Hey Dan, I really appreciate your reply. From when I posted this, I kept pushing to try to get it fixed under warranty since it had expired so recently, so I decided to contact Mini USA directly. It seems my warranty did expire end of March, but due to COVID-19, they extended some warranties that would expire after March 16th for an additional 3 months, and the FRM module was covered. I caught a big break from this and was able to get the dealer to fix it under warranty when I presented this information to them. I'm still in awe about this, but so glad Mini USA pulled through to help me out. The car is now working as it should. Thanks again for your reply!

 

Hi, would Mini fix the FRM if I just bring it to their dealership or do they need the whole car?

Thanks

 

I think you would have to take the car to them. Call them to see if it is covered first. If not and it's FRM3, send me a pm.

 

So I took my FRM to some guy who had an ad on Kijiji which is Canadian cragislist and he had it fixed up in like 10 minutes. I put up some pictures of my FRM and it doesn't look like there was any points soldered on it for programming. I am just wondering how he fixed it so quick in his house.


FRM model

FRM with cover off

 

Some confusion here, is the Footwell/FRM module the same and the BCM/Body Control module? I have a 2005 Mini Cooper S R53.

 

Hi Minitobe, I just found this forum and it looks you have knowledge about the mini footwell issues.......I am in a nightmare and need advices.
Mini cooper S turbo 2008.......78k miles......
Bought the mini 10 days ago for my daughter.......
Day 1: battery empty at dealers parks.......dealer tried to jump it several times unsuccessfull......finally took the battery from a toyota corlla and car started immediately.....everything was working fine and I tried the car for about 10 miles and bought it........ my daughter was happy.
Day 2: no problem but we didn't really use the car other than for a few minutes
Day 3: brake lights stay ON when ignition OFF, difficult to get it off
Day 4: Brake and rear lights stay ON , impossible to get it OFF
Day 5: battery empty I charge the battery, and unplug the rear bulbs and led ramp, ..... batterie continues to drain slowly...... but engine start and runs fine
Day 6: no comment
Day7: no ignition, ignition after several try (key in/out) but no start anymore .....just nothing .......even after I charge the batterie
Day8: no ignition, no dash lights, some weird ghost attempts with door and trunk lock/unlock.....and gearshift transmission blocked on Parking, impossible to move the vehicule from the driveway

I took off the FRM ( FRM ll 6135 3453743 01) sign of water dammage and blue green patina on right lower big connector and left small connector as well as inside on the board.
Sent it to Bimmerscan (CA) who said FRM totally fried , not repairable , data not recoverable and he sent it back to me.

Right now I am waiting for a used FRM from Jim's salvage exactly same serial number.....I am in Florida so I should have it in a couple of days.

The questions are: what can I expect when I get the new (used) FRM module and plug it in?..... will I have to programme it?.....will I be able to start the engine and to drive to a mecanic shop?..... is there any chance that the CAS module has been dammaged also?..... and last question, what kind of battery to replace the Toyota corolla battery which obviously is not the right one.

I am desperate, thanks for your help

 

I have a 2007 BCM (body control module here in Texas) for $100 if anyone needs one. Its for a mini cooper S convertible. Came all the way from the UK but it wasnt the right one and Im not paying $35 for his mistake.




 

Do you still have this available?

 

If your module doesn't have physical damage from water, in could repair it for you. Send me a direct message for more information.

 

I was t- boned in my rear quarter panel about 6 weeks ago, and just got my car back from the body shop yesterday. The windows, flashers, A/C, etc don't work now. Before the wreck, these components worked. Yesterday, not at all. The service manager at the body shop today said they ran a diagnostic on it and found code for the frmfa3. They said that electrical problems are rarely caused by car wrecks, and this malfunction wasn't caused by the wreck. Thoughts?

Is this a repair I can do myself since I can access it easily?

 

Recently I noticed the auto levelling for the Zenon headlights has stopped functioning. The lights work properly, however do not self-level. I looked for codes in the FRM and found 9CB3. It can be reset but then returns immediately. I bought a Bentley Manual for Mini Coopers however it only contains OBD (P-codes) for the powertrain and communication (U-codes). Does anyone have a description for 9CB3? I appreciate any help I can get on this issue.

Thanks,
Miles

 

Does anyone have a description for an FRM code 9CB3? My FRM has this code. It can be reset but returns immediately. I "think" it may be related to the auto levelling function for the Zenon headlights, as the auto-level function has stopped working. If anyone has the code description, please post and help me out. all other functions on the vehicle work correctly.

Thanks,
Miles

 

I would make sure the mechanical linkage is ok on the front suspension arm is ok - have you checked it? Lube it and push the little arm up and down etc make sure it’s moving. If still no joy I would buy a secondhand one (I would imagine could get one quite cheap) and replace to see if that cures it. Also check wiring / plug / look for chaffing.

 

Hi, it appears that I'm joining the FRM club. Disconnected my battery, replaced the thermostat and reconnected the battery. Now my windows won't go up. Main xenon headlights do work. Hazard lights, turn signals, don't work. Haven't checked the brake lights. I inspected all the fuses for the Windows. All four are intact. All four windows are down. The car is sitting on the driveway wrapped in plastic until I can get the windows up. I have a 2013 All4S Countryman, manual. Is there someone here available who can reset my FRM? I'm in El Dorado, California.
Thanks!
Lisa

 

following

 

For my 2010 MINI Cooper S, the part cost $525. I found one at another vendor, but they couldn't ship until mid-August. How such an essential part has delays of this length is insanity.
Strangely, when my mechanic went to order one their vendor had one. BUT, to my confusions, my mechanic told me that the vendor would "only ship out one per week". Imagine my frustration when it they were supposedly able to get one ordered, but could get no guarantee when it would ship, and no information on how long the delay would be (i.e. - am I # 4 on the FRM list? #5? #8?; since each increase of one place means I would wait an additional week to get it sent!). Three weeks later, no change, so I went to outmotoring.com and magicbananas! they had one! AND they shipped it the same day, so I will have it two days later. Why my mechanic decided not to look there when they told me they order parts there often was an additional WTF moment
Here are the things the FRM failure caused to stop functioning for me: driver and passenger windows, turn signals, interior lighting for speedo and Tach, Sport Mode (indicator came on when I hit the button but system not activated), fog lights.
Some additional info: This part was given an Extension on the MINI Extended Warranty (not a recall, though it seemed like it should have been considering the operations on the MINI that stop when the FRM fails), up to 10 years or 150K miles. I would have missed both anyway, as mine failed @12 years old, 155K miles. As is usual with MINI, the EW was super-specific by Model and Year, going all the way down to VIN-specific. What bothers me a lot is that BMW/MINI knows the part fails often enough, and that tells me they know it is a design flaw (i.e. - if the moonroof drain backs up it can overflow into the footwell and can ruin the FRM), but instead of making the part readily available they make it extremely hard to find and get shipped. My mechanic only does MINIs and can find just about any part and they were having an extremely hard time getting their usual vendor to send one ("only ship one per week").

 

Another thing to know: my mechanic told me that getting the car jumped (if you have a dead battery) can short out the FRM, as can disconnecting and then reconnecting the battery (necessary for some repairs). He also told me that when you install a new engine (which he did for us, works perfectly!) you must disconnect the battery. So, BMW/MINI makes a part that can fail under normal repair conditions, or normal usage conditions (needing a car jumped is hardly something that should break a part, IMO).
Huh, sounds pretty sketchy to me.

 

I'll post my question here as well, since this seems to be the congregation of FRM experts.
My recently acquired 2013 R60 Countryman has an issue with front right parking light. I have changed the bulb, checked fuses, but I get no voltage on the connector. The other side works fine and this is the only light out.
I have this fault code: 009CBB - FRM: Short-circuit fault.
I have used Tool32 to see if I can reset the short-circuit counter. However, when I go to read out the short-circuit counter from that front right parking bulb, I get this error: "EDIABAS error 20: IFH-0010: DATATRANSMISSION TO CONTROLUNIT DISTURBED"
When I try to read the counter from the left side parking bulb, it works fine.

Is this an FRM issue or wiring issue? Sounds like an FRM one since I cannot check the counter for that bulb circuit. Am I correct?

 

when a person upgrades their FRM from 2 to 3R, does the VO need to be updated too?
I can't access the FRM3R with NCS expert (error 2041 - wrong ecu index). seems NCS expert is looking for FRM2.C08 yet it seems my FRM3R seems to be showing index 55 (in hex code its C37)
I'm not sure what to change to fix this

 

what is factory I-Level?

 

wait, after some research, does the error message in NCS Expert mean my car has coding index 37 (therefore .C37) and yet my daten files only go up to .C35 for an FRM3R?

 

Can you explain HOW you copy these factory I-Level things? and if a person only uses Rheingold and INPA, is this really necessary to do step 4? I DO have an pre-LCI R55 car and an a new FRM3R was installed (apparently programmed by BMW mech, but would still classify as an LCI module)

 

SOLVED> It was simply a matter of updating the daten files to include the .C37 from a newer Datens version.

 

I am having some FRM??? issues.

Background. Have a 2008 Mini Cooper Clubman. Drove it 104,000 miles. July 2020 it got hit in the side and destroyed the doors and both rear tires/suspension. Had liability only so I got to keep the car since the fault was determined to be 75% my sons fault. Started looking for a replacement. Since I had still had my old car, I was hoping that if I found a new car that I could swap parts from the old car to the new car. Things like Seats, Chrome mirrors, etc.... Finally found one in Sept 2022. 2009 Mini Cooper Clubman S. I thought that the new car just had a couple of lights burnt out. But alas, that was not the problem.

Cars
2008 Mini Cooper Clubman - Manual - Chili Red

• Cold Weather Package (seats, mirrors, etc.)
• Rear Fog
• Home link - Rear View Mirror
• Two Keys

2009 Mini Cooper Clubman S - Manual - Pepper White

• One Key

Current status.
Tried replacing the burnt out bulbs, that weren't burnt out. They just did not get power to the socket. Then noticed a few more lights being out.. List of items not working.

• Low rear tire
• CC ID 115 - Reverse Light
• CC ID 122 - Front Left Blinker
• CC ID 125 - Right Rear Blinker
• CC ID 126 - Fog Lights
• CC ID 130 - Right High Beam
• CC ID 132 - Right Side Light
• CC ID 133 - Right Rear Light
• CC ID 088 - Left Low Beam
• Left Rear Brake Light
• Interior LED Lights
• Intermittent issues connecting a scan tool using OBD2 port.
• Drivers Auto window up not working.

Started doing some research and found this thread. Starting thinking that the problem was my FRM module. I get access to my FRM module in the 2009. Looks like water got into the FRM connector, and therefore there is green corrosion. So I remove the FRM module, and cleaned the connectors. Re-assembled. Still have the same problem, so then I think that the FRM is bad. So I swap out my FRM modules between both cars. Still have the same issues with the new car. And when checking the old car, everything seems to be OK (except for the existing issues: Missing tires; O2 sensor; etc..) So then I double check all of the fuses F1 thru F49. I pulled and checked each one. Seems like the only thing that changed was that I now no longer get the low tire pressure warning.

So now what should I do?
So I am wondering what to try next. Not sure if I need to change the CAS module, but it would mean that I could change the drivers door lock, and then have two working keys and fobs. Still want to swap in my heated seats, mirrors, and Home link. Do you think that the issue could be the connector at the FRM module and that I need to swap out the wiring harness? Thoughts? Hints? Advice?

P.S. Seemed strange to me that some lights were out on the left side, but others on the right side. And I will probably buy the software/tools to be able to update the FRM module code.

 

I have the same problem with my mini copper and you can send it to a company in Vancouver and in California I think that fixes them and they’ll send it back that same day for around 450$ There called ECU Medics