Velos Tune Help

[eDubz]

Hi Guys -

I really need your help. I've been running my 2012 X5M stock for a while and went to apply my Velos tune today. It errored out mid-tune and now it won't start. Of course, the car is halfway in/out of my garage and I can't get it into neutral because I don't have a jack to get under the car so I'm really screwed.

I hooked up the battery tender but it obviously wasn't hooked up correctly so I think that's why it errored mid-flash. I have re-adjusted the clamps on the tender for the last 5 hours (no exaggeration).

When I hook up the tender, both lights turn orange, and I get spark, but then the AGM light turns off. Sometimes it will go green if I fiddle enough and say charged/maintaining but the AGM light will turn off & I still get an error when trying to do the tune saying that there's not enough battery power.

I also tried my neighbor's old school battery charger with the same results.

Any ideas? Why the heck won't this battery tender go green for the charged/maintaining status and keep the AGM light green? Appreciate any guidance - thanks!

[Molez93]

This isn’t Velos tune specific, but related to smart charging in general...
Any chance you can obtain/use an old school battery charger on it for a while?
I’ve been in situations in the past where automatic charging simply won’t work because the battery was drained too far/low. After manually forcing an older charger to feed some juice for a few hours, the smart charging began to read correctly and charge automatically.

Alternatively, you might be able to replace the battery though that might present some new issues...but that’s what I’d try 2nd anyway.

[eDubz]

Thanks Molez. You're 100% correct.

I ended up having a buddy (mechanic) swing by with an old school charger. That worked and I was able to flash the car back to stock and pull it into the garage. Whew! I'm charging it overnight and am going to tune it tomorrow. I plan on replacing the battery on Monday.

Curious, you mentioned that a new battery could expose some other issues...anything I should look out for? I plan on buying the Carly app and registering it with that (I've had the Carly fob for a while but haven't bought the app yet).

FYI - I reached out to Carlos at Velos when I posted my original post and he called me immediately (even on a Saturday evening) - thanks Carlos!

[Molez93]

“Other issues” were just what you already mentioned with registration, and maybe system resets which happen when they no longer have power.

Glad to hear you’re making progress. I know how unnerving it can be when the software load process fails. A dashboard which is lit up like an Xmas tree can be more than just a bit uncomfortable.

[eDubz]

Unfortunately, the saga continues.

I was able to get it tuned with my buddy's battery charger, but afterwards I had a Christmas tree of lights on the dash. I know that's normal after a tune and the lights usually clear after 5 or so start/stops. I started/stopped the car about 15 times with no luck...still lots of lights.

I ended up tuning it back to stock hoping that would fix it, but same thing - tons of lights on the dash.

What's weird is that I don't have power steering...and when I put the car in drive, it starts in 3rd gear and I can't manually adjust gears down to 1st.

I pulled some fuses and they look OK.

I'm going to replace the battery and see what happens. I'm really hoping this is just the battery...

[Molez93]

Yeah...hopefully a new battery will correct these problems. Having fixed all sorts of weird issues by replacing X5 batteries over the years, there is reason for optimism.

[Colodano]

Yeah you need to do more than just start/ stop the car, I find that it takes a quick drive with some turns of the wheel for everything to reset to normal.

Also if your battery has been going bad, the vehicle will realize it, and slowly shut down options that drain battery and aren't deemed necessary to conserve charge life, things like Comfort access if so equipped is one that I know of.

[Molez93]

Originally Posted by Colodano

Yeah you need to do more than just start/ stop the car, I find that it takes a quick drive with some turns of the wheel for everything to reset to normal.

Good point. I forgot about that being true for me as well.

[eDubz]

Installed the new OEM battery...same issue. Ran a diagnostic with the Carly app and am getting all kinds of codes. Can't really decipher anything from the codes though... I'm thinking maybe some blown fuses? But where do I start?

[ncbimma]

Call Omar at Velos...he'll straighten you out.

I had bricked my ECU too when I had a "smart" charger hooked up when flashing.

Called them- they suggested a new charger and walked me through the variants while at the store. Pretty legit cust service.

I was then able to flash to stock and flash to stg2 again and no warnings.

Sounds like you have a cluster of lights due to a dead battery- I've read that a few lock to lock steering input heals that

[eDubz]

Thanks ncbimma. I've been talking with Carlos @ Velos. He wanted me to install a new battery so I did that last night, same issues.

Once I tossed the "smart" charger & hooked up the old school charger, I was able to get it back to stock, but am still getting all these codes.

Carlos is going to talk to his engineer to see what they recommend next. 🤷🏻

[Colodano]

Since going back to the stock tune, have you driven the vehicle at all, i.e. a lap around the block kind of thing?

[eDubz]

Just up and down the driveway. I've been hesitant to leave the driveway with no power steering. And the transmission was starting in 3rd gear when I put it into drive (couldn't manually adjust gears either), but now it seems to be starting in 1st. Not sure if it'll shift into 2nd, but I will take it around the block this afternoon to see if anything improves. Thanks.

[eDubz]

Well Colodano, I drove it for about 5 minutes through my neighborhood at 10-15mph and all of a sudden the lights went away and the power steering kicked in! Crazy...

I got home and cleared all the codes. Then my radar detector started giving me a low voltage warning and I could see that the battery voltage was fluctuating between 11.8-14.5. So I drove the vehicle on the freeway for about 20 minutes or so and the voltage stabilized at 14+.

Seems like everything is fixed except now I'm getting a PDC (parking sensors) error. The code is 00AAEF - undervoltage detected. I cleared that code again but no luck.

I'm wondering if there might be a blown fuse or maybe it'll just go away on its own over time? I'm going to drive it again tomorrow and check to make sure the voltage is still 14+.

Either way, I'm in a MUCH better spot. Just need to figure out these parking sensors so I can safely park in my miniature garage 😂 Appreciate everyone's help.

[Dawgz]

Originally Posted by eDubz

Well Colodano, I drove it for about 5 minutes through my neighborhood at 10-15mph and all of a sudden the lights went away and the power steering kicked in! Crazy...

I got home and cleared all the codes. Then my radar detector started giving me a low voltage warning and I could see that the battery voltage was fluctuating between 11.8-14.5. So I drove the vehicle on the freeway for about 20 minutes or so and the voltage stabilized at 14+.

Seems like everything is fixed except now I'm getting a PDC (parking sensors) error. The code is 00AAEF - undervoltage detected. I cleared that code again but no luck.

I'm wondering if there might be a blown fuse or maybe it'll just go away on its own over time? I'm going to drive it again tomorrow and check to make sure the voltage is still 14+.

Either way, I'm in a MUCH better spot. Just need to figure out these parking sensors so I can safely park in my miniature garage 😂 Appreciate everyone's help.

Have a feeling your footwell module went bad. They are under recall so you may want to try that....good luck!

[Colodano]

Glad that a real drive fixed most of the issues. These rigs are so sensitive to battery issues, it is crazy.
With the PDC system, it is always worth giving a check of all the sensors, just turn it on in park, and put your finger over each one, you should feel the ticking/ pulsing of the sensor. I had been getting a warning, checked them all and thought one was bad, but the next few times I drove, it didn't give the error at all and was warning again.
If you have a bad one, you now know which one to replace.

[eDubz]

Well now the issue has evolved into a low voltage issue. Not sure if I should start a new thread or not...

I took the car for a drive today and the voltage was very low (11.8-12). I'm assuming the voltage issue is causing my PDC 'under voltage' code as well.

How do I troubleshoot voltage issues? It has a brand new battery. My buddy mentioned the alternator. Is there anyway to test that without throwing in a new alternator? Would hate to do that if it's not the issue.

[Sophisticated Redneck]

Originally Posted by eDubz

Well now the issue has evolved into a low voltage issue. Not sure if I should start a new thread or not...

I took the car for a drive today and the voltage was very low (11.8-12). I'm assuming the voltage issue is causing my PDC 'under voltage' code as well.

How do I troubleshoot voltage issues? It has a brand new battery. My buddy mentioned the alternator. Is there anyway to test that without throwing in a new alternator? Would hate to do that if it's not the issue.

Before you go any further, have you checked the ground straps? They are notorious for going bad and causing all kinds of electrical gremlins. There are several and one of the main ones to go bad is on the drivers side close to the steering rack/differential. You can see it when you pull the drivers side front wheel or when underneath it.

[eDubz]

Just FYI - my low voltage issue ended up being a bad JBE module. I wonder if I fried it when I was trying to charge the car?

Any way, I'm back in business and just had my turbo return lines done while the JBE got replaced.

I'm going to run stock a little while longer and then try the tune again. Better luck next time.