j1o
06-01-2005, 08:08 PM
So my registration is due as of June 2. Last week i decided that it was probably time to get the dreaded smog test out of the way. Only problem was that I live in CA and i would have to deal with the relentlesss Smog Nazis, and even worse, on their home turf at the test-only station.
Now my 95 M3 is slightly modified, with the ECIS euro hfm kit consisting of 24 lb injectors, 3.5" hfm, Turner chip, and the cone filter/heatshield. I did some research trying to determine whether or not i would have to return the car to stock to pass the test. The general consensus was that i would probably be borderline, failing more times than not. I was lazy and didnt feel like pulling off parts that would be going right back on, so i decided it was worth a shot trying to test it how it was. I was wrong. Very very wrong. Here are my results:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v626/o1j/car/scan0005.jpg
**** For results of the second Smog test Skip below to the next picture. The following part is long ****
First off, I was lucky to passs the visual. The guy knew something was not right but couldnt figure out exactly what, or played dumb hoping i would passs emissions. The 15 mph test was completely off the charts. Not even close to passing. Not to mention the fact that my NOx were in Gross Pollutetr range. I'm sure the state wanted to execute my car right then and there. So I left with my tail between my legs knowing I had just wasted money and time, and still had to return the car to stock.
And let me tell you, pulling off the intake kit and puttinng the stock pieces back in was jsut abarrel of laughs. An excruciatingly tedious 8hrs wiorth of laughs. Actualy everything was quick and easy to start off - the stock airbox, chip, and injectors took lesss than an hur to replace. But then I tried to start the thing. Nothing. It would crank but not turn over. Over and over we tried. Charged the battery, checked the antitheft system, pulled the fuelk rail, checked the injectors, retightned all electrical connectors, etc. Still wouldnt start. Even pulled the stock chip and tried the Dinan chip I had that came with the car. It still refused to start. Then i realized that I wasnt even getting a check engine light with the key turned to the "ON" postion.
I got that sick feeling in my stomach that only comes when you know you just destroyed a very expensve piece of your car. In this case I was positive that I had fried my ECU. I distinictly remebered not disconnecting the battery when i swithed the stock chip out for the Dinan one. I called my local mechanic for advice and he was nice enough to actually show up at my house after hours, with the diagnostic tool and 3 spare ecus. After running a few tests he confirmed my suspicions. He told me the computer weas dead, and could be fried by as ingle powen-on disconnect. He then proceede to unplug and plug it back in 8 or 9 times with the power on because "it was already dead" and he "just wanted to see somehting". Gee thanks.
Unfortunatley we couldnt try his spare ECUs couldnt because those crazy german engineers are damn smart. You see the ones he brought were actually
from a 325. They had the same numbers and should have worked with teh M3 chip, but the plug didnt fit. The pinouts are completely different. SON of A BI.... He also happened to have 318 computer, and guess what.. the plug fit! We tried to start the car jsut for the hell of it. No start but we did finally get that Check Engine light that is supposed to flash on start up. HMMMMMMMMM...???
We did a little thinking and decided that it *should* fire up the car if we swapped the M3 programming into the ECU. So we opened it up and ran out of luck again. Soldered chip, not removable. At that point he had to leave and I was about to give up. BUt then my dad noticed that the chip in my computer seemd higher of the circuit board than than the chips in the other computers my friend had. Didnt think anything else of it but should have figured out the problem right then... And he was also determined to try starting the car with Turner chip, as it was the only one we hadnt tried yet. I thought "bad idea" as i knew it was tuned for different injectors etc, and i also knew that i may have already ruined 2 chips and was hesitant to destroy the last one.
But i gave in, plopped the Turner chip into my stock, probably-a-paper-wieght of a computer and halfheartedly turned the key. Bam! It tried to start. Another turn and it was running. Stock Chip back in adn the car remained lifeless. Turner chip in again, adn same thing. Started up, but totally undriveable. What the hell?
At this point i knew that the ECU itself was NOT the problem. So to make an already long story a little less lengthy lets jsut say that those compueter wizards and thir encryption boards wrok exactly like they are designed to. You can only put a Turner chip into a Turner encrytion board. Wish i wouldve remebered that there even was an encryption board. So i wasted about 8 hours becauuse I 1) failed to remember something important, and 2) failed to look at the ECIS dierections i had, which surely would have mentioned that extra piece of circuitry. BUt i did learn quite abit about the BMW computer. Like they arent as sensiitive to power-on unplluggings as some people seem to think. If you forget to disconnect the battery for your chip install, dont sweat it. *Probably* wont be a big deal.
So today I went to get the car re-smogged and this is how it came out:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v626/o1j/car/scan0006.jpg
Look at the max allowable then look at my measured values. Talk about BAAAAAAARELY passing! Couldnt do any worse and still have a smog legal car. But hey, I'm happy...
Now my 95 M3 is slightly modified, with the ECIS euro hfm kit consisting of 24 lb injectors, 3.5" hfm, Turner chip, and the cone filter/heatshield. I did some research trying to determine whether or not i would have to return the car to stock to pass the test. The general consensus was that i would probably be borderline, failing more times than not. I was lazy and didnt feel like pulling off parts that would be going right back on, so i decided it was worth a shot trying to test it how it was. I was wrong. Very very wrong. Here are my results:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v626/o1j/car/scan0005.jpg
**** For results of the second Smog test Skip below to the next picture. The following part is long ****
First off, I was lucky to passs the visual. The guy knew something was not right but couldnt figure out exactly what, or played dumb hoping i would passs emissions. The 15 mph test was completely off the charts. Not even close to passing. Not to mention the fact that my NOx were in Gross Pollutetr range. I'm sure the state wanted to execute my car right then and there. So I left with my tail between my legs knowing I had just wasted money and time, and still had to return the car to stock.
And let me tell you, pulling off the intake kit and puttinng the stock pieces back in was jsut abarrel of laughs. An excruciatingly tedious 8hrs wiorth of laughs. Actualy everything was quick and easy to start off - the stock airbox, chip, and injectors took lesss than an hur to replace. But then I tried to start the thing. Nothing. It would crank but not turn over. Over and over we tried. Charged the battery, checked the antitheft system, pulled the fuelk rail, checked the injectors, retightned all electrical connectors, etc. Still wouldnt start. Even pulled the stock chip and tried the Dinan chip I had that came with the car. It still refused to start. Then i realized that I wasnt even getting a check engine light with the key turned to the "ON" postion.
I got that sick feeling in my stomach that only comes when you know you just destroyed a very expensve piece of your car. In this case I was positive that I had fried my ECU. I distinictly remebered not disconnecting the battery when i swithed the stock chip out for the Dinan one. I called my local mechanic for advice and he was nice enough to actually show up at my house after hours, with the diagnostic tool and 3 spare ecus. After running a few tests he confirmed my suspicions. He told me the computer weas dead, and could be fried by as ingle powen-on disconnect. He then proceede to unplug and plug it back in 8 or 9 times with the power on because "it was already dead" and he "just wanted to see somehting". Gee thanks.
Unfortunatley we couldnt try his spare ECUs couldnt because those crazy german engineers are damn smart. You see the ones he brought were actually
from a 325. They had the same numbers and should have worked with teh M3 chip, but the plug didnt fit. The pinouts are completely different. SON of A BI.... He also happened to have 318 computer, and guess what.. the plug fit! We tried to start the car jsut for the hell of it. No start but we did finally get that Check Engine light that is supposed to flash on start up. HMMMMMMMMM...???
We did a little thinking and decided that it *should* fire up the car if we swapped the M3 programming into the ECU. So we opened it up and ran out of luck again. Soldered chip, not removable. At that point he had to leave and I was about to give up. BUt then my dad noticed that the chip in my computer seemd higher of the circuit board than than the chips in the other computers my friend had. Didnt think anything else of it but should have figured out the problem right then... And he was also determined to try starting the car with Turner chip, as it was the only one we hadnt tried yet. I thought "bad idea" as i knew it was tuned for different injectors etc, and i also knew that i may have already ruined 2 chips and was hesitant to destroy the last one.
But i gave in, plopped the Turner chip into my stock, probably-a-paper-wieght of a computer and halfheartedly turned the key. Bam! It tried to start. Another turn and it was running. Stock Chip back in adn the car remained lifeless. Turner chip in again, adn same thing. Started up, but totally undriveable. What the hell?
At this point i knew that the ECU itself was NOT the problem. So to make an already long story a little less lengthy lets jsut say that those compueter wizards and thir encryption boards wrok exactly like they are designed to. You can only put a Turner chip into a Turner encrytion board. Wish i wouldve remebered that there even was an encryption board. So i wasted about 8 hours becauuse I 1) failed to remember something important, and 2) failed to look at the ECIS dierections i had, which surely would have mentioned that extra piece of circuitry. BUt i did learn quite abit about the BMW computer. Like they arent as sensiitive to power-on unplluggings as some people seem to think. If you forget to disconnect the battery for your chip install, dont sweat it. *Probably* wont be a big deal.
So today I went to get the car re-smogged and this is how it came out:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v626/o1j/car/scan0006.jpg
Look at the max allowable then look at my measured values. Talk about BAAAAAAARELY passing! Couldnt do any worse and still have a smog legal car. But hey, I'm happy...