EME assembly

[RP67]

I'm in the progress to assemble the EME on a project car I have. I found some perished insulation on cables what I'm going to repair. Just out of curious anyone seen this kind of "corrosion" perhaps anyone knows what caused it? Also I'm not so sure what these connectors/cable for, but I'm sure the insulation is there for the reason...
The connectors part of the A/C and PTC heater connection.
What I'd like to know, what are these connectors, and what issue they could cause?

 

[alohart]

I would guess rodents, but these cables appear to be inside the sealed EME. Was the EME left open without its cover where rodents might have eaten the insulation?

 

[RP67]

No wasn't open for that long. Also the wire in the cables is tin coated, under the un-damaged insulation. As you can see on the picture the wire itself is dark, not shiny. It looks like overheated... not sure whether it's possible or not.

 

[mojo]

In the last of your photos you can clearly see cracking in the insulation, both along and across the wire. Overheating of the wire could be a possible cause, but I guess it's also true that the manufacturer may have (inadvertently) bought a bad batch of cable - I have seen Far Eastern made cables which have extremely unstable plastics used for the insulation, and they can fail in that way (and in other ways, such as degrading to a sticky mess).

Sorry, but I don't recognise the type of connector.

 

[RP67]

Yes, that was my thought as well, luckily the rest of the cables are fine, they seem to be "silicon" cables with a very soft and flexible insulation. I wonder what these cable do.

 

[Neil]

I would add couple of things.
1. Already noted crappy quality cable insulation which would amplify the other possibilities on this list
2. Insufficiently specified cables for the design.
3. Temperature due to environment or high current in cables.
4. Partial discharge damage of the insulation over time due to exposure of high voltages.

I also noticed the dark area on the PCB area possibly indicating heat exposure damage. The string of resistors is possible evidence of high voltage circuitry or power sharing due to higher currents. Of course, it could be due to a heat source beneath this PCB.

Not sure what's being indicated in the connectors.

 

[RP67]

Good spotting with the PCB. I hope that is the part which allows the AC charging. That is the initial fault of the car, what I try to ignore. I can live with DC charging only, and according to the garage who tried to fix it, it will not throw any fault code as it is. Just found another pair of the same cable, at the top of the unit quite far from these two pair of cable. I'm tending to leaning towards the substandard component...

 

[RP67]

Just an update, I assembled the car, and it drives and charges on DC. Tried to read fault codes, they are inconclusive. Trouble shooting procedure in ISTA listing up several component to replace from the "wall charger" to the EME. I'm leaning towards the EME (at least the charger board). ISTA test shows AC (green) in to the EME but no DC (yellow) out...
View attachment 20240924_114346.mp4

 

[Gonville]

From everything on the groups in the UK that would seem to be the EME inverter failure. There is some suggestion that it is a fuse in that sub assembly and some folks think replacing that would if they could result in a great deal less expensive solution to this somewhat common problem. Be interested to see how it goes from here.

 

[RP67]

I think the fuse is in the heating circuit, so I would be surprised if it would have any effect to AC charging. Second hand EME is coming, so I'll start to make some progress on the replacement. The problem is, the car is perfectly usable as it is... except home charging, which would be the best way to live with a small battery.

 

[13bi3]

Just in case you haven't figured out what the black wires are for.. It's the safety interlock circuit.

From bmw:

12.1. High voltage interlock loop The high-voltage interlock loop is used to protect individuals when working on or at the high-voltage components. Via the high-voltage interlock loop it is identified whether one or several high-voltage plug connections have been disconnected. If a high-voltage plug connection has been disconnected, the entire high-voltage system is shut down automatically. A square wave signal with alternating current direction is sent through the line of the high-voltage interlock loop by the battery management electronics SME. The SME and the electrical machine electronics EME evaluate this signal. The line of the high-voltage interlock loop runs through each connector/plug of the high-voltage components, which are able to generate high voltage.

 

[RP67]

... yeah, I've got it now thanks. I should have mention that in the "update" post.

 

[Stevick]

Hi all, I'm new to the forum and the i3; I bought a 2017 i3 REX (94ah) with 42k miles in 3/2024. I initially had misfires and errors due to a CPS issue with the REX, but replaced it myself and all has since been good on the operations front. I coded for HSOC and the car has performed admirably. Just one issue though...

I have a permanent fault code in the EME that will not clear: 222A0C "internal fault". A BMW hex code lookup indicates only that an internal sensor is faulty and the EME must be replaced. Notably, I have NO symptoms whatsoever - the car drives fine, displays no errors, charges fine (AC Lv1 & 2, I've yet to try a DC Lv3 charge), and gives me a respectable ~120mi battery range on a full charge. My dealer agreed to a courtesy diagnostic and found that the EME had failed (?!?!) and recommended replacement at owner expense to the tune of $16k+. I asked the dealer and the BMW I series team rep. for clarification of exactly what the problem is with the EME, whether it is dangerous to operate the car, and what I can expect if I do not replace it. Neither could answer, but I'm told an escalation will provide forthcoming clarification. I'm not holding my breath. Interestingly, both seemed to indicate that the EME was covered under the general 8yr/100k battery assembly warranty (I have ~2 mos. left). If that is truly the case, they were not able to explain why warranty coverage was denied, despite finding the EME had "failed" due to what presumably could only be a defect.

On the assumption I will get nowhere with BMW, I'm looking into the EME rebuild services I've seen listed, or perhaps a even good used unit if I can find a coding solution. It's still a pricey solution to an effectively non-existent problem, but certainly a lot less than BMW wants. I have done a lot of DIY repairs on my E38, but these electrics are a whole new animal for me. I was wondering what was involved in the R&R of the EME. Has anyone done it DIY and/or can give a quick tutorial or point to a resource? Also, any feedback on my circumstance would be greatly appreciated.

 

[cpallenjr]

If your car is still in warranty, then I would press BMW Corporate (not dealer) for an explanation.

 

[Stevick]

If your car is still in warranty, then I would press BMW Corporate (not dealer) for an explanation.

That's my plan. The BMW rep said they defer to dealers for warranty assessment and took my service adviser's contact info. He said they would have the dealer contact me in 5-10 days with the clarification I sought. That was a week ago. I saw my service advisor again a couple of days ago (had a wheel alignment done) and he said taht it was BMW that made the call and he had passed the matter to his service manager. Nothing yet.

Based on the threads on EME issues I've read, I did not believe the EME was covered under the longer battery warranty, though I been unable to find anything definitive. I certainly was not going to argue when they told it was. I'm hoping to be pleasantly surprised. I'm a retired lawyer with lots of time on my hands, so if it comes to it, a DIY lawsuit isn't out of the question.

I'll keep everyone posted on progress.

 

[RP67]

After a bit of emotional rollercoaster, I can report mission accomplished. After purchasing the wrong EME (2016), I came across with a fellow i3 owner, who did the same thing, but his mistake wasn't his fault. It seems to be his car had the newer version , so he could use my one and vice versa. I have replaced the "mother board" on the newly received unit to my old one, and installed it. Accidentally I did not connected properly one of the HV connectors (KLE), so the drivetrain error came up right after I assembled the rear end. Took me quite awhile to sort it out, but apart from that, the car is back to it's fully functional state. Including proper DC charging speed, and also AC charging is available too. Since I've completed a "HV battery reinitialization" as well, I just have to figure out how it will work out. At this stage appears to be the electric range is around 130km (batt kapa should be around 16kWh). I need a few more "slow" AC charging session to get enough data to confirm actual capacity. So the ECU tree looks pretty happy now: