Please help

[dumaurier7]

Yes these faults are the most challenging….they often are actually in one area but ‘throw’ faults elsewhere..as I said needs a decent auto electrician who knows canbus to probably successfully troubleshoot..otherwise you are into just swapping parts till it goes away..

Have you got a decent code reader ?

Hi B21, i dont have a decent code reader (i was thinking of getting the INSTA/P and D software on a laptop, is that considered decent?)

ISTA on a laptop is very good if yiu can manage to install it/understand it/use it..

Bimmergeeks Protool goes almost the full distance of ISTA and more user friendly ..anything you learn from ISTA can help with Protool so they are not mutually exclusive.

I have both…

The big big advantage of Protool being Android based is that I keep a cheap android phone in the car so you can do roadside assessments and resets..saved my bacon when the water pump failed 500 miles from home..

So get both!

Although Pro Tool is great it did not detect this error exclusively because everything was in fault/alarm at the same time, ISTA showed the entire architecture of the system, and the status of all modules which showed as green but the ABS one was red and stating No Communication.

[RAYK47]

Thanks guys i will look to get INSTA and scan this week.

To answer a couple of the questions: -
- AA engineer checked the battery and alternator and said they were both fine, he also commented that it was a VARTA battery and was decent and was definitely not the original (he did comment that it was from the RAC though). Is there a certain minimum capacity battery that we should be using?

- There is no water ingress in the boot but i did have some about a month ago under the drivers seat.

[B21]

Hi B21, i dont have a decent code reader (i was thinking of getting the INSTA/P and D software on a laptop, is that considered decent?)

ISTA on a laptop is very good if yiu can manage to install it/understand it/use it..

Bimmergeeks Protool goes almost the full distance of ISTA and more user friendly ..anything you learn from ISTA can help with Protool so they are not mutually exclusive.

I have both…

The big big advantage of Protool being Android based is that I keep a cheap android phone in the car so you can do roadside assessments and resets..saved my bacon when the water pump failed 500 miles from home..

So get both!

Although Pro Tool is great it did not detect this error exclusively because everything was in fault/alarm at the same time, ISTA showed the entire architecture of the system, and the status of all modules which showed as green but the ABS one was red and stating No Communication.

Yes ISTA goes that bit further…but unless you carry a laptop with you the convenience of having Protool with you , especially if like me most of your outings are 2-3 day + affairs hundreds of miles from home is a big plus…so given ISTA is free it’s Protool AND ISTA…there are things that ISTA struggles with that are a breeze in Protool so it a not a one way street anyway..

[RAYK47]

does anyone know the correct cable for E89? My understanding is it has to be DCAN and with USB connector.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/HanRainTool-Ed ... 81&sr=8-8
Also the ISTA software is not widely available. It is on Bimmerdiagnostics web site but does not specifically list E89 as compatible.

https://www.bimmerdiagnostics.com/#xl_H ... r:58wudRm

[B21]

does anyone know the correct cable for E89? My understanding is it has to be DCAN and with USB connector.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/HanRainTool-Ed ... 81&sr=8-8
Also the ISTA software is not widely available. It is on Bimmerdiagnostics web site but does not specifically list E89 as compatible.

https://www.bimmerdiagnostics.com/#xl_H ... r:58wudRm

Both should work fine…often E89s are covered under E90 menus..

[RAYK47]

does anyone know the correct cable for E89? My understanding is it has to be DCAN and with USB connector.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/HanRainTool-Ed ... 81&sr=8-8
Also the ISTA software is not widely available. It is on Bimmerdiagnostics web site but does not specifically list E89 as compatible.

https://www.bimmerdiagnostics.com/#xl_H ... r:58wudRm

Both should work fine…often E89s are covered under E90 menus..

Thanks again B21

[flybobbie]

I had these errors.
Started with faulty key module, then brake light switch shorted, then ABS said pressure sensor fail.
All sorts of warning like belt and airbag came up.
I fitted 2nd hand ABS unit, no coding required and replaced key reader and brake light switch.
All working, but tpms doesn't work.

[RAYK47]

So got hold of a cable and ISTA plus. Tricky to install but was all good on the end.

Started car and the check engine light was still present. Successfully connected the laptop and did a full scan.

Weirdly the data showed the car as a manual. Lots of colours showed up.

IMG20240126123245.jpg (199.67 KiB) Viewed 412 times

Both of the red alerts were related to MOST and seemed to be for unable to contact the cd player. Which makes sense as Dave coded a CD changer into the car in order to add the MMI box. So not sure if these can be resolved.

Anyway didn't have time to do anything else with this so disconnected.

I then noticed that the engine light had gone out. I didn't do anything else other than run the scan.

Took the car for a short spin fully expecting the light to come back on, but so far it has not.

[RAYK47]

an update.

Engine light still didn't reappear and car was running perfect. Keeping any journeys very short and local at the moment in case of issues.

Took her for a short drive to pickup a parcel and got her cleaned as well. Looked great and started the 2mile drive home. got about half a mile from home along a dual carriageway and same thing happened, however this time it went into neutral and i couldn't engage any gears so couldn't even limp home. Couldn't get into park and was stuck in neutral so i had to engage the handbrake and called the AA.

After about 15mins i tried her again and she fired up and even though all the lights were on, she was engaging gears fine. got her home so i now need to run a full diagnostic as soon as i can.

[B21]

If you are using ISTA it picks up the history of previous faults, even if they were cleared or went away they are still stored for interrogation…

[RAYK47]

i have done a full scan and again the engine management light has gone off and the errors do not seem major but all seem electrical, it does not help that i dont really know how to use ISTA.

Anyway the engine management light has gone away and the car check says no errors.

IMG20240203102329.jpg (92.67 KiB) Viewed 268 times

ISTA errors are as follows

IMG20240203101925.jpg (96.36 KiB) Viewed 268 times

CD Changer error i expect as it was coded in by AnubisZed when installing the MMI box
High beam assistant seemed to work last time I used it (about a week ago), but i guess it could be faulty
PDC was working when i parked the car so again unlikely to be faulty.

All pointing to electrical, might check the MMI box and ensure all connections are secure. Need to do a firmware update on it anyway. Its just getting the time.

[B21]

Very unlikely that the engine management light is caused my a MMI /MOST issue imho..

What history / shadow codes does ISTA show ?

[RAYK47]

Very unlikely that the engine management light is caused my a MMI /MOST issue imho..

What history / shadow codes does ISTA show ?

Hi B21

after scanning the engine management light goes off. It comes on when everything lights up but goes off once the scan runs.

[B21]

Very unlikely that the engine management light is caused my a MMI /MOST issue imho..

What history / shadow codes does ISTA show ?

Hi B21

after scanning the engine management light goes off. It comes on when everything lights up but goes off once the scan runs.

Have you got a screen shot of the page where it shows the network of modules and their respective status?

[RAYK47]

IMG20240203101902.jpg (183.76 KiB) Viewed 240 times