2012 X5 35i with comfort access problems

[WrenchNinja X5]

2012 X5 comfort access situation resolved! I have tunes again!!!!
Buckle your seatbelts this may be a long one.
So about 4 months ago I was driving about a mile from the house and all of a sudden my daughter yells "dad!". Look back and see smoke. So I whip it over to the shoulder and almost executed a fire drill. And smoke suddenly stopped. Had the sunroof open cause it was a nice day and started automatically checking the amp area and such.... no smoke. I just got the amp used cause mine was missing so I thought for sure it was that. Also no keyless start or comfort access things worked either. Didn't think much about that part cause when I got it without the amp it didn't work and neither did door chimes or back up alarm.
A couple days later I started looking more into it.
Fuse 132 kept popping like instantly. I unplugged all amp stuff and still kept popping. So I started checking forum after forum and posted a couple pleading posts myself. Had some people give me some awesome advice and some links to diagrams and such. I'll try to post it all at the end. So months go by and all I have for tunes is the gentle rumble of my twin turbsky inline 6 and maybe a headset or Bluetooth speaker. None of which compare to the top hifi system that I had grown so fond of.
So tonight I took some new info someone provided me and pulled it into the garage. I checked the drains to the sunroof. The drained decent. I checked the rear door where I had a moist floorboard. Didn't see anything really but sealed a bit of the moister barrier. I checked all of the wiring on 132 I could find. Turns out that one little wire runs a lot of shit. Can I say shit? Screw it lol.
Traced it all over the place. Turns out that it goes to the amp/doors and god knows what else.
Nothing. Not a single burn spot or melt. I almost gave up.
Then paydirt. I came across a video talking about how if your door handle messes up then it can short out that wire!!! Most commonly the driver door.


So I pull off the door handle. It's one bolt. Easy as pie. Unplug it and try a fuse. Pop! Damn. Ok don't give up. Driver side rear is next (door my daughter was at) unplug.... no POP!!!! Take keys out of the ignition and press on the break hit the start button (while praying like cray) VROOOM!!!! Shit yea! Try stereo... no tones. Shit. Oh wait. I unplugged all that cause I thought it was screwed. Plug back in and Bluetooth works and sound is crystal! Said screw that back door handle access bull crap. Shoved that plug in the door and popped the handle on and did my little happy dance.
I drove that car from PA to MO and back twice with no stereo.... not to mention all that other day to day.


TLDR: short in fuse 132 led to checking wiring for COMFORT ACCESS. Was the freaking door handle.

Door handle vid:

The best wiring and general info a BMW owner could have!
https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/

[WrenchNinja X5]

Originally Posted by WrenchNinja X5

2012 X5 comfort access situation resolved! I have tunes again!!!!
Buckle your seatbelts this may be a long one.
So about 4 months ago I was driving about a mile from the house and all of a sudden my daughter yells "dad!". Look back and see smoke. So I whip it over to the shoulder and almost executed a fire drill. And smoke suddenly stopped. Had the sunroof open cause it was a nice smart and started automatically checking the map area and such.... no smoke. I just got the amp used cause mine was missing so I thought for sure it was that. Also no keyless start or comfort access things worked either. Didn't think much about that part cause when I got it without the amp it didn't work and neither did foot chimes are back up alarm.
A couple days later I started looking more into it.
Fuse 132 kept popping like instantly. I unplugged all amp stuff and still kept popping. So I started checking forum after forum and posted a couple pleading posts myself. Had some people give me some awesome advice and some links to diagrams and such. I'll try to post it all at the end. So months go by and all I have for tunes is the gentle rumble of my twin turbsky inline 6 and maybe a headset or Bluetooth speaker. None of which compare to the top hifi system that I had grown so fond of.
So tonight I took some new info someone provided me and pulled it into the garage. I checked the drains to the sunroof. The drained decent. I checked the rear door where I had a moist floorboard. Didn't see anything really but sealed a bit of the moister barrier. I checked all of the wiring ton132 I could find. Turns out that one little wire runs a lot of shit. Can I say shit? Screw it lol.
Traced it all over the place. Turns out that it goes to the amp/doors and god knows what else.
Nothing. Not a single burn spot or melt. I almost gave up.
Then paydirt. I came across a video talking about how if your door handle messes up then it can short out that wire!!! Most commonly the driver door.


So I pull of the door handle. It's one bolt. Easy as pie. Unplug it and try a fuse. Pop! Damn. Ok don't give up. Driver side rear is next (door my daughter was at) unplug.... no POP!!!! Take keys out of the ignition and press on the break hit the start hitting (while praying like cray) VROOOM!!!! Shit yea! Try stereo... no tones. Shit. Oh wait. I unplugged all that cause I thought it was screwed. Plug back in and Bluetooth works sound is crystal! Said screw that back door handle access bull crap. Shoved that plug in the door and popped the handle on and did my little happy dance. I drove that car from PA to MO and back twice with no stereo.... not to mention all that other day to day.


TLDR: short in fuse 132 led to checking wiring for COMFORT ACCESS. Was the freaking door handle.

Door handle vid:

The best wiring and general info a BMW owner could own!
https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/

Sorry for the many spelling errors. As you may notice it's 3 am and I'm tired and wanted to share before I get some sleep. Hope this helps someone.

[mirob]

Originally Posted by WrenchNinja X5

Sorry for the many spelling errors. As you may notice it's 3 am and I'm tired and wanted to share before I get some sleep. Hope this helps someone.

Glad you got it sorted out!

I don't recall you posting your issue on here, we probably could have saved you a lot of grief and time had you asked on this forum...

https://www.xbimmers.com/forums/show....php?t=1372349

Originally Posted by mirob

NOTE: CA handle(s) can work as designed but can still draw too much power. They don't necessarily need to stop working for this to happen. Only way - that I know - to diagnose the problem in this instance is to monitor the temperature of the handle(s), they work but become warm/hot to the touch. They will eventually stop working but still drain your battery, and can short the circuit and blow your fuse when they go.

[WrenchNinja X5]

Originally Posted by mirob

Glad you got it sorted out!

I don't recall you posting your issue on here, we probably could have saved you a lot of grief and time had you asked on this forum...

https://www.xbimmers.com/forums/show....php?t=1372349

I'm not sure how or where I posted. I was so lost and confused. I had no idea what I was looking for or where to begin. Next time I will definitely start here! 😂😂😂

[Skers 05]

Found this thread. Exactly what I needed. Kept blowing Fuse 132 and radio was INOP. Disconnected left rear door handle, replaced fuse 132 and all of the sudden radio starts working. I ordered up a new to me (used) door handle and will get it replaced once it shows up. Also yucked away the body side harness back up into the door until the replacement handle shows up.

Thanks again!!