ABS light info needed ASAP

[DmcL]

ok to cut a long story short the car failed its yearly inspection for a couple minor things but then theres the ABS light issue..

the manual the testers go by states that the ABS light should come on in the dash with the key turned to the position before the starter turns (position 2) and the light should light up and go out no more than 2 seconds later.

now my ABS works great but the light stays on till u turn the key and start the car. do all E30's do this? if so im gonna have to wage war against the testing body to get this amended otherwise ALL E30's on the road will never pass another yearly inspection here ever again nomatter if it was a brand new car thats been hidden away for 20 years with 0 miles on it.

[kishg]

i'm sure e30s have passed inspection there before correct? Yours can't be the first or only one

[DmcL]

they have, in all of the previous pass and fail sheets that i got with the car there is no mention of ABS light issues. im thinking this may be a new addition to the testers manual for 2010 or something. if it is then im already trying to look into the apropriate channels to get it fixed. ill be damned if some douche throws in some stupid rule in a half thought out manual geared for newer cars stops me from driving my E30.

would u mind checking your car? just turn the key to position 2 where all the dash lights come on and see if the ABS light goes out after like 2 seconds or whether it stays on till u start the car. if i can find out that all E30's ever made work this way then i should have a strong case for getting this rule either thrown away or amended because id imagine if they didnt put it right i might have some sort of legal action i could take for compensation or something along with everyone else who owns an E30 or any other car with an ABS light that does not follow this 2 second rule.

[kishg]

i don't see why it matters. is abs mandatory over there?

[djb2]

It's likely the same type of rule as many states in the U.S. have -- if it's installed, it must work.

I encountered this with pitted and cracked foglight lenses when I bought my e30. Replacements weren't readily available. Simply pulling the foglights and replacing them with hand-cut black plastic blanks allowed the car to pass inspection, and even saved the alignment fee that they were allowed to charge for each set of adjustable lights. (They are even allowed to charge for one set of non-adjustable or self-leveling lights.)

For the specific answer: the ABS system does not do its pump motor self-test until the engine is running. It only turns out the light after the pump motor test passes. This is so that the test doesn't drain the battery before starting, and so that the pump has full voltage during the test.

Therefore the behavior you observe (light on until after starting) is the expect behavior for correct operation.

[DmcL]

ok i have confirmation this is the correct ABS light sequence for a working ABS system in the E30 both in the USA and also in the UK/Europe.

it looks like i will have to contact BMW themselves and get a letter stating this is the correct operating procedure and show it on the day of the re-test. i will also try and see if i can find the appropriate channel for contacting the testing body and forward a copy of the letter to them in the hopes they will ammend this rule.