, quick turnaround and the pixel fix is great. Good communication as well, I look forward to doing more business with them! read more
Jesus C.
Jesus C.
2023-08-01 13:28:44
Repaired my General Module and MID for my E31, turnaround was about a week, after installing car works flawlessly with no more electrical gremlins to worry... read more
Steven L.
Steven L.
2023-06-07 10:53:14
The CID OBC display was pixelated so I had a friend try to "fix" it. Afterwards it wouldn't even light up. I sent it to Bavtek and it turns out that another... read more
D L.
D L.
2020-11-10 13:02:01
Great service, up front fees, quick turnaround. Will definitely continue doing business with them. read more
Jensen G.
Jensen G.
2020-07-23 01:26:38
Tomas fixed up my E39 cluster with dead pixels today. He was very professional and easy to talk to. I set an appointment with him over text. He even managed... read more
Ced R.
Ced R.
2020-07-02 12:46:56
Tomas is the best! Great communication and very fast service. I tried to fix the dead pixels on my instrument cluster of my E39 but ended up breaking the... read more
Eric R.
Eric R.
2020-02-20 09:42:58
Thanks for your advise on my 2009 535i Logic 7 of what to buy thanks dude Honest guy read more
PJ S.
PJ S.
2020-02-13 11:15:30
As many others....I sent my BMW gauge pod to Tomas to repair the dreaded LCD dead pixel syndrome. Turn around time was SUPER quick. The pixel issue has... read more
L L.
L L.
2017-08-15 14:53:42
Pkg brake was installed incorrectly by me Tomas was willing and able to fix and recode for $50 1/2 hr. Calling again for electric problem. Dealer wants 2... read more
Frank G.
Frank G.
2017-03-15 21:02:03
My BMW screen had stopped working....Tomas was able to diagnose my problem and identify THE solution OVER THE PHONE....nobody does that, even the experts... read more

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