SMG Problems - New BMW M3 owner (1 day) - Help?

[GWerks]

Hey guys,

I'm having a major problem here.

I pulled into my shop (wash bay) to wash the car since I just drove it from Wyoming, left it in Neutral with the ebrake pulled, washed and dried it, went to start it up and the car would simply not start.

The SMG light (yellow gear) came on, and the car will not go in reverse or 1st or any gears.

I did some work and disconnected the battery for a few mins, connected it and I got the car to start a few times but it won't shift, when I try to put it in gear the 0 will blink but nothing, sometimes it will make a noise like when it normally shifts (quiet clunk) but the car will not go in gear. Sometimes when I shut it off you can still hear the SMG trying to shift but nothing (it went in first once but still indicated it was in neutral) and had to try to put it in neutral so I could roll it out of the shop.

Has this happened to anyone? The car drove fine and shifted fine when I went in my shop.

I'm researching right now, I will be getting a salmon relay tomorrow, but has this exact same thing happened to anyone else? I heard that when the relay is bad the 0 won't blink.

Thanks guys,
GWerks

[Spektrum]

Try having someone push you and then try to shift into drive.

[Phil Trill]

Sorry to hear about your troubles, hopefully you can get it fixed without much headache or $$ spent

[GWerks]

Hey guys,

Small update. I put a new battery in the car, the car fired right up and shifted perfect but it didn't drive very good since when I was in gear I would step on the gas a bit and it sputtered, like if the traction control was kicking in.

Drove it back home, now the SMG light is off, but the car won't start. It shifts fine (with the engine not running) but sometimes I will have to cycle the key for the car to go back to neutral.

Picking up a salmon relay tomorrow, thinking it might be the alternator though.

[hvill]

I had a similar experience after driving through some extreme storms and wet areas/puddles. After researching the forums, I decided to change the (orange/salmon colored) electonic relay located under the cover (drivers side, engine compartment). That seemed to fix all of the ignition and shifting (SMG) issues and has not happened since.
Good luck.

[jathomas]

useful info here. thanks for sharing guys..

[3yanks7]

update on this for future reference??? was it the salmon relay??

[coachblood]

I had a similar problem with my M3. It seems a voltage drop from the dying battery damaged the relay. My car was dropping out of 6th gear down to neutral and then it would not start. I replaced the battery and the salmon relay and it works perfect now.

[tphss]

Interesting info. Let us know how you do GWerks...

[sparky1966]

had same trouble with 2004 m3 changed the salmon relay and battery and was fine for a day. Now i have troble starting the car. Sometimes it will start after about 20 minutes. Does anyone have any ideas. It could be the alternator but not sure. Any ideas thanks

[efour6smg]

seems like the salmon relay is the cause of a lot of problems. What do you mean after 20 mins it starts?

[GWerks]

Hey guys,

I figured I would update this thread.

It ended up being a weak battery, replaced it and haven't had a problem since!

Thanks for all the help!

[BMWknight]

wow, weak battery?! I need to get a new battery and see.. i'm surprised, hope that wasn't my issue all along.. bc i even swapped out the tranny! (but then again, shop said my tranny has issn't with shifting in/out of 2nd gear, so maybe i had multiple reasons for it to fail and drop into neutral.

I had a similar problem with my M3. It seems a voltage drop from the dying battery damaged the relay. My car was dropping out of 6th gear down to neutral and then it would not start. I replaced the battery and the salmon relay and it works perfect now.

after thousands of $$$ in parts for SMG fix... I now have a fresh battery in the car, let's so how my next couple of days turn out.

had same trouble with 2004 m3 changed the salmon relay and battery and was fine for a day. Now i have troble starting the car. Sometimes it will start after about 20 minutes. Does anyone have any ideas. It could be the alternator but not sure. Any ideas thanks

Just go get your battery tested. it should be close to 100% (i think).. mine was at 87%.. now what does that mean? I not sure.. maybe capacity, voltage, etc..? anyone know?

Hey guys,

I figured I would update this thread.

It ended up being a weak battery, replaced it and haven't had a problem since!

Thanks for all the help!

so you replaced the battery, then it happened then you got a new relay... but then u said it was the battery? Please clarify, i'm just curious bc i just swapped to a fresh battery too, new relay a few months ago though. interesting stuff.

[BMWknight]

Fresh battery solved my issue of car going into neutral while driving. I'm SOOO Happy!

[ECSTuning]

update on this for future reference??? was it the salmon relay??

It's the SMG control relay. BMW part number 12631742690. It is located in the engine bay fuse box.

The relay



The location

[carlosR]

For the record I had the exact same experience in a carwash bay. Finally the car started after many tries. It was the salmon relay. I'm getting a spare.

Noticed my cars only list the 318Ti. I'm talking about my new 2003 M3 with smg.

[BMWknight]

I'm back, after over a week of flawless performance (zero issues) after getting a new battery - my car dropped out of gear at a red light again.
I'm thinking I gotta check my grounds and test the alternator now.. possible intermittent decrease of voltage can cause this (this is my understanding)..

Anyone experience this issue or dealt with this before? Would a new Alternator be a good idea? I'm only at 78K miles on the car.

[sccaziptie]

Just go get your battery tested. it should be close to 100% (i think).. mine was at 87%.. now what does that mean? I not sure.. maybe capacity, voltage, etc..? anyone know?

More than likely the % they are referencing is battery voltage - but batteries can be tricky and without seeing the print out/report of your battery test it's tough to say what they are referencing... Low CCA readings (cold cranking amps) will make it difficult to start the car but shouldn't have an effect on performance once that car is running.

[Samersalheyeh]

Hello everyone im having a problem with my 2005 smg m3 , im living in dubai and we have a very high temperature here, i was stopping on the trafic light and my gear is on N position suddenly the smg warning ! Appeared i engaged thegear in drive position and the car drives and shifts perfectly on both automatic and manual tranmission , i tried driving on all ratios and everything is quite very normal and very smooth shifting but the warning light doesnt want to go. I parked the car for almost 7 hours then drove it again smg light is still on but again driving perfectly and no issues at all , no flashing numbers before engaging any gear or taking more than a second to switch from N R or D position . What could be the problem and what shall i do ? Any one faced the same problem ?