Secondary air system
 

I used the code reader today for the first time in my life.
Got codes: Table 19 code 5F, 5E, 60. All of these pertain to the secondary air system.
5E ---> Secondary air system, air mass
5F ---> Secondary air system, tube blocked
60 ---> Secondary air system, pump not active


Can someone please chime in and tell me where I need to look, or what I have to replace?
http://i34.tinypic.com/120km6v.png

try this . emission control air pump .the first one listed does not match your car . the next two listed match .
RealOEM.com * Diagram Selection

Clean the MAF sensor Item #1 or change if code still persists after cleaning.
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/diagrams/b/p/127.png

If code 60 reads that your air pump is not active, was the engine running? Read codes again while engine is running.

Then check the Smog air pump, check pump when engine is cold, like in the morning, the smog pump should come on for about 30 seconds, it sounds like a vacuum cleaner. If it's not working that could be the issue. See diagram below item #1:

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/diagrams/h/o/192.png
How many miles are on your X5?

Make sure the air filter is clean, see diagram below item #2

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/diagrams/c/i/112.png

I will look into this, I will probably check the MAF first and try to clean it. Thank you

I will clean the MAF and check the codes again. I did not check for codes while the engine is on because they specifically instruct you to have the engine off. MY car has roughly 98000 miles on it, air filter was cleaned and re-oiled less than 5,000 miles ago. Maybe the oil from the air filter damaged the MAF. I will check the smog air pump last. Thanks for the reply

It doesn't take much oil from the air filter to fowl up the MAF, this is a known issue when using a K & N air filter. Use a good quality electronics spray cleaner, from radio shack, to clean the MAF, it has a very sensitive internals. If cleaning doesn't help you may need to replace it.

Yeah I'm aware of that, I might buy a aftermarket dry air filter after I clean the MAF, i already have a can of MAF Cleaner, that should work better then electric cleaner right?

Absolutely! Let me know how it works out for you. Good luck!

Reviving an old thread that I started! This problem was fixed by installing a new secondary air pump.

Now it seems this problem came back. I'll have to double check the code but I believe it was for secondary air system - pump blocked. Now on every cold start, the pump runs for about 5 seconds and immediately shuts off. When there was no code, it would run normal, around 30 seconds.

I should also mention that this problem occurred within a few days after cleaning my air filter and MAF. I have the AFE stage 1 intake Pro Dry Version. Cleaned it with the factory cleaner and cleaned the MAF with MAF cleaner. I allowed the filter to completely dry for about 4-6 hours.

Also as shown in the beginning of the post, I replaced the pump at around 100,000 miles and now I have 160,000.

Any suggestions rather than buying a new pump?

Thanks for the update.

The 1st owner's record showed the air pump was dead at 30K (I bought the car at 112K).

As much as I did the DIY for air pump and trouble-shooting the circuit in the E39 forum, I don't really care about this SAS thingy any more.

- I removed the Relay feeding the air pump
- Placed a small piece of black electrical tape over the CEL light in the dash.
- Once a month, I scan for new CEL codes, if any. In other words, if the only codes I have are SAS-related, then nothing to worry about.

PS: The reason the pump fails so quick is that: it spins at very high speed (? 5000 rpm or so) like a hair blower. It spins for about 30-45 sec or so on cold start.
The electrical motor is made by Johnson Controls and you bet it right, it is made in China.

Search E39 bimmerfest forum, someone bought the cheap 12V pump that is used for pumping air mattress (camping mattress) for about $12 at Walmart.
He wrote a DIY mod in E39 forum, look it up.