SMG Help

[McDade]

Hello,

I once again need to ask the help of you guys. I've got E85 SMG which I believed to have a battery problem. The cars been sat over winter and clearly struggling with power.

Long story short, I've changed the battery on the car hoping this would be the end of my problems. When you open the car you normally hear the gearbox enagaging. This isn't currently happening

My cars stuck in 1st and will not go into neutral to start the thing. All other items are working as expected(lights, windows, roof etc)

Any ideas anyone of what I can do?

Cheers

 

[patriot66]

Hi there. Mine was a bit 'awkward' after I fitted a new battery last summer. Have you got the doors closed and your foot on the brake ? Take the key out and lock the car. Wait 1 minute then unlock and when you turn the ignition back on wait 15 to 20 seconds before trying to select neutral. Worked for me and mines been fine since.

 

[McDade]

Il give that a bash

I found an old article saying that relays are most common. I've reseated these and still no joy. Il ring BM see if I can get these parts

 

[McDade]

So ive finally got the relay ordered after getting confirmation from BMW parts dept

For future reference the part number is: 61368366646

i will update tomorrow on whether this resolves my issue or not. Fingers crossed!

 

[McDade]

So the relay hasn't fixed my issue! I've checked the fuses and relay was kinda my last hope before getting the car recovered

Anyone else have any suggestions?

Cheers

 

[raymond.harper]

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=928274
http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=550771 not sure if these will help

 

[GuidoK]

My money is on one of the sensors.
The smg has basically 4 sensors:
A pressure sensor
Speed sensor
2 shift sensors.
I think the first 2 can be changed without dropping exhaust/heatshields/gearbox(possibly), but still involves removing engine mounts and lowering the engine (so you can reach behind the engine to the gearbox)
The other two sensors...I dont know (located at the back of the box).
The main issue is that your car even cant get into neutral, so getting it even towed is a major problem.
What you can try is disconnecting the battery for 15min, then connecting it and within 2 sec try to shift to neutral (the smg ecu will need a few sec to read the sensors but may want to give shift control before that).
Than you at least can get it onto a flatbed.

 

[McDade]

Thank you very much for the response's guys!

 

[kis]

I've read somewhere that gear selection can also be to-do with the SMG pump. Possibly pump having a fit (on it's way out) or possibly pump hydraulic fluid being too low?

 

[kis]

Had another little google just now. Seems like the relay is the easy fix if you're lucky. Followed by either pump issue or a sensor issue like GuidoK mentioned. Take a look at this one. If your dash doesn't say F for fault (in replacement of N, D, or R) then I'd say pump!

Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[McDade]

F1 does come up, and i cannot hear the pump prime. Ive changed the relay and the fuses, but still no joy

Ive messaged another member who said SMG fluid could be topped up, but i cannot find the reservoir.

Im resigned to the fact it maybe a pump replacement, but ive heard of lots of stories of people just changing the pump out without fully understanding which component was faulty.

Thanks again everyone

 

[kis]

Maybe this might help... Assume it's similar to Z4. Not entirely sure which model it's even for in the thread!

http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showthread.php?1705-SMG-Hydraulic-Fluid-(Pentosin-CHF-11s

 

[McDade]

Hey Kis,

ive seen that schematics before, and i also struggled understanding what model its from.

Ive seen the location on the M3 SMG and it looks similar to the thread on ZHPmafia.

Im going to bob down to BMW today and see if they can help too

Cheers

 

[mac27040]

Any update on the problem, try putting it in reverse and switch ignition on and off to get it to move out off first.

 

[jabber]

Any update on the problem, try putting it in reverse and switch ignition on and off to get it to move out off first.

I would be interested in the outcome of this as well

 

[mac27040]

I did have mine stuck in 1st gear once but played around with gear stick (ie moving it between reverse, neutral and drive ) and switching ignition off and on and i eventually moved out of drive into neutral so it would start.

only happen once.

 

[kis]

mac27040 ever find out what caused it? I'm thinking of getting indie to take a look at the pump when it next goes in... make sure theres definitely enough hydraulic fluid there. So if there is ever an issue, it should rule out the fluid being too low.

 

[Rich61]

Have a look on M3 Cutters there's loads of info on faults and fixes on there as its the same system basically in the M3

 

[McDade]

Quick update, as i took the day off last week

Re-checked fuses 9 and 32 to ensure they were OK. Reseated
Reseated 'salmon' relay under bonnet.
Disconnected battery for 15 minutes
Read and cleared all error codes (P0701)
Lifted car onto axle stands, but couldnt get under enough to identify fluid reservoir

I still cannot hear the pump prime when unlocking the car, this is a concern for me

At the moment im looking at options to recover the car on a low loader and get it to a garage.

Big thanks to Mac for spending the time to give me tips through PM, and everyone who has given me a little hope and stuff to try

Cheers

 

[McDade]

Have a look on M3 Cutters there's loads of info on faults and fixes on there as its the same system basically in the M3

Ive spent loads of time looking through here, the problem is the original M3 that had most of the SMG problems is a generation one SMG. They are slightly different to the SMG (or SSG) gearbox thats in the E85 Z4.

Thanks anyway though!