ECU Cable to DCT re-route

[Iapetus]

Hey everyone.

As I was looking over my car I noticed two cables which exit my ECU box are crossed over each other. The larger cable runs down to the engine behind the charge pipe, while the smaller cable runs back to the bulkhead and disappears into the transmission tunnel. It appears (after viewing some videos) this smaller cable attaches to the DCT box itself using a twist connector.

I'd like to disconnect an end of one of these wires so I can correct the crossover. I assume I'll not be able to reach the DCT connector from the engine bay, and the connection behind the charge pipe looks like a whole thing!

If I open the ECU box will I be able to disconnect the wiring connectors, slip them out of the box, swap over the two crossed cables and reconnect everything with relative ease? Assuming they're simple connectors in there it would be far easier than dismantling engine bay components. My last resort is call the mechanic and pay to have them correct a prior owners meddling.

Thanks.

 

[B21]

Open the ECU box up..the lid is held on with several torx screws…when I was last in there it looked like a world of pain…however..have a look..

 

[Iapetus]

I'll look at it this weekend. I have searched high and low for a simple image of the ECU box with the lid off to no avail.
I noticed the cable to the DCT had some loose wrap joining the vinyl sleeve covering (DCT end) to the ribbed covering (ECU end) which was unraveling. Do you think that was a stock joining wrap? The exposed wires were all pristine, so I removed the loose wrap and properly re-wrapped the section with far better material.

This cabling also hangs fairly loose in the engine bay, not held in place by any cable clamps. I used a wire tie to secure it to a solidly mounted component, but I find it hard to believe the factory left this DCT cable as poorly attached to the structure as I found it.

Would you take a peek at you beautiful Yellow beast and let me know what you see? Appreciated.

 

[B21]

On the 35is there's a load of cables in there..for the main ecu and adaptive damper ..BMW does use tape on some of its harness but im surprised they use it on the DCT box..sounds like someone was in there before..

These days the cars are old enough to have chequered maintenance and repairs..

 

[Iapetus]

Here's my open control box. It looks pretty messy but all the plugs are color coded so it's not nearly as bad as it looks.



There were a total of 5 connectors that were not mounted on the central carrier - they were simply tucked back in. Not an issue from a functional standpoint, but a sloppy look for sure..

Straightening out the crossed cables was really easy once I disconnected the cable's black and blue connections. Just needed to pop off the rectangular locks (grey interior handles) and the rubber seal/cable lifts right out. Great design.






I'd still like to put the DCT cable to right regarding routing.
Here's a shot of my cable running loose to the passenger side of the gearbox tunnel:


And a screen grab of a DCT box out of the car, with the cable in it's proper clamps (running on the drivers side (left-hand drive), looping over to the passenger side before connecting.



I have no idea how to access to access this area. Is there a way from the interior (which I doubt). If not, I'll probably pay my independent to put it right, as I'm not going to crawl around under the car.

Cheers!

 

[B21]

Good work..there is no access to the box from inside the car..