I need some help with a couple of things :)

[DaleR]

Firstly Hi everyone, what a nice forum you have here!.

Ive searched for all the following but cant find any info anywhere, so I'd like to ask a few questions if thats ok :).

I have a 1991 520i 24v, with a few issues.

Firstly my odometer displays PPPPPP but once in a blue moon it will display the correct millage, and the trip counter resets when I turn off the car, but the guages work correctly, Ive changed all the caps so its not that. Any ideas?. Ive also had difficulty locating a new set of clocks, as mine only has a blue and a yellow plug, all the others I can find have 3 or more plugs, and wont plug in.

The other problem I have is that the car is awfull on petrol, its worse than my R32 Skyline turbo, it idles fine but seems a little bit lumpy I dont know if thats related?, I havent had any luck pulling codes, as my clocks doesnt have a facility to have a engine management light.

Any help with the all the above will be much appreciated.

Thanks
Dale.

[Kalevera]

I'm thinking that the memory chip (do you have one plugged into the back of the module?!) is corrupted. It's an easy thing to do if you pull the dash module and don't disconnect the battery, but it doesn't explain why it sometimes works, other times it doesn't. I'd think a fried chip would be gone for good.

Have you tested out the dash module? If not, hold down the check control (right) while turning the key to "ON" (don't start the car though), continue holding for a few seconds and release -- it'll run through diagnostics. I'm not sure if it'll do it with the PPPPPP fault, but you could try it out.

Snap a picture of your dash module and post it? I'm curious to see what the front/back look like. You should have a check engine light, or at least the capacity to wire one. My understanding of it is that after ~ late 89, all cars had them wired; earlier cars are sometimes not wired but can be.


best, whit

[bimmerd00d]

pics of e34 and skyline? :D sounds like a coding plug might be loose regarding your odometer. change your oxygen sensor, change your spark plugs and air filter and see if your mileage improves.

[632 Regal]

whats that PPPPP code mean? I read about that somewhere and looked for about an hour with no luck. Should have broke out the Bently.

[DaleR]

I dont have any pics of the bmw, but I have some of the skyline, The bmw is a UK 1991 520i, Electric leather sports seats, 16" 8 series wheels, sport rear bumper, colourcoded front bumber, alpine white, clear front indicators, and the rear indicators have been tinted red and a nurburgring map on the bootlid for good measure!, i'll try and get some pics of it, I bought it as a second car, but im really liking it so much I want an M5 now!. this is my 5th bmw, prior to this I had, E3 3.0s, E28 528i, E30 325i sport (phase one), and a e34 520i 12v (poverty spec, nicknamed gordon)...

Regarding the above, Maybe uk dash's are not wired for the engine management light, my last e34 wasnt either.

My dash is odd, my last E34 had a analogue odometer, this one is located below the speedo and is lcd, but my m8's later E34's have the check panel/odometer.

I did that check, and all the numbers display in sequence, then it tests the gauges.

Im not 100% sure if its got a lambda probe, we were not that strict on emmisions in the UK till about 1993, but some bmw/audi/volvo had cats as an option, so it may have it, what are the symptoms for a failing lambda on the M50 2.0 24v?

Sorry about the long post and questions!
Thanks
Dale.

[bimmerd00d]

I dont have any pics of the bmw, but I have some of the skyline, The bmw is a UK 1991 520i, Electric leather sports seats, 16" 8 series wheels, sport rear bumper, colourcoded front bumber, alpine white, clear front indicators, and the rear indicators have been tinted red and a nurburgring map on the bootlid for good measure!, i'll try and get some pics of it, I bought it as a second car, but im really liking it so much I want an M5 now!. this is my 5th bmw, prior to this I had, E3 3.0s, E28 528i, E30 325i sport (phase one), and a e34 520i 12v (poverty spec, nicknamed gordon)...

Regarding the above, Maybe uk dash's are not wired for the engine management light, my last e34 wasnt either.

My dash is odd, my last E34 had a analogue odometer, this one is located below the speedo and is lcd, but my m8's later E34's have the check panel/odometer.

I did that check, and all the numbers display in sequence, then it tests the gauges.

Im not 100% sure if its got a lambda probe, we were not that strict on emmisions in the UK till about 1993, but some bmw/audi/volvo had cats as an option, so it may have it, what are the symptoms for a failing lambda on the M50 2.0 24v?

Sorry about the long post and questions!
Thanks
Dale.

look under there and see if you have a cat, it's right near the passenger footwell on the undercarriage. if you have a lambda (o2) sensor, replcae it, that's most likely your source

[DaleR]

Have you seen what a lambda probe costs in the uk!, £70!!!! I hope its not that, im gonna check it with a voltmeter if I have one...

Any alternate way of getting engine codes if you dont have the dash bulb?, and where can I find a site with all the codes listed.

Thanks

[emw525E34]

Dale,

I don't think a UK version has CAT nor Lamda (O2 sensor), it seems all Euro versions are like that. I have a 95 Euro Touring and it did NOT have both those things.

I am thinking of getting a Bosch O2 sensor and hooking it to an Rich/Lean meter just to see what the engine is doing in combustion quality.

[Kalevera]

lucky bastards :)

Seriously though, Dale -- the more I think about it, the more I agree that the coding chip (or, as I called it in my earlier brain fart -- "memory chip") is either loose or has gone south. If you've got a digital odo, it should either be in line to the dash wiring harness or an actual "plug" that goes into the rear of the unit. Mine has the VIN and a piece of tamper-proof plastic that, until recently, signified that it'd never been removed from the module.

Now I'm really curious as to what the back of your module looks like...take some pics and attach them to a post on the board :)

best, whit

[DaleR]

cheers for the reply both.

Im gonna crawl under the car today and have a look so I know for sure, but i dont think its got a cat, it doesnt smell like a car with a cat.

And the coding plug is on the back of the clocks, that is in secure. i'll whip the clocks out later and take some pics.

Is there a way of extracting codes from the plug in the engine bay with a bulb and a paper clip?

[Tcdoe]

Dale,

I don't think a UK version has CAT nor Lamda (O2 sensor), it seems all Euro versions are like that. I have a 95 Euro Touring and it did NOT have both those things.

That's strange, nearly all German, Swedish and Finnish e34's (with the exception of M20 cars and the 524td) I've seen have cats and lambda sensors.

[Javier]

for the coding plug information on mileage, and does not find it.

Guess coding plug is loose, improperly seated or needs a contact cleaning. The issue is that I think I recall from some OBC retrofitting in a 520i reading, that coding plug is not in dash, but in some harness. Can not guarantee though.


Javier

[DaleR]

Nah when coding plug isnt in properly it will say (CODE), been to BMW, car doesnt have a cat. what can be causing the poor economy/lumpy idle then :S

[Kalevera]

You could get a scanner, or take it to the local indy and have him check for you. But seeing as how your dash module has issues, there's no guarantee that the system bus is up, or will be up, until the problem is resolved. If the latter happens, pull the dash module (disconnect it) and try the scanner again.

It sounds like it tested out okay, though. Is it still displaying PPPPP on the odo while testing out? I'd just get a new coding chip (have to get it from the $tealer, I believe). In order to do so, you'll need the dash software version, vin, and perhaps a few other serial numbers (and maybe proof of ownership?) so they can get you a new one. I've tried swapping coding plugs before when I lost my speedo and thought it the culprit (it ended up being the diff sensor); I know for certain that the coding plug from a white unit won't work in a blue one :)

best, whit

[DaleR]

Just been to a bmw service centre, had the car checked on machine £40!!!! :(, pulled up air flow meter code?, but he reset the car and the fault didnt come back, but I got a AFM from the scrappy over the road for £15, i hope thats done something!.

Still cant find clocks tho!

oh and he said its got a lambda, but its cat ready what ever that means

[Javier]

Javier