what does this dash light mean?

B

ben g

Elite
 Essex
Just drove all the way from essex to glasgow (420 miles) and with just 70 miles left to go, a warning light appeared on the dash.

It was a yellow sort of box with 1 horizontal line above it and 1 vertical line to the left of the shape. On start up, I believe it's next to the EML sign. I appear to have lost the manual so have no way of identifying it. A quick google brought up answers such as 'canadian service due light' and coilpack problem.

Any ideas? Car appears to run fine and completed the journey without issue, but I was sick with worry about braking down 400 miles from home on a motorway that had no lighting at all!!!

A bit gutted tbh. Wanted to take the z4 for a better experience, but ended up ruining the journey. i'm also worried i'll not be able to get home without calling the rac out.
 
Yes, it's the check engine light. Could be nothing, or something. If the engine is running fine, don't worry about it but get the codes read and reset the light. See if the same problem recurs.
 
bcworkz said:
Yes, it's the check engine light. Could be nothing, or something. If the engine is running fine, don't worry about it but get the codes read and reset the light. See if the same problem recurs.
Click to expand...

Cheers. Only problem is i'm 420 miles from home and have no clue whether the car will make it home :(
 
It might reset itself, but unless there are any other indicators of issues or warning lights you should be fine as long as you take it easy. If it were me I'd drive it then get it checked out when I get home. On the plus side it shouldn't be the same issues Andy has experienced as you're in a 3.0.

The engine light on my wife's Honda keeps coming on - it's not a problem with the engine, it's a dodgy sensor. Only problem is that (on her car) it sticks the engine in limp mode every once in a while... Which is a bit disconcerting if you lose power on a fast A road as happened on Sunday :cry:
 
Cheers bing. My missus focus does the same. Not good for a car thats not even a year old!

Going to take it for a drive to get everything up to temperature, then check the fluid levels and have a listen to the engine. Definitely doesn't sound like it's misfiring or dieing an early death.
 
It's probably one of the ignition coilpacks - they seem to be a consumable item on a Z4 3.0i (like rear springs - I've had 4 of those!). If it is, then the engine will start running a bit rougher and then you ought to pull over and call the AA/RAC as unburnt fuel will then be getting to the catalyst and might damage it (this is what the BMW dealer told me first time it happened to me).

Or, you could buy a single new colipack and keep it until the car runs rough - then run the engine and disconnect the packs one at a time, if disconnecting one makes it worse still, then reconnect and disconnect another - eventually you'll find the one whose disconnection has no effect - this is the faulty one that you should replace with the new one. New ones cost about £20 from GSF and £40 from BMW (same Bosch part, different box). It's not wasted money - coil failure will definitely happen to your car one day - I always carry a spare one in my car now. Only tools needed are a small screw driver to dislodge the screw cover caps on the big plastic cover panel on top of the engine and a small socket (can't remember the size - buy a 30-piece set from Halfords for £15 if you've got none on you) to remove the panel. Coil packs just clip in by hand - it's easy to see how - just look at the new one and look at how the existing ones look on the engine. You need no mechanical skills to do this - that's why I have been able to do it!

Orange engine light will stay on for a few days and then go out - I was told that it has a deliberately limited memory - if the engine has run fine for x number of hours with no fault then it automatically resets, and this is exactly what happens.

Don't get talked into relpacing all 6 in one go - they seem to have random life in my experience, so if one is dead it doesn't necessarily mean that any of the
other 5 are going to die soon.

Of course, it might not be a coilpack at all...
 
ben g, don't forget that the coolant level should be checked cold, not at operating temperature :!:
 
Maf sensor, my check engine went on after a long trip. Apparently triggered by vast speed changes over a long period.
Confirmed with code reader. Cleaned sensor with spray cleaner .easy DIY reset code and been fine since.
Ken
 
Sorry to be digging up an old-ish thread here. Haven't been on the forum for ages due to life overload.

edderby said:
It's probably one of the ignition coilpacks - they seem to be a consumable item on a Z4 3.0i ...
Click to expand...
This does seem to be the case. One of my ignition coils crapped out on me as I was pulling away from a light the other day. The result was vibration, misfiring, and the engine warning lamp glaring at me. I was close to home though, so I simply turned around and transferred to the "other car". Anyway, the zed went off to the dealer who ran the diagnostics to discover that coil #5 had failed. I asked if all six coils would need to be replaced, and was told that the coils are not normally considered to be "consumables" so only the one that failed should be changed. However ... it might be a good idea to replace all six spark plugs while we're at it, 'cause the originals have seen some wear and might be getting a bit dodgy. Since the whole deal ... coil, plugs, and work ... only comes to a total of around 23,000 yen (about 147 pound sterling in your funny money), I gave the go-ahead. Should have the car back in a day or two.

10 year old car ... gotta expect a few glitches.
 
Just out of curiousity, do you see many Z4's in Japan? :wink:

ZeeFore said:
Sorry to be digging up an old-ish thread here. Haven't been on the forum for ages due to life overload.

edderby said:
It's probably one of the ignition coilpacks - they seem to be a consumable item on a Z4 3.0i ...
Click to expand...
This does seem to be the case. One of my ignition coils crapped out on me as I was pulling away from a light the other day. The result was vibration, misfiring, and the engine warning lamp glaring at me. I was close to home though, so I simply turned around and transferred to the "other car". Anyway, the zed went off to the dealer who ran the diagnostics to discover that coil #5 had failed. I asked if all six coils would need to be replaced, and was told that the coils are not normally considered to be "consumables" so only the one that failed should be changed. However ... it might be a good idea to replace all six spark plugs while we're at it, 'cause the originals have seen some wear and might be getting a bit dodgy. Since the whole deal ... coil, plugs, and work ... only comes to a total of around 23,000 yen (about 147 pound sterling in your funny money), I gave the go-ahead. Should have the car back in a day or two.

10 year old car ... gotta expect a few glitches.
Click to expand...
 
Georgio said:
Just out of curiousity, do you see many Z4's in Japan? :wink:
Click to expand...
Sure. They seem to be pretty popular. I've ended up besides other Z4s in parking lots multiple times too.
Quite a few nicely maintained Z3s around as well.
 
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