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Stock Problems/IssuesDiscussions related to warranty related issues and repairs, or other problems with the OEM parts and software for MINI Clubman (R55), Cooper and Cooper S(R56), and Cabrio (R57).
The issue is that site is dedicated to BMW FRMs which can be different than ours. So, this is an attempt to dive into the Mini cooper side of things in order to provide hope and understanding regarding the module. I know there is another thread talking about the footwell module, I thought this might be more hands on to the repair rather than the complaints.
In short, disconnecting and reconnecting the battery sends an electric shock to the module to the point where it corrupts the "software" and hence "kills" it or rather, puts it in a coma.
The following is partially quoted from the site linked above and I modified it based on what I did:
***LONG OVER DUE UPDATE***
It's now widely accepted the correct way to repair the FRM3 is by reading dflash.
Once you have a good dump you can extract the good eeprom dump by using this tool:
I get many PM's regarding bricked FRM3 repair. So thought this thread could be a point of information for people who want to repair their bricked module. By bricked I mean EEPROM damage through coding / programming due to voltage fluctuation resulting in IFH-0009 error and no communication via OBD.
In this case the module is still good but requires a good EEPROM dump / p-flash being written to it. Once the good EEPROM is in, communication via obd should be restored and vin / VO will need to changed. You also need to find a correct zusb number and flash it with winkfp.
1- read the Dflash file (supposedly keeps copies of internal eeeproms for retrieval)
2- use the dflash to eeeprom converter to create a good eeeprom file.
3. Erase EEPROM (4096bytes)
4. Write good dump
5. Verify obd working and change vin / VO as if retrofitting used FRM3.
6. Flash with correct zusb number for your vehicle using winkfp.
To connect to the MCU there are 3 methods I'm aware of:
1. In socket - desolder chip
2. In circuit - BDM points - reverse of PCB - see image attached. (The easiest and non invasive)
3. Direct - test clips onto pins like Pamona Micro Grabbers or cheaper alternative.
Connections to:
BKGD
RESET
VDDR (5v)
VSS
Hopefully this is helpful for someone.
Attached Images
End of modified Quote......
I used UPA-USB v1.3 to read the Dflash of my damaged FRM
I followed the steps above and unfortunately did not get the results I had hoped for. after writing the "new" eeeprom file, and connecting to INPA, the module would actually communicate but does not have a zbe or VIN numbers. Using Winkfp did not work because the zbe was 000000.opa.
The silver lining here is that the seemingly dead FRM came back to life. I was able to connect it to the car and read it via INPA.
Next, I have a known good FRM I will use to run more tests. like transferring the eeeprom and see if that at least transfers the zbe number. Bare in mind, my UPA is a Chinese knock off, so not sure if that has something to do with not being able to accurately write the new eeeprom file.
I finally was able to process a bunch of these FRMs using X-Prog. I was able to clone one for my countryman, repair one for a friend, and even read the files off of a flooded one.
if your extended warranty does not cover your dead module, send me a pm for a solution.
