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Dash Display Problem

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RICHARDD View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote RICHARDD Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Dash Display Problem
    Posted: 28 Nov 2009 at 9:53am
During the week, I got in the car and had a job to turn the ignition key - the steering wheel lock was under some pressure, but released OK when I moved thw wheel to and fro.
 
It wasnt until I drove off that I realised that the dash display was not working - no speedo, rev counter, fuel gauge, temp gauge, and no mileage readout. My initial thoughts were ££££££££'s !!!
 
BUT, when I parked up later on, and then restarted the car an hour later - all back to normal! I surmised it was something to do with the steering lock sticking - but is it likely that something like the ignition switch is on the way out, or is it nothing to worry about? The car is a 523, 1998 model.  
If in doubt when all else fails - read the instructions!!
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Cabrio View Drop Down
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Joined: 24 Aug 2006
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Cabrio Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Nov 2009 at 10:06am
Guess its an E39 - terrific cars but prone to unusual electrical issues occasionally - sometimes down to low voltage - did you relaise there are checks you can do through the dash to check many circuits
E30 Register joint coordinator - Competition Secretary - Contact name Neil for PM and Email - cabrio_e30@yahoo.co.uk - be aware addicted to E numbers
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Cabrio Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Nov 2009 at 10:36am
For interest only
 
 
There are many hidden codes on the OBC. Here's how to get to the hidden OBC codes:

There are two buttons on the instrument panel. The button to the lower left of the speedometer is the reset button for the trip odometer, which I'll call the Reset or R button. The button to the lower right of the tachometer is the check control key, which I'll call the Check or C button. If you don't have both of these buttons? and the check control indicator? on your instrument panel, this isn't likely to work for you. Many tests are normally locked but Test 19 is to unlock and you need to enter the value of the sum of the last 6 digits of the VIN, so vin ending BK123456 you need to enter 21 to unlock the OBC.

The first step is to start the car. (It will also work if the key is turned to position 1 or 2 without staring the engine but some things like revs, charging voltage, etc won't be useful.) Now hold in the Check button. The check control indicator will read "CHECK CONTROL OK". Keep holding the button. After a few seconds the indicator will go blank, and after a few seconds more the indicator will display "TEST-NR. 01". Now release the Check button.


At this point you can press the Check button briefly to cycle through each available test, or hold it in for a few seconds to exit the test mode.

In each test, you can press the Reset button to cycle through any displays that might be available in the current test (however, some tests use the Reset button to CHANGE the current value, which could be very bad? read the rest of this page before using the Reset button!). Here's what comes up for test 01. The first line is the initial display, and each subsequent line is displayed for each press of the Reset button. These displays are usually centered in the check indicator, but I won't attempt to imitate that here. I've added comments to explain the displays (but dont play with the ones you dont understand).

TEST-NR. 01
FGSTNR: GM615xx (VIN serial number, censored)
K: 7744
BMWTNR: 8387061
CI:12 DI:06 BI:09
DAT: 43/98 (week and year of manufacture)
HW:04 SW:1100/1100
ZYL:08 M:4 S:4095 (cylinders, and what else?)
CAN:02 AEND:14

There's a lot of information here. You'll notice here that the OBC's native language is German?"cylinder" is represented by ZYL because that's the abbreviation for the German word "Zylinder". You'll see other examples below of German words and metric units appearing in these OBC displays, regardless of what language the OBC usually uses to communicate with you.

At first, tests 01 and 02 are the only test you'll be able to access. The rest of the tests are normally locked. Test 02 is simple:

TEST-NR. 02
(Instrument test)

This test works only when the key is in position 1, NOT when the car is running. Press Reset and all of the gauges and lamps in the instrument cluster come to life. All the lamps except for the warning indicators (such as overheating and low oil) come on. I presume the "idiot lights" are connected directly to their respective sensors so they still work even if the OBC dies.

The speedometer and tachometer move on their own from one extreme to the other, so if you want to get a picture of your speedometer reading 155 without leaving the garage, this is the way to do it. (This is not how I made my autobahn video, though.

TEST-NR. 06
TNK: 7.5/31.0/38.5L (current fuel levels: left, right, total)
TNKANZ: 39.4L PHASE1 (average total fuel level)

This test relates to the fuel tank. I left the numbers in to assist with the explanation, but you'll get different numbers. The first two numbers seem to be independent fuel-level measurements; the third is the sum of the first two. My car has some kind of "reserve" gas tank with a rated capacity of "approximately 10 liters", so maybe the first number is the reserve tank. The first two readings bounce around a lot when the car is moving, suggesting that the fuel-level sensors respond fast enough to show the fuel sloshing around in the tank.

The first value also starts out higher than it ought to be and declines over the first ten minutes of operation to a stable value. The second number starts out low and increases, while the third number remains relatively stable but still moves around. For example, on my first trip after making these measurements, the TNK values started out at 19.6/19.7/39.3 and declined to 6.9/31.2/38.1 within a few minutes. I assume the dashboard fuel gauge ignores the first value as long as there's fuel left in the main tank, since it seems fairly consistent from one trip to the next. I've had trouble with my OBC being overoptimistic about its driving range estimates right after the car is started when the tank is near empty, though, and I think this shows why.

The German word Anzahl means "quantity". The TNKANZ value seems to indicate the average fuel level over some period. And what does PHASE1 mean?

TEST-NR. 07
KTMP: xxx?C (engine core temperature)
N: xxxxx U/MIN (engine RPM)
ATMP: +xx.0?C (believe its ambient temperature)

TEST-NR. 08
V: xxx KM/H (current velocity. If this is accuratre you can see how much your speedo over reads.)

TEST-NR. 09
VB: xx.x V (battery voltage)


TEST-NR. 10
LAND: 02  (country of sale?)

TEST-NR. 11
EINHEIT 1: F7
EINHEIT 2: FA
EINHEIT 3: 4A

Einheit means "unit". Units 1 through 3, then, and each seems to have a hexadecimal (base-16) number associated with it. Intriguing, eh? It gets better later on.

TEST-NR. 12
VANK: xxx.x KM/H
ANK: --:--

On my car, VANK was 077.6 KM/H. Could ANK be from the German word Ankunftszeit for "time of arrival"? That would explain why it is likely to be blank

TEST-NR. 13
GONG?

This one is the audio equivalent of Test 02. Instead of testing the lights, it tests the sounds. You'll hear, in order, the tones for the Memo, Outdoor Temperature Alert, Limit/Code, and Check Control chimes.

TEST-NR. 14
DIAG: 1 C7 81 000
DIAG: 2 00 00 000
DIAG: 3 00 00 000
DIAG: 4 00 00 000
DIAG: 5 00 00 000

These would change if your car has accumulated diagnostic codes for some failure. I don't know what C7 81 means (Mr Everett may know )

Now, here we get into the most intriguing test:

TEST-NR. 15
PORT A00: xxxxxxxx
PORT A01: 00000111
PORT A02: xx0x0001
PORT A03: 00000011
PORT A04: 000x0101
PORT A05: 001B1111
PORT A06: 00110101
PORT B00: xxxxxxxx
PORT B01: 00100010
PORT B02: xx0x0110
PORT B03: x0111001
PORT B04: 000x1111
PORT B05: 11100111
PORT B06: 00000000

These appear to be register values from some type of microprocessor, displayed in binary. The 0's and 1's showed here were stable when I read out these values; the x's were toggling between 0 and 1. 

TEST-NR. 16
OELTEMP: -48?C

This means "oil temp,"

TEST-NR. 17
RCC-EMPF.: ----MIN
timing for something but will check this one and amend

TEST-NR. 18
(No response to Reset on this test.)

TEST-NR. 19
LOCK: OFF (press Reset to turn the lock back on)

TEST-NR. 20
KVBR: 1000

This "test" is actually a way to adjust the OBC's fuel consumption factor. There's a sensor in the fuel injector system that indicates fuel consumption back to the OBC. This "KVBR" value is used to calibrate that sensor using the following process:

1. Reset one of the OBC mileage indicators and the trip odometer, and fill your tank.
2. Record the actual fuel consumption for your car over a long period (one to two months at least).
3. Divide this reading into the trip odometer value to calculate your actual mileage.
4. Divide this result by the OBC indicated mileage over the same period and multiply by 1000.

You now have your fuel consumption factor. To enter the factor into the OBC, get into Test 20 and press Reset. This will start the KVBR value counting down. It will count down to 750, then start over at 1250. A crude user interface to be sure, but it works. I use a value of 1080 to reduce the reading by about 8% as the OBC was over reading.

You probably don't need to change the KVBR value; the default value of 1000 should be accurate. And if your calculated fuel consumption factor is outside the 750/1250 range, there's probably something wrong.

TEST-NR. 21
RESET?

Be careful here? I dont suggest using the Reset button on this one, because I assume it resets the whole OBC. This could open a can of worms
E30 Register joint coordinator - Competition Secretary - Contact name Neil for PM and Email - cabrio_e30@yahoo.co.uk - be aware addicted to E numbers
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RICHARDD View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote RICHARDD Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Nov 2009 at 3:05pm
Thanks Cabrio for all that - but I think I will leave well alone - it is working now as normal!! I reckon it must have been the lock sticking or somesuch - I was just concerned in case it was a warning of some sort of impending failure - particularly if it was of the wallet busting, need to save up in advance, type failures!!
 
The car is an E39 as you thought - getting close to 200,000 miles too :-)
If in doubt when all else fails - read the instructions!!
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