Dreaded Service Engine Soon (SES) Light Illuminated

[Qsilver7]

Originally Posted by jgold47

Lets clear up wha(t) the point of the SES is. ... It could be any one of a number of things, 90% of which are emissions related...

The CEL/SES/MIL warning light is probably the most misunderstood warning light (perhaps other than the battery warning light).

Owners attribute way more car maladies to the SES/CEL/MIL warning light than what its designated for...and many are too quick to "clear" the light without taking the time to read the code(s) to see what area of the emissions system set the fault. Or they just assume that its an 02 sensor and replace it without reading the codes.

_


(modern BMWs (since 1996) start with 3rd bullet information below...and the CEL/SES/MIL warning light only displays for OBD II mandated emissions system components that can be scanned/read over the TXD II communication lines with any generic OBD II code scan/reader (from low dollar to high dollar reader/scanners). This is not to be confused with the ability to communicate with ALL the BMW proprietary control modules over the CAN/Diagnostic/I/K/M/P BUS)






(OBD II {CEL/SES/MIL} scanners & readers only communicate over the TXD II lines)

[johnlacson]

Dammit! My SES light just came on last night....

[johnlacson]

System Lean. Fuel Trim Bank 1 & 2. No other codes came up.

[upallnight]

If you have a scanner that can read live data, what are the short term and long term fuel trims? A system lean code is normally associated with the fuel trims.

[johnlacson]

Sorry, no scanner. But willing to get one. Is there a good Bluetooth one that works with Android?

[upallnight]

You can get a copy of Torque or OBD Fusion on the google play store. For the bluetooth scanner I would just buy it on Amazon Prime. Careful with other sellers on Amazon because they could be located in China and it will take 3-4 weeks for it to arrive. If you are located in Crook county, you can stop by and I can scan your X for Free.

[johnlacson]

Oh wow, thanks! I'm all the way up in Lake County though. Will look for a good dongle on Amazon! Thanks so much!

[upallnight]

Originally Posted by johnlacson

Oh wow, thanks! I'm all the way up in Lake County though. Will look for a good dongle on Amazon! Thanks so much!

My brother lives out in Lake Zurich and I have my boat store at the Fox River Marina.

[johnlacson]

Oh cool! That the one off of 59 and Washington?

[upallnight]

Originally Posted by johnlacson

Oh cool! That the one off of 59 and Washington?

Yep.