I Bought a £1,000 BMW i3… Then DOUBLED the Battery Range

We got a BMW i3 that was basically stuck in PARK with no communication to the inverter (EME) — and by the book the fix could have been £4,000+… which would make the car not worth saving. In this video we: Diagnose a no-comms inverter/EME fault Drop the full rear motor/inverter assembly (tight access!) Work with Car Key Solutions (Watford) to revive the module (corrupted data from low 12V issues) Get the i3 back to READY / driving again Then take it further: 20kWh ➜ 40kWh battery upgrade and test the new range The result? A BMW i3 transformed from “nearly scrap” into a genuinely usable EV. 📌 Comment below: Was the 40kWh swap worth it, or not? 📍 Visit Us: OGS Mechanics Units 9–14, Millers Yard Rear of 28 Long Lane London N3 2QG 📺 Watch Our Repairs in Action: 📌 Subscribe on YouTube → Weekly EV/Hybrid breakdowns, fixes & full diagnostics 📲 Follow the Behind-the-Scenes Garage Life: 🎵 TikTok:   / ogsmechanics   📸 Instagram:   / ogs_mechanics   📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/15J54K... ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Can you even drive it into the yard? (stuck in Park) 01:20 Intro + what’s wrong with this BMW i3 02:10 Diagnosis: no communication with inverter (EME) 04:30 Underneath inspection + why access is so difficult 06:30 Decision: drop the whole motor/inverter assembly 07:40 Motor + inverter out — plan to strip and inspect 09:10 Inverter teardown attempt + next steps 13:20 Reality check: used EME hard to find / new part too expensive 15:10 Trip to Car Key Solutions (Watford) 16:20 Bench work: data read/erase/write — EME “alive” again 19:40 Back at workshop: reinstall inverter and motor 22:30 First scan after install: EME online! 25:40 Clear faults + READY appears 28:00 What caused it? 12V battery spikes/low voltage corrupt data 30:30 Fluids + final assembly steps 31:20 AC regas check 32:40 Dealer tool calibration / rotor position fix 34:00 i3 driving again — first impressions 35:10 The BIG issue: 20kWh range is painful 36:30 Plan: 40kWh battery upgrade 38:00 Check donor battery health + open/inspect seals 41:50 Important 12V procedure to avoid EME damage 44:40 Drop old battery / install 40kWh pack 48:00 Gas in system + coding time 49:10 Results: range jumps to triple digits 52:00 Motorway test + real-world behaviour 56:30 Final verdict: costs, value, was it worth it? #BMWi3 #ElectricCar #EVRepair #HighVoltage #InverterRepair #BatterySwap #HybridAndEV #Diagnostics #BMW #CarRepair #Workshop #EVTech Music from #InAudio: https://inaudio.org/ Track Name.Sport Rock Energetic by Infraction [No Copyright Music] / Running Faster