From Bad Sensor To Bad Engine Control Computer Dme

[atifhalim]

a week ago my car would not start. I took it to a mechanic who claimed that both the camshaft and crankshaft sensors were bad. today he comes back and tells me that the engine control computer, called the DME, is not working and that the DME is what caused the sensors to malfunction. so now i have a bill close to $1800 to replace both the sensors and the computer.

Is it not true that when you hook up the car to a diagnostic system the it will tell you if the DME is bad? The mechanic did hook it up but claims that the diagnostic system did not indicate anything wrong with the DME, just the sensors.

the DME in this car has been replaced earlier when it flooded due to a drainage problem. the dealer then modified the drainage system so that it would not happen again. Apparently it did.

Can someone please shed some light as to what is going on with this car. Is the mechanic being honest?

Thanks

[Furious]

who modified the drainage the BMW dealership? if so id be taking my car back to them in quite throw quite a fit, chances are the sensors are ok if hte DME is acting up, best way to check is try a different (but same ) DME to see if the car runs properly.

as for the mechanic being honest , if your totally not sure, id get a second opinion.

quite simply put if the mechanic doenst have the proper scan tools he could have very well read the sensor faults if they werent cleared properly

[Dirty_Tool]

It is highly unlikely that both the camshaft and crankshaft sensors both failed at the same time along with the DME failing. I dont know that the mechanic is being dishonest but it sounds as though he may be in a bit over his head and is making guesses as to how to fix your car. Did he confirm that the Ebox drain is clogged again and that the DME did fail due to water contamination? If so then maybe you will have luck with the dealer warrantying some of this however if the DME just failed for another reason then i doubt it. 1st thing is 1st make sure you get it to a mechanic who knows what he/she is doing and it sounds like this 1 most likely does not.

DT

[victorgallas]

Originally posted by Dirty_Tool@Jul 15 2005, 10:09 PM
It is highly unlikely that both the camshaft and crankshaft sensors both failed at the same time along with the DME failing. I dont know that the mechanic is being dishonest but it sounds as though he may be in a bit over his head and is making guesses as to how to fix your car. Did he confirm that the Ebox drain is clogged again and that the DME did fail due to water contamination? If so then maybe you will have luck with the dealer warrantying some of this however if the DME just failed for another reason then i doubt it. 1st thing is 1st make sure you get it to a mechanic who knows what he/she is doing and it sounds like this 1 most likely does not.

DT

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Replacing the DME with another one to see if the engine works will not work unless you bring the dash that the replacement dme unit was connected to. Reason being is that if the dash and the dme do not read the same milleage. the dme will not fire the car.

check tis papers about this.

[Delmarco]

Its probably JUST the DME and not the other stuff. My girl's car had a similar problem. She took it in for an AC malfunction and also the CHECK ENGINE LIGHT was on.

The mech read the codes and everything seem fine but he was still going to bill her to replace the AC fan and compressor (cha-ching$$$$). But then she took it to the dealership and they found the AC components were working fine...and alas it was the DME and ONLY the DME that was busted.
When the DME is busted it gives the impression that other stuff in the car is failing but once the DME is replaced and/or repaired then everything is fine.
Most second hand shop would try to get you to replace every damn thing under your hood and then tell you opps the DME needs to be replaced after you shell out $$$$. So becareful...Dealerships are pricey, but they are HONEST and tend to have better sense of how to troubleshoot their cars.

Delmarco

[atifhalim]

Originally posted by Delmarco@Jul 17 2005, 08:49 AM
Its probably JUST the DME and not the other stuff. My girl's car had a similar problem. She took it in for an AC malfunction and also the CHECK ENGINE LIGHT was on.

The mech read the codes and everything seem fine but he was still going to bill her to replace the AC fan and compressor (cha-ching$$$$). But then she took it to the dealership and they found the AC components were working fine...and alas it was the DME and ONLY the DME that was busted.
When the DME is busted it gives the impression that other stuff in the car is failing but once the DME is replaced and/or repaired then everything is fine.
Most second hand shop would try to get you to replace every damn thing under your hood and then tell you opps the DME needs to be replaced after you shell out $$$$. So becareful...Dealerships are pricey, but they are HONEST and tend to have better sense of how to troubleshoot their cars.

Delmarco

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thanks.