Attack Of The Warning Lights!!

[Spasso]

Hi Guys,
I've owned my 328iS for 1,000 miles and had some interesting things start happening recently. To start with, I did an oil change and transmission service as well as replaced the cooling system.

1. I pulled on to the freeway under moderate acceleration to 70 MPH. Five miles down the road I get the transmission warning light, (exclamation inside the gear insignia). This is occuring at normal cruise. I shifted the trans back and forth and found no problems or slipping.

2. Right after the trans light came on the ASC light flashed on (exclamation in triangle). I hit the ASC button a few times but the lights stayed on steady so I pulled over, read the owners manual. Shut off the engine in hopes of resetting the lights. It didn't work.

3. After 30 miles the check engine light came on in addition to the other two lights. Mind you, the engine is full of oil and water. It's running great!, shifting great and I am getting 24/25 MPG city-highway driving!

I reached my destination and shut it off. After I came out an hour later ALL of the lights were OFF. I thought, "weird".

4. The the next day while driving, the OBC annuciated "Brake circuit fault". I check the bulbs and the two main bulbs were out but the 3rd eye was still working. I replaced the bulbs and all seemed fine for about half a day. I got the "brake fault" message again as I was backing into my garage even though all three brake lights were working!! WTF??!!

Before I go any further on this I decided to buy a Peak OBDII to alleviate the guessing game.(NO STOMP TEST ON THIS CAR).

I thought I would throw this out there to see if anyone has had similar events.

Could it be a problem with the the ECU?? OBC??

1998 328is, A4S 270/310R automatic. Build date 1/98

Thanks for all the help guys.
DJ
__________________
Spasso
"Trust me kid, I do this all the time"
"Blitzz", E34 530i Sterling and Dove, Turner chip, Eibach sport springs, tint, tunes.
"Eilen", E36 328iS Ascot Green and Tan.

[mywheels]

Did the Peake device return any codes?

It's been my experience that when flakey things start happening with lights and such the problem can often be attributed to a grounding problem. Make sure your battery terminals are clean and the negative side is well grounded.


- Erik

[Bmwcat]

OK, I have cured the brake light phantoms by cleaning the bulb contacts and spraying with WD40. This happens about every six months with my E36. As far as the other gremlins checking grounds sounds like a good plan. Then pull the fault codes and go from there.
Are you in the US or Canada??

[Pirate_copy]

Did the Peake device return any codes?

It's been my experience that when flakey things start happening with lights and such the problem can often be attributed to a grounding problem. Make sure your battery terminals are clean and the negative side is well grounded.


- Erik

+1, sounds like a earth problem to me matey

[Spasso]

Thanks for the tips guys.

I'm in the US.

The Peak is in the mail, should have it tomorrow (I hope).
I have read that low voltage can cause false messages so I will start with seeing how old the battery is and what kind of shape it is in.

Second I'll test alternator output.
When I close the door and the side glass bumps up I can hear the alternator strain a little bit.

Speaking of grounds, I found a non-factory ground hooked to the brown lead on the R/H tail light. I'll need to look at the schematics to see what that means.

For the record, this car spent most of it's life in northern California, inland, VERY dry there, so corrosion is a minimal factor.

On the freeway today I got the "Brake Circuit" message again so I turned the key off for 5 seconds (on the fly) and turned it back on, no more message. No check engine light or trans light today either.

I think I am going to change the name of this car to "Christine" if this keeps up.......

I'll keep you guys posted as I find out

[Spasso]

I checked the battery and terminals today. Terminals were clean and new looking as was the battery, only slightly down on water. No chance to do a load test on the battery or alternator but they both seem to be pretty hot, the engine cranks over fast on start-up.

I pulled fault codes with the Peake tool and all I got was
"Throttle position sensor' and "Idle control system, idle speed not plausible".

This would explain the high idle when I put it into gear. Idle is normal in Park and first gear only.

Still no clue why I keep getting a "Brake Circuit Fault" message. The lights still work, the bulbs are the proper wattage and the message resets when the key is switched off/on momentarily.

[platinum325]

the brake circiut fault could be a bad brake light switch. this happened to me and i replaced it with no problems. The switch is located behind your brake pedal. fairly easy to change and quite cheap too. Hope this helps.
Jeff