How do I check to see if my car is chipped?

[Jay 535i]

I think the PO installed one. Where is it, and how do I get at it?

[dacoyote]

I think the PO installed one. Where is it, and how do I get at it?

I would suggestion pulling the dme.. its under the hood ... passanger side towards the firewall if you have a LHD car. Its in the plastic box, you will need to pull out the 4 screws to open the box, the dme is the one nearest the firewall.

Pull it out and pop the tabs.

here is a writeup on e34.net

e34net

-Charles

[Jay 535i]

I would suggestion pulling the dme.. its under the hood ... passanger side towards the firewall if you have a LHD car. Its in the plastic box, you will need to pull out the 4 screws to open the box, the dme is the one nearest the firewall.

Pull it out and pop the tabs.

here is a writeup on e34.net

e34net

-Charles

Awesome, thanks.

[winfred]

you only really need to look at the tabs holding the cover on, they will be a little chewed up if somebody has been inside

Awesome, thanks.

[pyro]

took the words out of my mouth. but yes if the tabs are all buggerd up then there is a chip in it or was a chip in at one time. (my tabs are missing)

[632 Regal]

right, no easy way to hide that!

[SRR2]

You know guys, that cover really doesn't do much of anything. I ran my car for years with the cover sitting in my basement. As far as I can see, its main purpose is to prevent handling damage prior to installation in the vehicle. So take it off, have a look at the chip (and don't forget to reinstall the retaining clip), and leave it off.

[pyro]

i think it prevents moisture from getting in and corroding the chips and traces

[SRR2]

No. How the heck would it do that? It's not even sealed! It's just for mechanical/handling protection. It has no environmental or electrical (i.e. shielding) purpose at all. The ECU will work just as well without it as with it.

Just FYI... If you're builiding electronics, particularly those that go into environmentally challenging applications such as automotive or aircraft, one of the decisions you ahve to make concerns environmental protection. If you have a situation that demands sealing, it had better be *damn* good sealing. Why? Because in humid environments, like most of the world, small atmospheric pressure variations, caused by normal weather patterns or by driving over altitude changes, eventually cause the slow process of "pumping" moisture into the "sealed" module unless it is PERFECTLY tight. Naturally this situation is exaggerated on aircraft, but it's present to a lesser degree -- which translates to a longer-term phenomenon -- in automotive applications. Once you get moisture in there, you have a serious problem on your hands. Failure is only a question of time, not a question of will/won't. Therefore, you are better off taking the approach that the BMW engineers did (they're pretty smart folks, actually) which is to forego any attempt at sealing and simply mount the elex in a fairly water repellent box and add some forced ventilation. The success of this approach is pretty clear. Cars that are approaching two decades of life still have perfectly functioning electronics.

[winfred]

id suspect it's there more for rf interfearence protection, that's why it's metal and not plastic

i think it prevents moisture from getting in and corroding the chips and traces