BMW E90 E92 E91 DME Water Leak Cause & Fix!

BMW E90 E92 E91 DME Water Leak Cause & Fix!
After hearing so many horror stories of water getting in to the DME box i wanted to find out why and how it happens. Which is what i show you in this video. Its not a bad design on BMWs behald but really a lack of maintence on our behlaf. Check out the video and what i found on this car and let me know if you have any concerns on your car.
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[@SikaSeeker]

Short and sweet, Great tip there!

[@friguy4444]

Wow. Who would have imagined that? Thanks!

[@AKGamersLite]

This seems like a great solution, it would be really helpful if you could show or explain how to actually remove the ecu box. I took out the ecu (took me a while) but was not sure how to remove all those wires as I did not want to damage anything.

[@1kontrabida]

Great video that needs to be known by bmw owners and also to this, make sure ur dme box is sealed around so water won’t be able to get in, u can use duct tape outside after screwing in the cover wrap it around dme cover and box

[@seanpaul3050]

You can drill one or two additional drain holes. Just to be sure. Obviously paint the exposed metal afterwards. One of the first things I did on my E92 after buying it. You can drill additional drain holes from underneath. No need to remove ecu box. Just remove road wheel and plastic wheel arch liner. Much easier that way.

[@claytonoldzkool2604]

Perfect, thanks for the tip, it’s actually good insurance to check that! That’s tomorrow’s job for sure. Cheers again Andrew, legend 👌

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

Absolutely!

[@Nico_335i_DCT]

Great fix Andrew!. I know these leave grids are notorious, especially in areas with many trees in your environment. I clean these drains 2x a year, with water. Thanks for sharing, Dutch regards, Nico.

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

Thanks for checking the vid, hope you are well man!

[@Nico_335i_DCT]

@@ZeroTo60Tube Thanks for asking Andrew. I'm doing well. Our period of financial problems has gone. My wife won the lawsuit against her sister(inheritance). There is enough money now to do the injectors on the n54. But I am waiting - or hoping- the prices will go down a little bit. I heard the production started up in October. I hope you doing well too, after the massive rains( which were intentionally caused ). Regards, Nico

[@peterkim5394]

Thanks for yet another great vid. My only concern about wrapping the DME would be loss of convective cooling. The entire housing acts as a heatsink for the components inside to dissipate heat. I worry that there would be a greater risk of MOSFETs and what not causing problems because everything is running hotter.

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

Also on my mind. However spoke to someone who has wrapped a few now with no heating issues. An engine bay can get very hot tho. My concern was melting the bag tbh

[@zanastumasonis]

also condensation can build inside

[@rossfripp4503]

Do you have a video of how best to clear it when everything is in the car? I can easily clear those plastic mesh filters but want to ensure this is clear of course. Thanks.

[@drew6090]

Iv just discover wet dme looks like we saved it in time , put 3 cups full in box seems drain away, wish I lift the box out and sandwich bag is great idea

[@victoriaofthewattsfamily1198]

I was just thinking to wrap it in cling film the other day 👍

[@pugs1377]

That's normal spring maint for me. Living in the woods tends to cause those and sun roof drains to clog up often. When I had my e90 I cleared out those little plastic grates every time I filled up with gas

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

Thats a probabaly a really good way to be. Those grates were so clogged on this car. Unfortunately with all the BS going on in my life i havent had the chance to wash it properly. That being said, i wouldnt have taken the DME box out and under the box is what needed doing the most.

[@pugs1377]

@@ZeroTo60Tube it takes a good while for crud to accumulate to the point you were at. If you never had the issue before you wouldn't have known. Took me a few years to realize it was necessary to keep drain ports like that clean on a regular basis

[@180Lev]

I used an oven bag because of heat. Not sure how hot they actually get.

[@freewifi9292]

Just replaced my DME for the e90 for 1000usd over the same problem hope it never happens again

[@cocko1135]

I feel attacked by this video 🤣🤣. Can confirm that when that area is clear of debris and the bung removed it does not collect water any more. I also sealed my DME with silicone to be sure. After 2 wet DME's I was not taking any chances.

[@moses8655]

Does it overheat it though?

[@cocko1135]

@moses8655 no overheating mate. There is "ribbing" on the DME enclosure that work as a heat exchanger. I was concerned about it but I have done over 25,000km with it since without issue.

[@moses8655]

@@cocko1135 I find it absolutely wild how this is even an issue with our vehicles. I’d assume that our cars would have major oil leaks, rod bearings or even just regular spark plugs, coils or injectors. But Nahh we got Fish Bowl DME 💀

[@cocko1135]

@@moses8655 100% brother. I have had every "usual" maintenance issue with this car, which is fine I guess. However, looking at the DME location makes me wonder what the Germans were smoking at the time. Putting a major electrical/communication component in a water collection and in a Tupperware container at that is dumb as hell.

[@Esenegro]

May be a dumb question but how’d you know the dme had gotten water damage did it throw all sorts of dme related codes or simply not start ?

[@darkwafflez_6190]

I want to get rid of my e90 335i cowl for the m3 cowl 😢 expensive plastic from BMW of course.

[@dylanfavro1637]

Hey man I've been watching your channel for a long time but. I didn't even own a bmw yet. Now that I've owned mine for about a year now. I've used you knowledge and experience with buying parts for my car I have alot of bolt on. Stepped up fmic. Arm intakes. 3.5 bar map. Pcv upgrades overflow can. Clutch master fx400 6 puck. Nxm b58 coil conversion c**less with single gretty muffler. New hpfp and new sensor new boost solenoids new vanos solenoids, i have viv v3 19t turbos I need to install still. I just installed a burger motorsports e60 535 stage 2+ dw400 lpfp kit. The car will start but if I go to drive it will eventually shut off and not want to start up. It will eventually start back up. I held it at 2k let off then it shut down. I would really appreciate some of your n54 wizardry. Sorry for the long comment. You the man

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

Sounds like an intank fuel leak. You can confirm by watching LPFP

[@dylanfavro1637]

@@ZeroTo60Tube what would cause that everything was good till I put the new unit in.

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

@@dylanfavro1637 its quite common for people to make a mistake during install. If it wasnt doing it before you have probabaly made a messed something up. Probabaly. Always doubt yourself first and double check your work. But like i said monitor your LPFP to know for sure.

[@trininicholas9833]

Any issues with the bag melting over time?

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

No, i was slightly worried about it, but we its been 14-15 months and no issues. I checked it about 2 months ago after some heavy rain to see if water was getting in agian. Bag was all good

[@jeremiahex]

Cheers! The E60 M5 can also fall victim to that!

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

Is it the same issue with water coming up from the bottom?

[@jeremiahex]

@@ZeroTo60Tube the drain plug at the bottom of the ecu housing can get clogged! It happen to someone I met: it got full of water and killed the ecu. He had to get it cloned and a lot of coding was involved to bring back his E60 M5 to life again. He advised me to remove the plug. And I will.

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

@@jeremiahex Well on these ones that plug is a one way valve to stop water coming in if its clean, but then allows water to drain. So just chek yours closely. BMW put it there for a reason at the end of the day.

[@madformodz7252]

Wer do I send my ecu I have water damage ther no communication 😢thanks

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

Are you based in Australia? If so email [e-mail] we cant help with overseas.

[@dianajones1952]

I am on my second Ecu now thanks to the constant London rain, It has arrived but I have been thinking hard about how to reposition or even relocate the ECU to inside the car LOL Could the answer really be as simple as putting it in a plastic bag..... What if the bag then fills up with water? will it end up looking like what they put new pet fish in... The ecu was water damaged both times only at the very bottom of the unit suggesting it had been slightly submerged in water at the bottom of that white box, BMW literally designed a fish tank to house our ECU's

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

This shows what causes water to get in to the dme box. Why it’s doesn’t drain out and how to fix the oem “system” as well as adding the failsafe bag. Just in case. Your best bet is to make it work how BMW intended.

[@samithaweeraman1882]

mate did you program the new DME or you got it done?

[@ben7020]

Does this still happen with original cowl? Mine is dry dispite days of heavy rain but i have cowl

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

The cowl definitely helps reduce the water that gets down there

[@seanpaul3050]

If the plastic grates get clogged with leaves, then the area under the ecu box is where the heavy rain will go. If the small drain hole in that area gets clogged too, then your ecu will take a bath. Best to remove rubber bung and also drill some additional drain holes. Two 10mm holes should be enough.

[@darkwafflez_6190]

Not sure if anyone has ran into this problem with their e90 but, when I pump gas into the tank, the pump shuts off thinking the tank is full. Not sure if there’s an evap line that’s clogged or something.

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

Common thing with then vent tube on the inside of the fuel tank lid is not connected.

[@darkwafflez_6190]

@@ZeroTo60Tube what’s the fix for that? Do you have a video on that? 🥹

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

@@darkwafflez_6190 You'll just have to check the vent tube on the tank lid. I have you done a fuel pump lately?

[@darkwafflez_6190]

@@ZeroTo60Tube never touched it 😂

[@madformodz7252]

Cought me out 2 times now drilled holes but wers the water getting in ???

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

It comes up from under the box. So drilling doesnt actually help. I think its an issue with draining the area under DME box. When they can't drain thats when the water gets in the bottom.

[@madformodz7252]

@ZeroTo60Tube thank you I will take out the plastic casing see wats what underneath needs sorting asap I carnt deal with that again but thanks

[@bslothed3211]

Hey man, wow I've had the top covers off my 335i with just the cover for the ECU preventing water getting in, lucky I didn't burn my ECU out 😮 U may remember me in the comments about me having issues with my beast, but I've now fixed the issue and it was because the O Ring for the CP wasn't the correct size so the entire time it was losing boost! Ran good for 2 weeks but now it's gone out on power again but noticing there's a "Bov" sound when I let off but there's no BOV in the pipe, only recirculation valves, what would cause that if you know? Cheers man

[@PtcjNoble]

❤first❤

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

is your car as fast as you are?

[@uisperfectemail9720]

@@ZeroTo60Tube lol P1 Paul!

[@scottiedog100]

Dik/ ed