Some help to interpret some symptoms and carsoft readings

[stirlsilver]

Hello everyone,
I'm suspecting there is a couple of problems here.

Ok so here goes.

The car overall drives great, with economy somwhere around 12.2km/l city driving. Thing is, I can feel some mild surging in the engine when the car is moving along at a constant RPM say somewhere around 2-3,000rpm. It seems to be more noticeable when cold.

If I have the car parked in neutral (it's a manual) and hold the throttle constant at say 2,000rpm every now and again there is some movement in the tacho, not much but there is some.

When the engine is idling, and I go round to the back and listen to the exhaust I can hear a miss in the exhaust note every now and again.

I think all of the above is related, I suspect it is an intake manifold leak, because it seems to happen when there is high manifold vacuum... but that could just be my perception... I haven't been too keen to explore around the intake manifold and injectors yet.

Anyway another problem is that the thermo fan is always on, even when the engine is cold, if I unplug the connector to the dual temperature switch on the radiator the thermo fan switches off... I figured this was an easy fix, in that the temperature switch is faulty... but doing a diagnosis today with carsoft kinda put a spanner in the works.







Looking at screen 4 it says the airco button is on... when it isn't and airco request compressor is active when the compressor isn't engaged. So this may be what is holding the thermo fan on... but then why does it turn off when the temperature switch is unplugged? If it is because it thinks the aircon is on, how do you go about sorting this out??

Other things that I thought were unusual in the readout were that in screen 3 it says Decel Fuel Shutoff is active... when the engine is just sitting there idling and idle speed recognition isn't active and finally Fuel pump off???

Could any of these things be related to either of the problems above (surging and/or thermo fan)?

Finally, I did a complete diagnostic test of the car and one fault was found in the DME:

Single diagnosis DME / DDE - Status: ERROR !
Module Info : DME / DDE DME M5.2
BMW Part Nr. : 1432763
Hardware Nr. : 07
Software Nr. : 16
Diagnose index: 20
Code index : 01
Bus index : 50
DME52_FE.DXT

148 Interface, electronic engine immobiliser

Single diagnosis completed !

Anyone know what error code 148 is??

Anyway, hopefully someone might have some answers to all these questions The car still drives fine, but like I said... they are little annoyances which I would like to fix.

Stirling

[lpcapital]

I bought a copy of Carsoft because I had my airbag light on and it was cheaper than getting the Peake tool, but when I try to read the live data the numbers are all over the place and make no sense at all... I then discovered that my Carsoft mistaken my DME for the M52's... This just to say, I'm not sure I would trust Carsoft all the way.

A couple things I would try to do, to check whether the reading you get is right or wrong:
1) Does the air from the vents comes out a/c cold if you on the fan, but leave the A/C switch off?
2) Does the readings of Carsoft change if you unplug the A/C switch?
3) I'm tempted to suggest to get a pressure gauge for the A/C, plug it into the low pressure connector and do a reading with the engine off, the engine on & A/C switch off, and engine on & A/C switch on. The first 2 readings should be the same, #3 should be higher.

Btw, If I may ask, did you got your Carsoft hardware off of eBay? where did you got the software? Is it the version that DavidMc has over on BF? If not could you send me your version to my email with the procedure you used to install it? I'm just wandering if maybe my Carsoft picks up the wrong DME because of the software... Thanks

[stirlsilver]

Thanks for your reply, it is interesting that you mention about erroneous readings. It's something I hadn't thought of yet. Although most of the other readings seem to be working as they should be. Perhaps i'll buy a USB to serial adaptor and use my laptop and see what it says while I drive. But at this stage I would say that it is giving me the right readings. How did you know it was getting confused with an M52??

The airconditioner is definitely not on when the button is off. If I go to turn on the AC I can actually hear the compressor engage and then the air start to get cooler. There could be nothing wrong with the AC system on my car, because if I pull out the connector on the dual temperature switch the thermo fan switches off. But one of the BMW gurus here that owns a BMW service shop told me that he had never heard of one of those dual temperature switches failing and said that it is likely that the car thinks the airconditioning is on which is a more common problem. Anyway, I might just whip out the multimeter and just test the switch to see.

Yes I got the hardware off ebay after doing a lot of reading on BF. I bought the hardware from this guy: http://myworld.ebay.com/ebaymotors/obd2008/ can't go wrong for USD 48! even with the crappy australian dollar! I used the software from BF off that site that they have in the Carsoft 6.5 Thread. Initially it was crashing everytime I did a full diagnosis but then when I looked in the install directory, there is two carsoft exe files, I tried one, and it crashed, then I tried the other and it worked a fine!

I just wish there was better documentation for the software! There is a number of things in the special function menu that I want to try but I don't know what they do! One is that DME conding function?

[M332TI]

2.2km/l city driving in miles? but anyway 2.2km in a liter....thats about 8.8km/gal... thats too low!!!

[lpcapital]

Originally Posted by M332TI

2.2km/l city driving in miles? but anyway 2.2km in a liter....thats about 8.8km/gal... thats too low!!!

I think he said 12.2km/l = 28.7mpg

Originally Posted by stirlsilver

Thanks for your reply, it is interesting that you mention about erroneous readings. It's something I hadn't thought of yet. Although most of the other readings seem to be working as they should be.

It could be that is right, but I was reading is not 100% accurate. Moreover as EVERY diagnostic tool, it's good for diagnosing, but is not a plug-and-play problem solver

Originally Posted by stirlsilver

Perhaps I'll buy a USB to serial adapter and use my laptop and see what it says while I drive. But at this stage I would say that it is giving me the right readings.

I would be careful with the USB to serial adapter as they appear not to be a very reliable way. Based on my readings it appears a Serial PCMCIA is a best option. I use a USB to Serial which I bought at RadioShack: the one on sale at RadioShack appear to be an adapter compatible with Carsoft. If you could choose between the two options, go with the PCMCIA serial card

Originally Posted by stirlsilver

How did you know it was getting confused with an M52??

When I try to diagnose my DME it tells me it's a DME MS 41.0: that's a Siemens DME used on the M52B28... I haven;t really investigated the issue that much since I use the Peake tool for the DME and Carsoft for the airbag. I would actually like to give it another try with a PCMCIA serial card or a laptop with a built in Serial port...

Originally Posted by stirlsilver

The air conditioner is definitely not on when the button is off. If I go to turn on the AC I can actually hear the compressor engage and then the air start to get cooler. There could be nothing wrong with the AC system on my car, because if I pull out the connector on the dual temperature switch the thermo fan switches off. But one of the BMW gurus here that owns a BMW service shop told me that he had never heard of one of those dual temperature switches failing and said that it is likely that the car thinks the air conditioning is on which is a more common problem. Anyway, I might just whip out the multimeter and just test the switch to see.

Or maybe is just the temperature sensor on the radiator. That's what controls the auxiliary fan. I would start from that.

Originally Posted by stirlsilver

Yes I got the hardware off eBay after doing a lot of reading on BF. I bought the hardware from this guy: http://myworld.ebay.com/ebaymotors/obd2008/ can't go wrong for USD 48! even with the crappy Australian dollar! I used the software from BF off that site that they have in the Carsoft 6.5 Thread. Initially it was crashing every time I did a full diagnosis but then when I looked in the install directory, there is two Carsoft exe files, I tried one, and it crashed, then I tried the other and it worked a fine!

I feel you!!! It too me some time to have the damn thing to work...

Originally Posted by stirlsilver

I just wish there was better documentation for the software! There is a number of things in the special function menu that I want to try but I don't know what they do! One is that DME coding function?

Here's what each module is. Noe that these that not every car has all of them ad Carsoft reports them as error/non responding. Here's a list of BMW Technical Acronyms.



Regarding the special functions, at a glance, here what they are:

1) Never used the reset interval as I used the Peake tool to reset my oil and inspection light

2) The ZKE activation lets you roll down windows and a couple other things: it's good if you need to diagnose whether it's an issue with the switch or something else.

3) You figured out the live data

4) You can align the DME with the EWS (electronic driveway protection): it's a module which reads the chip in the key and send a signal to the ECU saying it's the correct key and the car can start. That's why if you want a replacement key, it's not enough just to have it cut properly but it needs to be coded (the dealer will ask you for the car's VIN when placing the order for a replacement key).

5) LCM reading basically give you the VIN number and mileage

6) The adaptation value section lets you clear the adaptation on the DME (such as LTFT) and if you have a auto tranny, the adaptation on the tranny.

7) The coding function you talk about let's you transfer the data from a DME to a new one.

8) The iDrive is something newer BMW have

PS: regarding the initial code, I had a bunch when I first diagnosed my car the first time. I just erased all of them and checked back in about 1,000 miles to see if any came back or not. Some moduls need to record a code more than once before having a warning light turn on. These could be one time errors that never came back, basically wrong errors... eheheh

[stirlsilver]

lpcapital, really appreciate your info. Thanks for your time in the response. Seems like you have played with the software a bit. It certainly does have its limitations but it certainly can be handy.

I did read about some problems with the usb to serial interfaces, but having a usb interface is far more convenient than having to run a long serial cable. What I intend to do is buy the interface from a retail shop and make sure they have a refund policy, if it doesn't work i'll simply take it back.

I'll follow your suggestion on wiping out the code and seeing if it returns.

I was actually hoping to find an error code relating to the surging I feel... but nothing has come up. So i'm probably going to have to resort to using the brake cleaner around the manifold and seeing if the rpm changes

[lpcapital]

Originally Posted by stirlsilver

lpcapital, really appreciate your info. Thanks for your time in the response. Seems like you have played with the software a bit. It certainly does have its limitations but it certainly can be handy.

I did read about some problems with the usb to serial interfaces, but having a usb interface is far more convenient than having to run a long serial cable. What I intend to do is buy the interface from a retail shop and make sure they have a refund policy, if it doesn't work i'll simply take it back.

I'll follow your suggestion on wiping out the code and seeing if it returns.

I was actually hoping to find an error code relating to the surging I feel... but nothing has come up. So i'm probably going to have to resort to using the brake cleaner around the manifold and seeing if the rpm changes

No problem... Let me know how it goes with the USB to Serial adapter. I think it has to have a chip made by Prolific to work... Or that's what I was reading...

[stirlsilver]

Well, I got a USB to serial adaptor. HL-340... and it doesn't work. Returned it the next day. Going to have to find a different shop and try again!

[lpcapital]

Originally Posted by stirlsilver

Well, I got a USB to serial adaptor. HL-340... and it doesn't work. Returned it the next day. Going to have to find a different shop and try again!

If you'd like I can get you one here in the US at RadioShack and send it over there. Is what I'm using and it works... Well, aside from my ECU being recognised as the wrong but that could be totally unrelated to the adapter.
An alternative, for sure more reliable is getting a PCMCIA Serial adapter for your laptop. Kinda like this one

[stirlsilver]

Cheers LP, I'll try persisting with the USB option a little more before resorting to using the PCMCIA card. I rather run a long USB cable than a long serial cable. What is the model number of the RadioShack one? We have some of those shops here in Australia.

[lpcapital]

Here's what I got



Unfortunately I don't have the box anymore so I'm sure of the part number.

[stirlsilver]

Righto, I found a USB to RS232 adaptor that works with Carsoft!

Unfortunately there isn't any marking on the case, and the box simply said USB to RS232 adaptor. However, when you plug it in, the computer tells me it has a Prolific chip on it. Hope it helps someone! I think it ain't bad for 22 australian dollars!

[greenmeanie]

take a look at this http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...play.php?f=233
i have found it very helpful.

[stirlsilver]

Cheers for the link,
I had already been through that when I was in the process of buying the hardware and installing the software. Definitely some good info there!

[b.u.ti-ful]

Have you checked the AC relay?