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o/t BMW Instrument cluster message EEP_1


Man On The Clapham Omnibus

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Morning all! My very late (June 2002) 2.2 Z3 has a problem on the dash. Googling says it's not unkown but nobody seems to have an answer beyond 'new cluster'. Perhaps the WSCC massive knows...

 

Short story: car locked and garaged and unused for some weeks, battery goes flat over time and alarm goes off on its own battery. I cannot stop it until I put the car's battery on charge. After charging for some time I check whether the radio code is present or lost - it's still there. But, in the odometer window instead of the 42,000 ish miles it should have the digital display says EEP_1. The silly thing is that after driving for a while and stopping to go into a shop it's all working on re-start. Prior to that not only did it have this weird message up, but the fuel gauge, temperature gauge, and tachometer were all dead. Only the speedo worked. After the stop it all worked properly. Next cold start, same cycle. Clearly the cluster can work but why does it not work from cold? Popular wisdom from the 'net is that it is trying to load the mileage into an EEPROM from the hidden record somewhere else in the car, but all attempts to go through the synch process have thus far failed. I am reluctant to get a replacement cluster when it seems that all that's needed is some software/firmware resetting.

 

All suggestions gratefully received, thanks.

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Have you got access to diagnostic cable/software?  I've got the BMW suite (and cable) and lack mostly experience, but maybe between us we can sort this out?  I work in Aylesbury...

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i cant help but i can ask over on the Z4 forum for you see if anyone knows?

That's a good idea, thanks! I have asked on ZRoadster forum (mainly Z3s) but nobody can help there. Also I have spoken to the local BMW guru who is Phil Crouch at CPC Performance in Amersham and he's stumped too.

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Have you got access to diagnostic cable/software?  I've got the BMW suite (and cable) and lack mostly experience, but maybe between us we can sort this out?  I work in Aylesbury...

Quinten, I have not got a cable nor software. Do you think it might show up on that, nothing shows on the usual fault code reader but it is a crude device. Thanks for the kind offer, I live the other side of Princes Risborough from Aylesbury so it would be a possibility.

 

ETA Quinten, as it is intermittent probably the best thing to do would be hang on until it stays up at all times. The car is not my main transport so it's no great inconvenience to give it time to get worse. I'll get back to you in a short while. Many thanks again. :t-up:

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When I ran a BMW the £25 I invested in INPA software and cable saved me a fortune. It is far better than a generic code reader and gives detailed info once you learn how to use it and guide your way through all the menus.

Used mine to diagnose DSC and airbag faults so paid for itself many times over compared to £65 my local BMW indy wanted just to plug it in.

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IanG, it may be worthwhile getting on that basis. What bothers me about Quinten's kind offer is that the fault is intermittent and Sod's Law says it will be absent when tested. It has to be sneaked up on! There's a vendor of the cable and software on Ebay I see.

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No problem waiting for better weather  :yes:

 

Like IanG, mine is INPA and some of the other diagnosis software.  Massively useful (allowed me to pinpoint exact problems with parking sensors and ABS sensor), so well worth it if the car is a keeper.

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Right-O! Thanks; hopefully it will grow back on its own anyway... :d

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It should log a code until it is cleared so intermittent faults should be in memory.

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bm cables on ebay for the cable. i have one for the z4.

 

only answer so far

 

As far as I know EEP-1 refers to the EEPROM chip within the cluster being in update mode which could be down to a dry solder fault within the cluster or faulty chip, this might explain why it doesn't work in extreme temperature changes ie when cold and then works when the car is warmed up. It's also not unknown for the wiring loom to Chaffe giving this error. Only way to know is have cluster tested but from threads I've read in the past it's a new cluster time.
 

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bm cables on ebay for the cable. i have one for the z4.

 

only answer so far

 

As far as I know EEP-1 refers to the EEPROM chip within the cluster being in update mode which could be down to a dry solder fault within the cluster or faulty chip, this might explain why it doesn't work in extreme temperature changes ie when cold and then works when the car is warmed up. It's also not unknown for the wiring loom to Chaffe giving this error. Only way to know is have cluster tested but from threads I've read in the past it's a new cluster time.

 

Thanks for the input Dombanks. I appreciate your asking over on Z4 forum. It seems too coincidental that it occurred only after a flat battery episode. I have seen reference to the EEPROM, in fact Phil Crouch said this too, but I am certainly not buying a new cluster at BMW prices if there's a cheat to get around it. Dry joint is a possibility but why, after five years of ownership, should it happen exactly when the battery died? I shall remove the battery and try a known good one which will not only eliminate that but re-set the system. Tomorrow is another day... 

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It could be that the fault has existed for some time, but having the battery fail has triggered a reboot/reload process that the dash doesn't normally do...and that has revealed the fault?? Pure guesswork, but having just repaired a dash cluster fault on my Alfa 166, I wouldn't put anything past them. The amount of processing and functions in the dash is remarkable, especially for something designed in the mid/late-90's.

 

Mine was an out-of-the-blue airbag system fault. Having eliminated airbag ECU & wiring, the only thing left was the dash. Seemed unlikely as there wasn't much in the dash as far as the airbag system went apart from an LED or two, and the LEDs worked. Got a spare dash to try, sorted. Dug a bit deeper and tracked it down to a small section of circuitry comprising a resistor, capacitor and an LED. Not yet got round to finding which of those is to blame, but at this point my guess is the capacitor.

 

Point is....as these cars get older, expect some wierd **** to happen with all this overly complex surface mount electronics. Could be running up against the life expectancy/cycle life of an EEPROM for example as another alternative.

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PCB corrosion due to residual flux can be a problem, I know. My Humax PVR circuit board had to alcohol cleaned to resolve a clock problem because microscopic currents were leaking across a track of residue from one component to ground. I have just driven the car about 12 miles to a location where I spent ten minutes parked, and on restart the dash was up and running. I have now succeeded in synching the displayed miles with the ECU memory - I think. Time will tell whether this was relevant or not.

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Latest: This morning, after the car has been sitting in the garage overnight, the odometer shows miles correctly as it should. Not wishing to tempt fate, I'm not claiming a cure, but it does look promising. The Catch-22 is that until and unless you can manage to get the cluster to work correctly, no matter how fleetingly, you cannot get deep enough into the settings menu to do the mileage synch procedure.

 

Thanks again to the chaps who proffered help and information. :t-up:

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