New Member- 5 speed 3.0- already having problems
 

First off I'll introduce myself to the board. I just bought a 2001 5 Speed Manual X5 to use as my daily driver. I am very familiar with bmw's as I have had several over the last few years and currently have an E46 M3 (Dinan Stage 3) as my weekend car.

Yes, I have already done a search on this issue...

The first 1000 miles of this car were great (except for the airbag light being on) , until yesterday when going up a VERY steep hill when the " Three amigos" (DSC, ABS, Brake lights) all came on when I made the shift from 1st to 2nd. I continued to drive the car and now the speedometer is no longer functioning either. (When I first start the car in morning it stays off for 30sec-1min before coming on, speedo continues to work for a while before stopping)
A friend of mine here in Austin was kind enough to "attempt" to pull the codes with autologic but was unsuccessful. Both the ABS Module and the Airbag Module will NOT communicate with Autologic.
He was very confused and said it could take hours of diagnostic to figure out why this was happening. To me this further points at the ABS module?

What is the forums opinion of the next step I should take to resolve this issue? (I have already replaced battery today as well).

Possibly ABS module has crapped out.

Here's a thread to lookover.

http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...r-problem.html

I'm sure your rear wheel speed sensor on the driver side is death.

This is what I think as well, however what about the fact that the ABS Module will not communicate with Autologic?

Since my original post the check engine light has also come on.

Wow. Yea start scanning. I think you have rear speed sensor death as stated. Read codes for check engine. Erase and monitor them.

I will be putting a new wheel sensor on in morning.

But still, Would a bad wheel sensor prevent autologic from communicating with the ABS Module?

You may have multiple things going on. Basically, change the sensor and re-evaluate. When you change too many things at once you may not know which change solved the problem. And you may have changed something that was not needed.

Changing the sensor may or may not solve your communication problem too. However, there's a good chance it will solve at least SOME of your problems.

Let us know your results after you replace the sensor and clear all the faults in memory.

By clear faults do you mean the CEL or do you mean using auto logic to see if it will communicate? Should the car automatically correct itself after install of wheel speed sensor?

I'm not familiar with autologic. However, I'm pretty sure most if not all OBD scanners have the ability to clear fault codes. There are different kinds of codes and some cannot be cleared/deleted until after a repair - like replacing a bad part.

So, typically you'll want to do the repair then go back and make sure you clear as many fault codes you can. That way you don't have to worry about addressing old faults.

Be cautious on just flinging a wheel speed sensor at it. The DSC control unit supplies a 5v reference signal to the sensor, common failure is the dsc control unit. very rarely have i replaced the sensor and since the scan tools wont talk to the dsc then that a big sign that it has died

So, do you feel that he should just go ahead and replace the DSC/ABS module without changing the sensor first? BTW .. not saying the module may not be bad.

The DSC/ABS module uses the 4 wheel speed sensors. He has other problems that's consistent with sensor problems. I think you'll find many people have had sensor problems.

I just think it would be prudent to replace something that the DSC/ABS module 100% uses (and is relatively inexpensive and simple to replace) to confirm certain things either way.

it a simple diag, go to the sensor and check for the 5v reference voltage with the key on in position 2. use a DVOM the check for the voltage on one of the pins, I dont remeber off the top of my head which one, but if you check all 3 and no voltage= bad dsc unit
Each sensor has its own signal. since 1999 when that style wheel speed sensor was introduced i have replace about 5 sensor total and about 100+ dsc unit for this same complaint

Maybe simple for you. I will leave that to the OP. :rofl:

Not to hijack this thread but Doctor I'd appreciate it if you could please chime-in on my thread linked below. Maybe you can give me some tips on how to determine if its a sensor and/or the DSC/ABS module.

http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...al-sensor.html

i would suggest testing the signal that comes to the plug at the ABS unit - the pinouts are out there (search for trifeca, you will find pinouts), then use the multimeter with diode testing capacity and thin probes to stick into the pins at the plug - test each diode... it will show resistance one way and no resistance the other way... In my case, i had no signal from rear left, so I pulled the sensor from the wheel hub, and tested the sensor - it was ok... i had no continuity between the wheel hub and the plug - the wire somewhere inbetween got broken...

If the diodes are fine, then chances are, it is the ABS unit - very common thing on Bosch 5.x On mine it went once at -40 degrees ambient temp and the second time when i was pulling a small uhaul...

Do you have a multimeter? do you know how to use it? this diode checkeng is done with no key in the ignition, system cold. once you prove that the diodes communicate to the plug, then you move onto the reference voltages supplied by the ABS module... move from simple to more complex... at the very end of the troubleshooting, send the ABS for a repair - there are ebay services, people fix them for $200 with a lifetime warranty...

I installed the new rear wheel speed sensor this morning and cleared the CEL lights which was for "vehicle speed sensor". No change has taken place, Should I now send my ABS module in for repair?

Will the lights not go away until I try to communicate with ABS module again with autologic?

Find someone with a DIS / GT1 and get the car scanned with that. You need to diagnose the issue further.

:iagree: ...diagnosing from the net is very difficult. I had a code: the net showed a dozen possibilities, as did conventional 'wisdom' on this board and related BMW boards. I hit a friend's shop. He has Launch 431X tool and all the BMW/MB et al extra stuff. About $3500 invested. Hooked it up and 5 seconds later there was an exact diagnosis, way beyond the general P code.

A hundred buck exhaust cam sensor, and fixed/out the door in < 30 mins.

A quality scan with the interpretative software can save a lot parts replacing, imo.

Congrats on the 5 spd, and Good Luck,
mD

I guess you guys missed where I said that Autologic (my understanding is it is equivalent to DIS/GT1) CANNOT read the modules (Not out of lack of capability).

Have you checked connections to the module? Ensure pins are clean, tight, etc... If that doesn't work and no communication, then I'd send it out for repairs.

So your speedometer still doesn't work after replacing the wheel sensor?

I assume that Autologic can test each sensor like a GT1.

If all the sensors test okay and you can't communicate to the DSC/ABS module then you probably have a bad module.

I'm not familiar with Autologic but it probably will give generic P-codes. What codes did it find after the repair and re-scanning?

WkboardATX - Any update? Was it the ABS/DSC module?

Also, I'm still curious if your speedometer started working or not after replacing the left wheel speed sensor.

Autologic is equivalent (and in many ways superior) to a GT1.

Any serious BMW shop worth its salt has one.


The OP's vehicle has lost the diagnostic bus, so any DIS will not be able to read out any faults....Have to figure out why the bus went down. In the olden days, having just one faulty module on the bus would cause diagnostics to fail (and then you played the disconnect/reconnect game....and with E31/E32/E34, that's ~17+ modules throughout the chassis!!) E53 is much more advanced, doesn't have this kind of problem. I'd be looking at more basic stuff...power and grounds.

Lots of News! Sorry for the late response guys, a lot has happened with this fiasco so far.

So it turns out that the reason I was getting a "No response code" was because I was trying to use the obd2 port under the steering column, when I should have been using the circular connection underneath the hood (mine is an early 2001 5 Spd)

I have now replaced both the wheels speed sensor and had the module repaired. My speedometer now functions 100% of the time.The company said my unit was bad and successfully repaired it. I believe this as my original issues were fixed.

Now for the bad, I went to clear all the codes but now I have a new issue :-( I am now getting a code "(35) 53 Inlet Valve Front Right". It is my understanding that the wires going to these valves are very fragile and easy to tear or break the solder during installation. Can anyone shed any light on this situation? Is this valve (sensor? solonoid?) on the HCU or on the ABS Module I just had repaired. As you can imagine the three lights are still on my dash.
Thanks again!http://www.austiniphone.com/autologic.JPG

Hmmm, your speedometer works now and probably was a bad sensor. However, you still have the 3 lights same as before - after having the DSC/ABS module repaired/replaced.

Curious, if you scanned it BEFORE you replaced the DSC/ABS module were you getting the same error 53? Not sure how hard it is to put back the original module and see if you still get the same faults. Or maybe that's not possible as you sent yours in to get rebuilt?

My guess is that error is related to the DSC/ABS module that you just had repaired/replaced. Maybe the module is good but hard to tell if its just the wiring.

In this E39 thread they have a lot of info. and its the same DSC module. Maybe read it and see if they have a test for the module.

Bimmerfest - BMW Forums - View Single Post - 2002 E39 ASC BRAKE ABS lights on => Diagnostic Procedure & Parts Location

Hopefully, someone who encountered that same fault will post.

Unfortunately, I didn't have any opportunity to correctly read the codes before installing my rebuilt unit. The reason I think I broke a wire is because, there was a warning on the installation sheet about being super careful. But I don't know how I could've been more so.
My dash lights do not come on until I've driven about 5-10 feet?

This is a thread for rebuilding an e36 HCU I wonder if it is similiar:
DIY - ABS Hyraulic Unit Repair - BMW M3 Forum.com (E30 M3 | E36 M3 | E46 M3 | E92 M3)