Engine Code 1285?

[Phil F]

The garage looking at the loss of power + backfiring on my '92 525i Touring (M50 engine) has told me their diagnostic equipment has reported back an '85 code'. I assume this means a 1285 code. They don't know what this means and this code doesn't exist according to my Bentleys manual. (I couldn't do a stomp test as it's a UK car and my understanding is that European spec cars don't have this feature available).

The garage thinks the problem might be a faulty cat - they are going to take the car to a BMW dealer tomorrow for them to test. Before they carry out this potentially very expensive (for me!) exercise, does anyone have any ideas before I'm asked to part with a bucketload of cash..

Thanks

[whiskychaser]

[QUOTE=Phil F]The garage looking at the loss of power + backfiring on my '92 525i Touring (M50 engine) has told me their diagnostic equipment has reported back an '85 code'. I assume this means a 1285 code. They don't know what this means and this code doesn't exist according to my Bentleys manual. (I couldn't do a stomp test as it's a UK car and my understanding is that European spec cars don't have this feature available).

I've got a '92 525i M50 too. No, the stomp test doesnt work. Code 85 means air con pump from what I've read. Check this out : http://www.europeantransmissions.com...BMW/bmwcod.pdf
Dont even think mine's got a cat :-) It def dont have an O2 sensor!

[Bill R.]

year and model dme 3.1 indicates that the a/c compressor belt is slipping or the compressor is seizing up so it disengages the compressor clutch so that you don't burn up the belt. First thing is to check the belt tension and see if its too loose on the compressor. There's a speed monitor on the compressor itself on your car that measures the compressor rpm against the engine rpm and determines if the belt is slipping, if it is, it shuts the compressor off.

The garage looking at the loss of power + backfiring on my '92 525i Touring (M50 engine) has told me their diagnostic equipment has reported back an '85 code'. I assume this means a 1285 code. They don't know what this means and this code doesn't exist according to my Bentleys manual. (I couldn't do a stomp test as it's a UK car and my understanding is that European spec cars don't have this feature available).

The garage thinks the problem might be a faulty cat - they are going to take the car to a BMW dealer tomorrow for them to test. Before they carry out this potentially very expensive (for me!) exercise, does anyone have any ideas before I'm asked to part with a bucketload of cash..

Thanks

[Phil F]

Thanks very much for this info.

So can a faulty a/c compressor cause the loss of engine power? I saw another thread that suggested checking the a/c compressor when faced with the symptoms I have, but it didn't go into any detail. If it's the a/c system why do I have the loss of power when the a/c is switched off?

I will certainly get it checked out tomorrow.

[whiskychaser]

When you have the diagnostic done find out if its a current fault or just a stored one. It may just be an old one nobody bothered to erase. Hope you are not paying the hourly rate for the check. I dont see how the a/c can affect performance so badly.