EEPROM-KI on E39 Instrument Cluster

I do my own servicing and recently bought a copy of CarSoft 6.5 along with an interface off eBay with the intention of replacing my trusty Draper service reset tool. Finally got a chance to use it at the weekend after performing a brake fluid change and Oil Service, it worked as it should and reset the service lights and brake fluid light as anticipated.

Out of curiousity I scanned for existing fault codes, and found a couple which didn't seem anything major, so I cleared them to see if they would return at a later date.

Now for the fun part.... I found a menu entitled Vehicle Coding E38/E39, which listed settings like KM or Miles, language settings like English (UK), (US) etc. and the bit that I was interested in - "Automatically lock doors when driving". I clicked the button for READ DATA, and it populated the list with incorrect settings - Germany, Litres, KM etc. I set them to the correct values, along with the box for auto-door locking and clicked the button to WRITE DATA....

It ran through the process, which took a couple of minutes, apparently successfully, and said that I should turn the ignition off for 10 seconds, which I did.... turning it back on.... I got a message EEPROM-KI in the OBC part of the cluster and the following symptoms...

Rev counter flicks up momentarily when engine starts (like an electrical "blip") then drops to 0 and does not move at all.

MPG counter is completely bananas - twitchy and jumps around all over the place, completely off the scale at times.

OBC button is completely inoperative, no display on OBC (although CHECK CONTROL OK appears when pressing the right hand stalk, and the cluster sweep test performs as expected), no display on OBC/radio panel either (although the radio display and buttons work there are no OBC functions available or displayed)

Speedometer reads too fast for the road speed - an indicated 39mph is a true 30mph (verified by GPS)

Driveability, engine temperature guage and fuel guage all appear normal and unaffected so far, as does the mileage counter.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, I've got bruises from kicking myself so hard Question is, what should I do now? I tried the cluster reset procedure and it didn't make any difference, I've also tried rerunning the CarSoft procedure a few times, again no difference, I've also tried disconnecting the battery and leaving it overnight, but it's still the same.

I've got it booked into the local BMW dealer next week, but since it's an Alpina cluster (with the 200mph clocks) would that make a difference to what they could or couldn't do to fix it? Does it sound fixable or does it sound like I'll need a new cluster? Can anyone recommend a company who've dealt with these problems before?

A very worried B10 3.3 owner....

Sorry to hear that, I dont know how many times a have say.

"DONT PLAY" WITH" THE Programmingmenys in Carsoft. !!!

It distroys the instrumentcluster if you try to change language fore example and so far I have seen BMW could not fix this to 100% function again.

Oh no!!!! That could have been me as well. I like this sort of gadgets and can't keep my hands off either.
Sorry to hear it went wrong for you. Maybe an independent BMW dealer can help.
drop me a line on mailuwe{ettt}ntlworld.comHOME if you get stuck. I have a friend in Germany who may be able to help or at least point you in the right direction, can't garantee though.

Nothing of note Andrew, rechecked the fuses and they seemed okay, I found the fuel gauge is now wildly optimistic as I ran out of petrol with a quarter tank still registering on the gauge!

I have to take the car through to the BMW/Alpina dealer in Aberdeen tonight so they can look at it tomorrow - fingers and toes crossed it's a simple reprogramming job, but I'm prepared for the worst

Edited by stephenperry

Will do, I replaced the battery a couple of months ago, but thanks for the suggestion 

Bad luck..

Andrew Rolland wrote: is BMW 100% sure that will solve the problem?

they assure me it will, but if it doesn't then i'm not paying until they do find and fix what's causing it, simples!

irelandoffline wrote: 1600 quid plus to get a cluster bought and fitted, holy sh*t ??

indeed, it's cos it's an alpina specific part, if it was a bmw part then it would be half that price, which is still pricey for what it is!

If you haven't committed fully to the new cluster (that is, can cancel the back order) it might be worth trying to get someone to read the dump from the cluster. It's probably corrupted by the Carsoft coding attempt.

It might be possible to virginise the cluster and then Code it (correctly) - this is a long shot but if it can be done you're looking at ~�300-500

One problem might be the rareness of that particular cluster.. If you had a perfect donor vehicle then it should be definitely possible...

Kind Regards,
Eddie.

bmwcare wrote: If you haven't committed fully to the new cluster (that is, can cancel the back order) it might be worth trying to get someone to read the dump from the cluster. It's probably corrupted by the Carsoft coding attempt. It might be possible to virginise the cluster and then Code it (correctly) - this is a long shot but if it can be done you're looking at ~�300-500 One problem might be the rareness of that particular cluster.. If you had a perfect donor vehicle then it should be definitely possible... Kind Regards, Eddie.

thanks Eddie, the problem I have is finding a suitable donor and finding someone with the equipment and knowledge to do it