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Thread: Success in General Module Repair

  1. #51
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    EEDegreeToDrive, it's been a while since your original post, have you taken down your dropbox link? I want to try following your document. Thanks... If you still have it, please inbox in private message. Thanks again!!!
    Last edited by shogun; 08-18-2021 at 09:10 AM.

  2. #52
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    The original link still works, but it redirects now to a slightly different URL.

    Anyway, I think Dropbox changed the way their 'public' file links worked.. Try this instead:
    https://www.dropbox.com/s/yy7l522a5k...irDoc.pdf?dl=0
    Last edited by EEDegreeToDrive; 10-26-2015 at 11:02 AM.

    '89 735i, '91 850i, '81 MB 380SLC (For Sale), Tesla Model 3, and VW Passat TDI -- Yes, I still repair General Modules, DM for info!

  3. #53
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    850i
    EEDegreeToDrive. Do you still do GM repairs?

    I just removed mine today and need to get it fixed.

    Thanks

  4. #54
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    Thanks! Today is magic day for my 840Ci...

    Does anyone think my cluster / Shifter Position Indicator and Transmission Switch will come back to life? I have tried everything and spent a couple thousand on making the dreaded TransFailSafeProg Error to go away. Will I need a replacement cluster / EKM to resolve this? The car runs awesome as ever and shifts great - as normal. Just no drive letter on the cluster. Cruise Control climbs constantly to red-line RPM if engaged, no response to Key button commands. The local BMW pro recommends a new GM. I don't want to spend $1488 bucks if $7 and some solder work can make my UPGRAYED come back to life 100%!!!

    Any advice from forum pros ALWAYS welcomed! Thanks in advance.

  5. #55
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    Have you checked the bulb in the cluster hasn't popped?

    http://www.meeknet.co.uk/e31/BMW_E31...eplacement.htm
    Timm..2007 E64 650i Individual Sport..1999 E31 840ci Individual Sport..ex owner of 2000 E38 740..1999 E38 740i V8 M62..1998 E38 735i V8..1993 E32 730i V8..1988 E28 518i


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  6. #56
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    Thanks to you guys, I just completed my first GM repair. $15 including shipping from Newark. The most time consuming part was removing the old solder to open the holes. Took me a LOT longer than the 14 minute youtube video, even with fresh solder, a new solder sucker, and a new fine tip iron. I had all the cold morning symptoms except battery drain. Here's the completed repair..
    Repaired GM - New Caps.jpg

  7. #57
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    M70 6sp. 540iT, 535is
    Nicely Done! Looks like a new module from the dealer

  8. #58
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    93 850Ci, 09 Caddy SRX
    Next!
    1993 850Ci.....18 years & 165,000 miles and counting!

  9. #59
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    1995 BMW 840Ci
    I'm going in, hope it works when I'm through. Thanks for all the guidance.

  10. #60
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    I have this on my list for this week to do also. Did you remove the knee bolster to get it out or was that unnessecary to do with not much more effort? I just replace the sword on other side and removed the knee bolster there to make it easier for me. Also unsure how the module comes out of the carrier. Do the black clips on the ends of the module snap back to release? The wiring plugs come off by pulling straight away, no twisting right?

  11. #61
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    1991 ACS 850i
    Just wondering if the GM is located on the left side aswell on a RHD car.

    thanks
    1990 735iL- sold
    1991 850i- current

  12. #62
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    It is.....
    Timm..2007 E64 650i Individual Sport..1999 E31 840ci Individual Sport..ex owner of 2000 E38 740..1999 E38 740i V8 M62..1998 E38 735i V8..1993 E32 730i V8..1988 E28 518i


    My BMW Repair YouTube Channel
    My Current 840ci Sport Individual
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  13. #63
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    Quote Originally Posted by vet73 View Post
    I have this on my list for this week to do also. Did you remove the knee bolster to get it out or was that unnessecary to do with not much more effort? I just replace the sword on other side and removed the knee bolster there to make it easier for me. Also unsure how the module comes out of the carrier. Do the black clips on the ends of the module snap back to release? The wiring plugs come off by pulling straight away, no twisting right?
    I did another one Saturday. Yes, remove the hood release handle and foot rest first, then remove knee bolster (two Phillips screws and four 10mm bolts). Next, remove three 10mm nuts to drop the rack (one near the steering column and two together on the other side). Unplug the connectors by sliding the locking arms toward the middle of the connectors on the bottom (also has one pinch-and-pull black plug) and the middle (the GM) modules which will push them off as you unlock. Finally, with the rack tilted down, you can remove the GM by pressing the black clips slightly outward. The actual repair is well-documented on this YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/results?sear...or+Replacement

  14. #64
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    Just ordered all necessary parts for this as one step towards healing my massive parasitic drain, and another step towards 850i piece of mind.
    Live, Love, Life, Amazing...

  15. #65
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    Gary8, thanks for the helpful hints. I will do this ASAP depending on outside temps. Too cold to do much for next few days.
    Got parts a couple weeks ago, now to dive in!

  16. #66
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    Quote Originally Posted by Timm View Post
    It is.....
    thanks.

    gonna tackle this next week. Waiting for caps to arrive and weather to cool down, 5 consecutive days of 40C+
    1990 735iL- sold
    1991 850i- current

  17. #67
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    Quote Originally Posted by gary8 View Post
    Thanks to you guys, I just completed my first GM repair. $15 including shipping from Newark. The most time consuming part was removing the old solder to open the holes. Took me a LOT longer than the 14 minute youtube video, even with fresh solder, a new solder sucker, and a new fine tip iron. I had all the cold morning symptoms except battery drain. Here's the completed repair..
    Glad you like my youtube video ;-)

    In my opinion, the easiest thing to do is cut the old caps out. Also, a fine-tip-iron is the wrong tool. There is a massive ground plane on the 4 capacitors that requires a ~50W solder station to remove the caps without pulling on the traces. I've started a module before and said "What's going on here, why isn't this working" only to realize that I put the fine tip on for a cell-phone/tablet repair. It can be done with a smaller tip, but a big one is much, much easier.

    Quote Originally Posted by Shockleysprings View Post
    I'm going in, hope it works when I'm through. Thanks for all the guidance.
    Quote Originally Posted by vet73 View Post
    Gary8, thanks for the helpful hints. I will do this ASAP depending on outside temps. Too cold to do much for next few days.
    Got parts a couple weeks ago, now to dive in!
    Quote Originally Posted by zhix View Post
    thanks.

    gonna tackle this next week. Waiting for caps to arrive and weather to cool down, 5 consecutive days of 40C+
    Good luck everyone! I do them for only $40 if you can't be bothered!
    I also just ordered another 50 of each capacitor so I can furnish kits.

    '89 735i, '91 850i, '81 MB 380SLC (For Sale), Tesla Model 3, and VW Passat TDI -- Yes, I still repair General Modules, DM for info!

  18. #68
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    Just wanted to say thanks to all you guys for your info and posts on this repair. Just finished today and it wasn't nearly as hard as I thought getting cassette holder out and GM cassette out was easy. Using the info on eedegree's video, found caps fairly straight forward to remove and replace. Slight difficulty getting holes clear of solder after removing cap leads. Some just wouldn't clear with the melt and tap trick. My solder sucker end was way too large to actually get to small areas on board. Desolder braid was best, at least in my hands. Only difficulty I had in the whole process was in orienting the knee bolster correctly a couple days after removal. Just had to go back to videos and pics posted earlier to see the correct orientation. Again, thanks for all your help and posts!

  19. #69
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    1997 BMW 840Ci, 1985 Fer
    Thank you. This past winter, the car wouldn't unlock in the morning cold. Also a GM/capacitor/solder joint bug?
    Last edited by shogun; 08-18-2021 at 09:11 AM.
    Matthew M.
    North Carolina, USA
    1997 840Ci | 2001 740iL | 1985 308GTSi Quattrovalvole

  20. #70
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    Success in General Module Repair

    So, I just pulled my GM to send over to Scott for repair / refurb and I was actually disappointed to see this:



    Obviously someone has been there before me. My symptoms are typical; odometer lights up intermittently and stays on for long periods of time, the green trunk relays stay active and warm long after the car is off.

    Is it worth have the GM done again or should I be chasing down a different issue? Maybe this repair wasn't done correctly?


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    Last edited by adwebinc; 07-14-2016 at 12:11 AM.
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  21. #71
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    Quote Originally Posted by adwebinc View Post
    So, I just pulled my GM to send over to Scott for repair / refurb and I was actually disappointed to see this:
    Obviously someone has been there before me. My symptoms are typical; odometer lights up intermittently and stays on for long periods of time, the green trunk relays stay active and warm long after the car is off.
    Is it worth have the GM done again or should I be chasing down a different issue? Maybe this repair wasn't done correctly?
    To be honest, I think your problem may be elsewhere. While weird behavior of the load cut-out relays often hints at the A1 general module (GM), the odometer lights staying on are completely unrelated. It seems more likely to me that the GM is kept awake by an external factor - maybe the same that keeps the odometer lights on.

    There have been quite a few reports of the odometer lights staying on. The problem is that most cases did not report back with a solution (if there ever was one). Some mention low battery voltage (so make sure your batteries are good and charged), one person had luck by disconnecting the factory car phone (although the issue returned later), another found that a broken door handle kept triggering the microswitch (an issue like this could very well keep the GM from sleeping as well), but by far the most common issue appears to be with the instrument cluster itself. It's not clear what exactly is wrong with it, but replacing the instrument cluster fixed the issue for several people.

    Just as with the GM there are a few electrolytic capacitors on the instrument cluster electronic backplane. The odometer backlight staying on may be one of the symptoms of bad capacitors in the instrument cluster, although one of my test clusters had a badly leaking electrolytic capacitor without any side-effects at first sight...

    A new instrument cluster from BMW is ridiculously expensive but if you can find a (working) used one it can easily be installed in your car. You will need a diagnostic system with BMW Ediabas (INPA) to reset the used flag from the replacement instrument cluster, otherwise the replacement will not work! More information in instrument cluster swap.

  22. #72
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    Success in General Module Repair

    Quote Originally Posted by revtor View Post
    To be honest, I think your problem may be elsewhere. While weird behavior of the load cut-out relays often hints at the A1 general module (GM), the odometer lights staying on are completely unrelated. It seems more likely to me that the GM is kept awake by an external factor - maybe the same that keeps the odometer lights on.

    There have been quite a few reports of the odometer lights staying on. The problem is that most cases did not report back with a solution (if there ever was one). Some mention low battery voltage (so make sure your batteries are good and charged), one person had luck by disconnecting the factory car phone (although the issue returned later), another found that a broken door handle kept triggering the microswitch (an issue like this could very well keep the GM from sleeping as well), but by far the most common issue appears to be with the instrument cluster itself. It's not clear what exactly is wrong with it, but replacing the instrument cluster fixed the issue for several people.

    Just as with the GM there are a few electrolytic capacitors on the instrument cluster electronic backplane. The odometer backlight staying on may be one of the symptoms of bad capacitors in the instrument cluster, although one of my test clusters had a badly leaking electrolytic capacitor without any side-effects at first sight...

    A new instrument cluster from BMW is ridiculously expensive but if you can find a (working) used one it can easily be installed in your car. You will need a diagnostic system with BMW Ediabas (INPA) to reset the used flag from the replacement instrument cluster, otherwise the replacement will not work! More information in instrument cluster swap.
    Thanks Revtor. I guess it's back to the drawing board. I'll check out the cluster swap option. I do have INPA, so that part should be an issue. I do keep her on a battery tender literally all the time when I'm not driving, but I need to do some testing on the batteries as well.

    Is there a write up anywhere to reset the instrument cluster flag with inpa? The process described in that article in "toolset 32" sounds complicated??

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    Last edited by adwebinc; 07-14-2016 at 07:38 AM.
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  23. #73
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    adwebinc: You cannot reset the used flag with INPA. You must use ToolSet 32. I'm sorry if the instructions make you think otherwise, but it's really simple. In fact most of the instructions are about checking the state of the used flag before and after resetting which can be skipped. In essence you have to connect your diagnostic system to the car as you would do for INPA, then launch ToolSet 32, load the appropriate control unit file ("C_EKM.PRG"), select the desired job ("c_kombi_ungebraucht_setzen"), and finally choose "Start job once only" from the menu. The process takes just a few seconds and you're done.

  24. #74
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    Quote Originally Posted by adwebinc View Post
    So, I just pulled my GM to send over to Scott for repair / refurb and I was actually disappointed to see this:

    <picture>

    Obviously someone has been there before me. My symptoms are typical; odometer lights up intermittently and stays on for long periods of time, the green trunk relays stay active and warm long after the car is off.

    Is it worth have the GM done again or should I be chasing down a different issue? Maybe this repair wasn't done correctly?


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
    The repair technically looks electrically OK, at least the polarity looks OK. I can't read all the values though, but it looks like their soldering iron was sufficient to reflow the main capacitor.
    I can say that the Vishay capacitors I use are higher quality (low ESR, higher temp, $3-5/set, as opposed to the $1 worth of caps they used)

    The IC caps can probably be changed; I've done them in my E32 instrument cluster, but haven't done the job yet on the E31.

    If the issue is your microswitches, try locking the car with the key and pay attention to the inside lights, etc. Though I would expect a bad microswitch (at least on the handle) would cause the window to droop. As a quick and dirty GM test, You can also turn your dome light on, lock the car, and come back in 16 minutes. (It should be off)

    Show me a macro picture of the solder on the 4 small caps so I can see if it flowed properly..

    '89 735i, '91 850i, '81 MB 380SLC (For Sale), Tesla Model 3, and VW Passat TDI -- Yes, I still repair General Modules, DM for info!

  25. #75
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    Quote Originally Posted by EEDegreeToDrive View Post
    The repair technically looks electrically OK, at least the polarity looks OK. I can't read all the values though, but it looks like their soldering iron was sufficient to reflow the main capacitor.
    I can say that the Vishay capacitors I use are higher quality (low ESR, higher temp, $3-5/set, as opposed to the $1 worth of caps they used)

    The IC caps can probably be changed; I've done them in my E32 instrument cluster, but haven't done the job yet on the E31.

    If the issue is your microswitches, try locking the car with the key and pay attention to the inside lights, etc. Though I would expect a bad microswitch (at least on the handle) would cause the window to droop. As a quick and dirty GM test, You can also turn your dome light on, lock the car, and come back in 16 minutes. (It should be off)

    Show me a macro picture of the solder on the 4 small caps so I can see if it flowed properly..
    Thanks Scott. I've run the 16 minutes test and things do not shut off. The Windows do not droop when I activate the locks.

    Here is a better picture of the small caps:





    Let me know what you think. I'm not opposed to sending to you for refurb if you think it's worth a shot... Understanding there are no guarantees...


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    '07 e65|N62 - Alpina B7 - Black Sapphire|Black|Loaded|GONE
    '02 e46|M54 - Orient Blue|Beige|'Vert|GONE
    '00 e39|M52 - Anthrazit Metallic|Grey|GONE
    '01 e38|M73 - Anthrazit Metallic|Schwarz|Shadow-Line|GONE
    '91 e31|M70 - Schwarz|Schwarz|M70|FOR SALE

    '13 328i Auto - Black Sapphire|Coral Red|Sport Line|GONE
    '05 545i SMG - Jet Black|Black|Bamboo Anthracite|GONE
    '07 335i Auto - Montego Blue|Grey|GONE
    '05 545i SMG - (Euro Delivery 7/22/05)|Black Sapphire|Auburn|GONE
    '97 528i Auto - GONE

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