Help with diagnostics on 1997 2.8

[David Carter]

Can anyone help an automotive luddite? I recently rebuilt the rear suspension of my 97 2.8 Z3 and was rewarded with the ABS and DSC lights refusing to go out on the dash. Figuring I must have broken a wire or damaged a sensor somewhere, I thought I'd invest in a diagnostic tool to try and narrow down the problem. On the advice of a couple of friends who have them, I bought an Autel MaxiCheck Pro. It arrived complete with 16 pin OBDII cable, only for me to find that the only diagnostic socket on my car seems to be the 20 pin round socket under the bonnet, of which 9 pins look to be connected. I therefore ordered up an adaptor and optimistically plugged it in upon its arrival. With anything electronic post 1970 being somewhat beyond my ken, I hadn't got a clue which menu to select, but figured poking anough buttons must yield some sort of result in the end. Selecting the OBDII menu resulted in going through a cycle of various codes on the screen then returned "linking error". Trying various other menus, I got as far as selecting my geographic area, BMW and "Z series" and "Z3 E36", before again being told that it basically wasn't talking to the car.

Has anyone else successfully used this machine on a Z3 of this vintage, and if so, what am I doing wrong?

 

[Jim B]

I had the same lights on after I rebuilt the rear of mine (same year and engine). I went for a short run and within a couple of miles lights all went out and all was fine.

 

[t-tony]

Can anyone help an automotive luddite? I recently rebuilt the rear suspension of my 97 2.8 Z3 and was rewarded with the ABS and DSC lights refusing to go out on the dash. Figuring I must have broken a wire or damaged a sensor somewhere, I thought I'd invest in a diagnostic tool to try and narrow down the problem. On the advice of a couple of friends who have them, I bought an Autel MaxiCheck Pro. It arrived complete with 16 pin OBDII cable, only for me to find that the only diagnostic socket on my car seems to be the 20 pin round socket under the bonnet, of which 9 pins look to be connected. I therefore ordered up an adaptor and optimistically plugged it in upon its arrival. With anything electronic post 1970 being somewhat beyond my ken, I hadn't got a clue which menu to select, but figured poking anough buttons must yield some sort of result in the end. Selecting the OBDII menu resulted in going through a cycle of various codes on the screen then returned "linking error". Trying various other menus, I got as far as selecting my geographic area, BMW and "Z series" and "Z3 E36", before again being told that it basically wasn't talking to the car.

Has anyone else successfully used this machine on a Z3 of this vintage, and if so, what am I doing wrong?

Have you driven the car after the repairs David?

Tony.

 

[Duncodin]

I have 99 z3. I use a diagnostic reader "Creator C310"

I also don't have a diagnostic port in the car. Only the round one in the engine bay.

After doing work I also had the ABS lamp and others. They wouldn't clear. But leaving the C310 connected and driving down the drive I could see the live wheel speed of each wheel on the c310 telling me that all sensors were working.

As Jim B said, went for a drive and after a little while the warning lamps went out on their own

I guess the computer just wants to see the sensors working for a while before clearing the error.

 

[David Carter]

Thanks for that everyone. I haven't driven the car yet (still waiting for body panels to be returned after rust treatment), so hopefully an Italian tune-up will sort out the lights. I have subsequently managed to find engine data under the "DPF" menu on the electronic crystal ball, but nothing relating to ABS etc. This always seems to come back to "not supported". Was I being too optimistic, and maybe a car of this vintage only has engine diagnostics?

 

[Lee]

Hi David if you've not driven the car since the rebuild the lights wont go out till you've driven above 20mph.

The car needs to be driven to reset. (Unless you have INPA)

 

[colb]

1997 is an early car and they had OBD1 system for diagnostics and require an old style serial port on a laptop to use INPA diagnostics, the more modern OBD2 scanners probably not compatable with your car. No doubt someone with more detailed info on the year they changed to OBD2 will confirm.