Orange lights on tacho

C

castillo

New member
Hi, I have very recently purchased a Z4 M Coupe and having read various post on this board have found some valuable information that helped me with the purchase.
Having never owned a BMW before let alone an M Car i kind of wondered what all the fuss was about. I think i now know, it really is an awesome drive.

Anyway, the car i bought is overdue an oil service (time-wise) for which i have booked it in straight away and i was wondering if this could have an effect on the orange lights disappearing from the rev counter as it warms up?
After a long drive the final ornage light before the red ones (from 7.5k RPM to 8k RPM) stays lit. Is this normal as it is suggesting that your really should be changing up now or should they all go out up to the 8k redline?

Any clarification from people that have owned one for a length of time would be much appreciated.
 
mikedav, thanks for your very quick response. Knowing that the final block should stay orange has put my mind at ease. :)
 
Yes it's normal - I think it's an attempt to persuade people that "bouncing off the rev limiter" is a bad idea. I don't think this orange light ever goes away (or at least hasn't under hard driving for me). Worth flirting with 7900 rpm every now and then though :driving:
 
mikedav said:
That's normal, it won't affect the rev counter as that's just based on temperature.
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I actually don't believe it is based on temperature... I feel the orange lights on the tacho disappear quite quickly, while the - i think - water temperature has still not reached 50 degrees celcius. I try to stay under 3000rpm and at least not go over 4000rpm until the water temperature is also heated up.
 
Entwistlea said:
thats oil temp
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Exactly as no water temp gauge on the "M".

I have an aftermarket water temp gauge and the water temp heats up very quickly but the oil temp does take quite a bit of time to get up to temp.
 
On my 2005 M3,(same engine as the ZM) the orange lights are considered to be the max RPM based on engine temp. In other words, keep the revs down below the orange lights until the last one is the only one lit. It only takes a minute or two of driving, longer if you sit and idle to warm up. (In really cold weather I used to get lots of orange lights at start up. :lol: )
 
And that is my point: your engine is not warmed up after 2 minutes of driving. The proof is in the oil temp meter.

It does take longer however in cold weather to get all except one light dimmed. So there must be some temperature sensor.
 
WLH said:
I have an aftermarket water temp gauge and the water temp heats up very quickly but the oil temp does take quite a bit of time to get up to temp.
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Did you add the LeatherZ gauge kit Bill?
I'd love to add that kit, but it will have to wait for a while.
 
wooter said:
And that is my point: your engine is not warmed up after 2 minutes of driving. The proof is in the oil temp meter.

It does take longer however in cold weather to get all except one light dimmed. So there must be some temperature sensor.
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I had both gauges (it was an M3). The oil does take a long time to heat up but that's why we use 5W-30 or 5W-40 synthetic.
 
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