"Just wear your damn mask..." (jimal)
03/06/2016 at 19:51 • Filed to: Hoopite or Honest Car
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"Just wear your damn mask..." (jimal)
03/06/2016 at 19:51 • Filed to: Hoopite or Honest Car | 1
| 5 |
Welcome to Part 3 of my attempt to get my mother in law’s 2000 BMW 528i ready for sale. Between work and some inclement weather, I was able to get a bunch done since !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , including the aforementioned cam cover gasket, a good cleaning and detail at the local full service car wash, a balance and rotation on the tires.
That damn DSC light
It came on when I was driving the car home from where it was being stored, and no amount of tinkering or Googling about tinkering or reading about these things on Bimmer Forums would get around it, or get around the fact that I needed to take the car some place to be scanned.
That finally happened last week. I took the car to a local independent BMW shop, who was nice enough to scan the car for me. In the name of brevity (and because I didn’t bother to write down the codes), the technician came up with fault codes for brake light switch, the brake pressure switch, and the steering position sensor. Clearing the codes got rid of the brake light switch code (the brake lights have been working fine) but not the later two. He said that while both the pressure sensor on the ABS module and the steering position sensor could be independently bad, the most likely (and common) scenario was that the ABS module was bad, throwing phantom codes for other components.
These Bosch sourced ABS modules are a common failure because of their proximity to the engine, and more specifically the exhaust. They get hot enough to damage solder joints. Or components. Or whatever, I’m annoyed that I had to go to a specialist to get the car scanned. After debating the merits of selling the car as-is for less than I could get for it with no lights on, versus spending money I wouldn’t get back so that I can sell the car with a clear conscience, I went back to the forums to see if there was an acceptable cheap solution.
The good news is that while a replacement module is expensive, both to purchase and to have coded to the car, there are companies out there who will refurbish these modules for a relatively modest fee. Being that this is a car that, if I’m lucky, I’ll get $2,500 for, I went with the least expensive service. Six T-20 screws, some packing tape and postage later, and the ABS module is on its way to Tennessee for (I hope) a quick repair and return. I’m optimistic, since as long as the cruise control works (and I does) they should be able to fix it.
Doing some quick and dirty math (and assuming the module repair works) we’re into the car for about $300, which we will get back when the car is sold. If the module repair does work, all that separates this 528i from Craig’s List is a driver’s side mirror cap.
If I don’t get impatient.
BmanUltima's car still hasn't been fixed yet, he'll get on it tomorrow, honest.
> Just wear your damn mask...
03/06/2016 at 21:43 |
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Mine is on, along with the abs and traction control lights.
I just consider it a more pure driving experience.
e36Jeff now drives a ZHP
> Just wear your damn mask...
03/06/2016 at 21:43 |
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You might also want to check the underside of the hood for wear in the insulation on the intake side of the engine. There is a connector for the secondary throttle(its used by the DSC and the cruise control), and if the engine mounts are bad, the engine will torque over, push the connector into the underside of the hood, depressing the release clip and pushing the clip itself out slightly. This turns off the DSC because it can no longer throttle the engine. Drove me slightly insane on my 328is until I finally figured out what was happening.
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Just wear your damn mask...
> BmanUltima's car still hasn't been fixed yet, he'll get on it tomorrow, honest.
03/06/2016 at 21:49 |
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If I was keeping the car I probably wouldn’t bother. I need to get as much as I can for my mother in law.
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Just wear your damn mask...
> e36Jeff now drives a ZHP
03/06/2016 at 21:49 |
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I’ll take a look, thanks.
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BmanUltima's car still hasn't been fixed yet, he'll get on it tomorrow, honest.
> Just wear your damn mask...
03/06/2016 at 21:51 |
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Well if you get it fixed, let me know. I’d like to fix mine too.