Warning, the following pictures are rather gruesome ...My ABS module KO-ed and I assumed that the legendary E39 design flaw had finally hit me. The strange thing was that instead of throwing any ABS warning lights or any error codes in the system, it was causing the ABS pump to run non-stop till the car battery died! This was weird and rare: there was hardly any online information of others experiencing this problem, but the few clues I managed to find pointed to the ABS module failing nonetheless.
So I made preparations to ship the unit to UK or US to have it repaired. Called up friends in Singapore to help me buy and bring over a new backup unit as well, in case the module was unrepairable. Then I sent my baby to get the unit out and do one final test with the mechanic's spare unit to be certain. When they pulled the module out .... well you can see for yourself 
Yes, what you're seeing is the metal circuits ripped out from within the module when they had to tear the module off the valving unit.
The electromagnets were all so badly rusted to the metal ABS valving unit that they had to first tear out the black electronic module, leaving all the electromagnets stuck there. Then wrench them all off one by one using a pair of pliers!I never once sent my car to a car wash, let alone send it to do an engine wash. I always hand wash it myself.The only source where the module could have gotten water was when I was rinsing out dust trapped in the corners above my wheel well and splashed some onto it. And even that bit of water from a garden hose could cause this much damage! Now imagine those high pressure nozzles that spray water strong enough to tear skin from flesh ....Another possibility was also because, at the bottom right corner, the corner that is closest to the engine, the rubber seal was melted from the engine heat (a small chunk of it too melted and stuck to the metal ABS valving unit) and the spray from the engine fan seeped in.
Either way, seeing that the module was clearly unsalvageable, I bit the RM2000 bullet for a whole new unit and now need to source a heat and particle shield to install between it and my engine. Does any sifus here have any suggestions or recommendations where I could find someone who could build such or have plans I can refer to create one?
So I made preparations to ship the unit to UK or US to have it repaired. Called up friends in Singapore to help me buy and bring over a new backup unit as well, in case the module was unrepairable. Then I sent my baby to get the unit out and do one final test with the mechanic's spare unit to be certain. When they pulled the module out .... well you can see for yourself Yes, what you're seeing is the metal circuits ripped out from within the module when they had to tear the module off the valving unit.The electromagnets were all so badly rusted to the metal ABS valving unit that they had to first tear out the black electronic module, leaving all the electromagnets stuck there. Then wrench them all off one by one using a pair of pliers!I never once sent my car to a car wash, let alone send it to do an engine wash. I always hand wash it myself.The only source where the module could have gotten water was when I was rinsing out dust trapped in the corners above my wheel well and splashed some onto it. And even that bit of water from a garden hose could cause this much damage! Now imagine those high pressure nozzles that spray water strong enough to tear skin from flesh ....Another possibility was also because, at the bottom right corner, the corner that is closest to the engine, the rubber seal was melted from the engine heat (a small chunk of it too melted and stuck to the metal ABS valving unit) and the spray from the engine fan seeped in.Either way, seeing that the module was clearly unsalvageable, I bit the RM2000 bullet for a whole new unit and now need to source a heat and particle shield to install between it and my engine. Does any sifus here have any suggestions or recommendations where I could find someone who could build such or have plans I can refer to create one?
