Fault Codes

[Mazza]

Gave the car a clean today, and thought I would stick the code reader on it, and now wished I hadn’t

There are no lights on the dash but it came up with three error codes

71. ABS Pump Motor Fault
76. Electromagnetic or Electromechanical influence on Wheel Speed Signal
92. CAN bus


WTF are these all about???? And how do I go about sorting them out?

 

[Sean d]

Gave the car a clean today, and thought I would stick the code reader on it, and now wished I hadn’t

There are no lights on the dash but it came up with three error codes

71. ABS Pump Motor Fault
76. Electromagnetic or Electromechanical influence on Wheel Speed Signal
92. CAN bus


WTF are these all about???? And how do I go about sorting them out?

Try reseting them, take a drive and check them again

 

[Mazza]

Just had a good idea, reset the codes first thing, then drive over to Goodwood, check them while I’m there and if I need any parts ..........there will be a Z3 self service Sunday market tomorrow, ( or possibly better known as the South Downs Annual Run)

 

[Mazza]

Cleared and ran the car this morning.

Just checked and all the same three errors are back.
Where do I start looking????

 

[Perfectjake]

Probably one or more of the wheel speed sensors. They usually trigger the abs fault as well as their own fault.

Its a shame you weren't at Goodwood, I had my laptop in the boot which would tell you which sensor is the dodgy one.
You're quite welcome to pop over one evening and I can plug it in and let you know which sensor it is.

 

[Mazza]

Actually I was at Goodwood today, so if I had known earlier that would have been good to get it sorted.
I may take you up on your offer, but I will clean the rear sensors first and see if it makes any difference.
I will PM you later this week. Thanks

 

[Perfectjake]

Sorry I missed you!

No problems, Let me know!
Happy to help if I can

 

[mrscalex]

It doesn’t sound right there are no dash warnings. It’s possible a previous owner has removed the bulbs to conceal the errors. Do the 2 warning lamps come on and then go off in key position II?

In my experience an error 71 is invariably a knackered ABS module. Not actually a fault with the pump. I’ve never seen it triggered just because of a fault elsewhere like a wheel sensor.

Fortunately neither fault is expensive to fix. A secondhand module can be had for about £30 and fitted in 10 minutes. But it will need coding unless it’s come off an identical car. Easy enough once you know how but a bit intimidating to start with. Or a BMW specialist will do it for £50-£75.

You can get away with not coding it just to make the error go away. But it’s foolish not to as it could affect successful operation of the system.

Wheel sensors usually need drilling out. So the concept of cleaning them whilst potentially yielding is a result is impossible to effect. The job is boring rather than difficult. Don’t buy cheap stuff. Delphi work fine and are about £20 for the front and £50 for the rears.

 

[Mazza]

@mrscalex
Thank you for the pointers. I’m fairly sure all the lights come on and then go off when the engine fires up.
(As I’m off to another walking footy tournament in about 10 minutes I will have to check and confirm this later today.)

 

[Mazza]

Been out today as the sun is shining and found all the warning lights on the dash behaving properly, so when I got back stuck the code reader on to see if fault codes still there.

Answer....NO, all three now disappeared, but came up with fault code 70, camshaft repositioned sensor!!!

Grrrrrr!!!! Has the wheel sensor repositioned itself up by the camshaft.....bloody electronics.

Will be getting the car checked on a INPA system next week thanks to @Perfectjake so hopefully get to the bottom of these fault codes.

 

[MRH1966]

Don't you just love these cars!!!!!!

 

[Castleman61]

I've had my Z for a while now and became obsessed with error codes, there were lots of them but no warning lights when I first looked, but over time they have all cleared, now I treat it like my old jensen healey, if it sounds right, smells right, drives right and looks right, that will do for me. I think the BMW's are over sensitive to error codes which sometimes appear to be randomly generated in an effort to confuse !

 

[mrscalex]

The wheel sensors and camshaft position sensors can both come and go with error codes. The wheel sensors can be set-off by something as innocent as washing the car. But usually it's indicative of a fault that will become permanent at some stage.

The error 71 on the ABS module is usually caused by a dry solder joint etc on the circuit board. Again that can come and go.

I get the 'if it drives right thing it must be okay' and I've had even had a Seat dealer say that to me because he didn't want to investigate an error. And that probably serves well up to a point.

But no error is a figment of the car's imagination. If an error is thrown and 'nothing' is wrong it either means the fault is intermittent or there is something spoofing the car into thinking there is an error and that itself needs fixing.

And early resolution of a fault might save a bigger bill, heartache and maybe even your life if attended to.

I always follow up all errors. Although that's not the same as saying I always fix them all. I might not be able to get to the bottom of them or I might take a calculated risk to leave it for now. By they are always on my radar.

 

[mrscalex]

And as I learnt recently you can't rely only on error codes. I fixed them all on one of my cars when I first rebuilt it.

Then recently it failed the MOT as the ABS wasn't functional. Why? Some wally had removed the dash lights under a previous owner to disguise the faults I had routinely fixed. No bulbs detected and the ABS is disabled.

And of course you have to use all your senses (well maybe not taste so much) to observe stuff as well.