bmw dash lights

x in the city

hey folks

got a 94 316i and the petrol light doesnt seem to come on and the seat belt lights dont seem to work either?

what can be wrong, also whats the deal with the service indicators on the dash?

i havent owned a bmw before...
thanks

e

lomb

u need a bmw service tool to reset the service indicators, or servicing at bmw.
where did u buy the car? mayb a bit ropey as any half decent back streeet garage has that tool, there only 40 euro.

Seth Brundle

German & Swedish do them for about UK£15 so the Irish price is about €20. Also look at http://www.bmwcarclubforum.co.uk/forum_posts.asp?TID=5168&PN=1 for DIY jobbies.
The seatbelt light & petrol light may be just a case of new bulbs required. Do they come on when the ignition is in position II?

DivX

The following link explains the DIY procedure for resetting the service lights if you want to reset them without the reset tool. http://www.bmwe36tips.20m.com/resetlights.htm

Most 316i E36's of that era didn't have seat belt warning lights, yours is probably no exception.

As for the petrol gauge empty light, the fuel has to go down fairly far before that comes on, otherwise it's a blown bulb behind the instrument panel. That's fairly easy to replace, just remove the instrument cluster by removing the two torx screws at the top of the cluster. You should get away without removing the steering wheel if you’re careful, but if you do feel you have to remove the steering wheel be very careful if you've got an air bag (don't think this was standard either in '94), which will mean that you will have to disconnect the car battery 10 minutes before you remove the wheel and only reconnect the battery after reassembly of the wheel. Otherwise you'll generate a fault in the air bag.

x in the city

the seat belt light comes on with the ignition, but it goes out again

even with no belts on! the petrol light i havent seen, but they must be one......?

the other lights come on and off as required, abs etc.

em

x in the city

i have a drivers airbag as well......so not too keen to fcuk around with things, parts for bmws cost an arm and a leg....

!

Seth Brundle

My E39's sseatbelt light comes on for a few seconds and then goes out. It is just a reminder. The petrol light should come on IIRC when in position II but anyway it shouldn't matter really as you really shouldn't let the tank go down to that level as you can damage the fuel pump and as x said, it costs an arm and a leg (mine went on the side of the con colbert road on a wet morning and I managed to replace it in situ (luckily!).

DivX

I had the experience of a failed fuel pump also... thank god for Euro Car Parts is all i can say

I agree with killian, the petrol light comes on in my E36 along with all the rest when i switch the ignition to position 2 and the lights go off again after 1 sec.

The belt light sounds more like a problem with a switch in the safety belt mechanism, personally i wouldn't get too excited about it.

Have a look at http://www.eurocarparts.co.uk for any service parts you may want, they stock both OEM and cheaper alternative service parts (always recomment OEM).

Seth Brundle

When mine went it would have been a few days for ECP to post and German & Swedish had none in stock. Luckily a friend who is also an E30 expert was passing and we picked one up off Frank Keane and fitted it at the side of the road (which is actually a fairly good place to do it due to the good ventilation!)

lomb

Where is the pump on it. is it under the fuel tank or under the bonnet?

DivX

I wasn't too bad as long as i didn't leave the fuel go below 1/3 of a tank, the car would be hard to start! so i survived the few days... think it cost around £120 + delivery.

The fuel pump is under the back seat on the drivers side and sits on top of the fuel tank, only four screws to remove it.

lomb

hmm easy to replace there then.