BMW Warning Light Query

brettmirl

Hi,

Looking for help on a warning light that appeared on my dash today in a BMW 318.
Was driving on a motoraway at about 120kmph and two warning lights came on the dash with an audible beep.

One looks like the handbrake one but its yellow. The second one is also yellow and has a warning trianle inside an arrow going anti-clockwise.

Pulled in, turned off the engine a few times, but it stayed on. Looked in the manual and it said that the DSC is faulty. Pressed the DSC button a few times but the warning lights stayed on.

Manual said it was ok to drive but get checked out as soon as possible.

Anyone know how easy it will be to fix and if it will cost much?

Cheers!

jhegarty

mick_irl wrote:

The second one is also yellow and has a warning trianle inside an arrow going anti-clock

Thats your traction control... will come on if its turned off , broken or in currently controlling things....

Myrddin

if your lucky its an abs/wheel speed sensor....dealer cost fitted prob around 180/200 euro..
If your unlucky its the ABS/DSC control unit - part alone can be 700 euro and upwards.

maidhc

You could just take out the fuse and get rid of the light...

...it is probably what would happen if the car was traded in!

Fey!

Check that the throttle cable is sitting properly in it's cradle under the bonnet.

Piccies here: http://www.bavarian-board.co.uk/forum_posts.asp?TID=33407&PN=3&get=last#354813

Mena

Had this when I bought the wife a 1 series. First time the software needed an upgrade. The second time was after the battery went flat, a quick drive up the motorway and it vanished.

Seth Brundle

Fey! wrote:

Check that the throttle cable is sitting properly in it's cradle under the bonnet.

Piccies here: http://www.bavarian-board.co.uk/forum_posts.asp?TID=33407&PN=3&get=last#354813

That was the cause of mine - the cable had actually snapped despite 2 diags revealing other parts (in the same area).
Open the bonnet and see if the lever thing in Feys 2nd pic moves - that would be a good indication.
If it is the cable then the cost is about a tenner - it should be a DIY job.

brettmirl

Thanks everyone for the help. Couldn't see anything visibly wrong with that cable. Have it booked into the garage for Thursday morning. Will let you know how I get on!

Seth Brundle

My cable had snapped inside the sheath so it wasn't visible. What year is your car?

brettmirl

Its a 04. About 35,000 on the clock.

brettmirl

Just a quick update on this. It's still not resolved and is going into the garage for a third time tomorrow.

First, they reset the sensor. Two days later, the warning lights came on again.

Back into the garage, they replaced some sensor between the wheels and the steering wheel and on Saturday, the two warning lights came on again.

So it's back into the garage in the morning.

Curran

Hey Mick,

Will ya let me know how you get on - having very similar problems with my E39 - just havent had a chance to get it into a garage yet - and what kinda prices you had to pay to get it sorted.

Cheers

richie_rvf

I had this happen on an E39 in the past, turned out to be a hair line crack in one of the ABS Sensors, one bolt, ten minutes.

Hopefully it will be something simple like that for you.

BTW the crack could not be seen with the sensor in position, it only became apparent once removed.

Richie.

crosstownk

This is a long shot - but I've seen it twice in the past (neither cars were BMWs). But both cars had ABS warning lights on. On inspection, I discovered that one of the tyres had a higher aspect ration i.e. there was a 75 on instead of a 65. This meant that there was a difference in rotations between the two wheels and this was registered as a fault.

Like I say - it's a long shot, but worth checking out just in case!

richie_rvf

Good thought - that is how the tyre pressure monitor system works on my car, the ABS sensor measures rotation speed, if one changes it will give you a warning.

Richie.

brettmirl

Quick update since. They are now replacing some other sensor which they apparently couldn't do day one as the car was under waranty. Weird.

They wont have the part till Wednersday evening. Will give you an update after then.

Am also going to check the tyres as per crosstownk's suggestion.

I also noticed that my ciggarette chargers are not working since I dropped it in the last time.