Bus diagnosis All models from E60: Introduction

WARNING: This page does not describe the selected car, but rather 21 other vehicles, including the 2006 BMW Z4, 2006 BMW M3, 2006 BMW M Roadster, 2006 BMW M Coupe, and 2006 BMW 550i. However, it is still accessible from the selected car via links, so may be relevant.

In the vehicles of today, components and control units are networked by means of data buses. Data buses are capable of transmitting messages with signals. The connected control units only read off those messages and signals that are of relevance to their operation.

Most buses are CAN buses (CAN: Controller Area Network). A fibre-optic cable is used for navigation and entertainment: The MOST bus (MOST = "Media Oriented System Transport"). It has its own data cable for diagnosis: the diagnosis cable, also known as the "K-line".

The following options are available for locating faults in data buses and in control units:

Test module for diagnosis on the CAN buses in the BMW diagnosis system:
"Bus system analysis"

The test module is called up in the DIS (Diagnosis and Information System) as follows: "Function selection" button -> Complete vehicle -> Body -> Bus functions -> Bus analysis -> System analysis
Checking the terminating resistances:
Checking the terminating resistances can also be important for bus diagnosis.
Test module for diagnosis on the MOST buses:
"MOST system analysis"

The test module is called up in the DIS (Diagnosis and Information System) as follows: "Function selection" button -> Complete vehicle -> Body -> Bus functions -> MOST functions -> MOST system analysis.

These two test modules and the installation points of the terminating resistances are described in detail below.