14 fault codes.....

M

montero1

Member
 North Central MD
2007 Z4 3.0 SI... 31,000 miles.


Recently, I changed out the Wheels and tires (Brand New Style 325's from an E89). Within 2 minutes of driving, I got the ABS, Brake, and Traction control lights up on the dash. The top hasn't worked in a couple years, so I figure I'll take it in, have it looked at by a great independent mechanic that does BMW and Mini.

He tells me that it has 14 fault codes, I can't remember them all......but Headlight, ABS pump, Water pump, steering angle sensor, and other things (that all work perfectly). He says his equipment can't diagnose it all, and that I'd need to take it to a dealer.

The battery, is likely 10 years old. I bought the car with 9,500 miles, 5 years ago. The battery I believe, is the original. I want to change the battery out, see if that fixes my problems. The mechanic mentioned something about a Can-bus, and fiber optics, and that all these faults may be being triggered by some simple fix. Any ideas? He claims the battery did not throw any codes.
 
Have you tried putting the old wheels back on?

Can't think them alone would cause the issues though. Low battery known to throw electrical gremlins, some which you are having so for little money might be worth changing the battery if you suspect it.
 
Shouldn't worry too much with all the codes, I had this when I stupidly let the battery drain so needed a jump start.
Put a code reader on her & everything came up, just a symptom of battery drain which was my fault.
A decent new battery [and intelligent charger when not in use] maybe a good idea, they're cheap & cheerful nowadays.
You'll probably find if you clear all the codes she'll be fine but I'm not sure why a change of wheels would start this off, sorry!
 
Just thinking out loud here. Is it possible to damage the wheel sensor when you change a wheel? Are your new wheels exactly the same diameter as the old ones?
 
I wouldn't worry too much at this point. It does sound like others have already said. Classic low or flat battery fault codes issues. I'm surprised the specialist didn't think this to be honest. Did he offer any explanation why he didn't think it was possibly the battery.

What tyre sizes are you running on the 19" wheels? I would be tempted to disconnect the battery for 10 minutes then reconnect it to reset everything them do a tyre pressure reset and go for another run in it.

Electrical gremlins can be a nightmare however when you get many together at once it does point to battery/charging issues. I would also check all the earthing straps are secure, not unheard of for one of those to be loose on an E85/86, although it does seem to very rare. I would also check that you have the right size/capacity battery on there.
 
buzyg said:
Just thinking out loud here. Is it possible to damage the wheel sensor when you change a wheel? Are your new wheels exactly the same diameter as the old ones?
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Not really easy to damage those sensors.

I would say new battery, erase all the codes, and see which come back after a couple days of driving
 
The above is the best starting point, get a new battery online, a cable and software / app, and go from there.
 
Go down the route of least resistance first:

Put a battery meter across its terminals, what voltages are you getting?
 
Got my new battery in, but don't have anything to reset the codes. Will it possibly reset itself if all is well?
 
montero1 said:
Got my new battery in, but don't have anything to reset the codes. Will it possibly reset itself if all is well?
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No, find an indie or a dealer to clear all the codes, then drive a decent distance & go to the same guy to check for any returnong codes. 
 
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