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Thread: The Infamous 1235. Help?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    Boulder, CO
    Posts
    19
    My Cars
    '91 850i, '83 320is,

    The Infamous 1235. Help?

    So, I was running errands in my 1991 850i today, when suddenly, it went into limp mode. I got it home, but it was producing an unsavory smell and throwing the mystery code "1235". I've looked around on this one and so far it seems like everyone's experience with that code has been different. So far, I'm experiencing a set of symptoms I haven't seen in other threads.

    When I start it up, it starts up in limp mode. I did an intake re-seal about 1000 miles ago and replaced all vacuum lines at the same time. Any ideas?

    Thanks,
    Zak

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    SPLIT, Croatia
    Posts
    1,173
    My Cars
    bmw 850i
    I guess fuel pump if it doesn't come out from LHM, rich smell is normal in LHM.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Dallas, TX
    Posts
    10,384
    My Cars
    '93 850Ci- Daily Driver
    • What did you use to re-seal the intake gaskets?
    • Did you re-use the old ones?
    • What is the unsavory smell? (for me, it is liverwurst...)
    • What condition are your batteries in? (how old, have they been discharged one too many times?)
    • Are your DK motors okay? With the ignition off, try to turn the butterfly from the outside (the barrel with the spring on it) as far as you can - now let go and see if they return to closed position smoothly - do they both react the same when you do this?
    • Which side is not running? Passenger or driver? most likely passenger with the 1235 code).
    • Did you do a stomp test for Bank 2? If so, what was (were) the code(s)?
    • Are both fuel pumps running?
    Report back with the answers to these questions.

    Did the dash get there okay??
    '93 850Ci - Mineralweiß Metallic

    2001 740iL - Titansilber
    ALPINA B7 -Alpinweiß III


    ...the price of cool ain't cheap!

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    Boulder, CO
    Posts
    19
    My Cars
    '91 850i, '83 320is,
    Ok, thanks for the list of things to check. Dash got here yesterday. Looks great. Once this issue is sorted, I will get to installing it.

    I did re-use the old intake gaskets, though they appeared to be in fine shape. I sealed them with grey scilicone.


    Here's a little bit of back story on this car:

    My company's distribution warehouse in California is next to a BMW specialty place. There was a tasty Calypso Red 850i sitting out behind it for the last 4 years and I lusted after it every time I was out there. A couple months ago, I finally sacked up and bought it. It was imported from Germany in 2008 (still has a highway sticker from Switzerland on the window). Its originally owner was the CEO of Bosch in 1991. It has a water buffalo leather interior, and is overall in pretty good shape. 120,000 miles.

    The bad part is, it sat behind this place for 4 years. Pretty much without moving. Lots of things had dry rotted and needed replacing. Such as all of the vacuum lines, and the valve cover gaskets. Upper oil pan still needs attention. Anyway, I fixed what I could in the parking lot, and drove the thing back to Colorado where I live. When I got it, it idled pretty rough. Intake re-seal seemed to take care of that for the most part. Sometimes I still get an intermittent misfire at about 1/4 throttle though. Still, quite pleasing to drive.

    I would guess that the batteries were replace fairly recently in order to make the thing run, but I will take a look at them and see if I can find dates.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    Boulder, CO
    Posts
    19
    My Cars
    '91 850i, '83 320is,
    Ok, so a small update,
    I limped the car down the road to a German specialty place near me. A guy there used his scanner to pull the codes from under the hood.

    The results were:

    Bank 1-6:
    016 Ignition System
    063 Torque Converter/Clutch



    Bank 7-12:
    201 o2 sensor control
    063 Torque Converter/Clutch

    Transmission:
    026 Injection Signal.

    Any ideas?
    Pimpin' 8 easy...

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Vancouver Isl, BC, Canada
    Posts
    4,173
    My Cars
    98 Euro M3, 04 M3, 06 M5
    016 ignition system looks like your cause. That 063 code seems to happen whenever the engine has an issue it screws up the transmission shifting and throws that code. 201 Oxygen sensor wont make your car run in LHM.

    What software did he use? If he used GT1/DIS you can click on the code and get more details about it
    Current:

    - 09 335i MSport, FBO.
    - 98 Euro M3, Estoril Blue
    - 04 M3, Carbon Black, 6 Speed Coupe
    - 06 M5, Black on Black, Full Leather.
    - 73 3.0CS, Tagia Green, 5 speed M30b35 converted

    Ex's: 1984 325e, 1988 325IX, 1992 525I, 1995 540i/6, 2002 330i, 2005 330xi, 1992 850i, 2003 330i #1, 2003 330i #2, 2002 330ci, 2004 330ci, 2007 328CI, 2007 335i, 2001 M3, 2006 M5 6 speed

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Atlanta, GA
    Posts
    193
    My Cars
    1991 BMW 850I 1991 BMW 740il 1956 Chevy 2 door
    So, what was the 016 issue. That what I am currently running into

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    The OC, CA
    Posts
    696
    My Cars
    95 840Ci
    Mine ended up being fuel pump. I swapped the O2's first and that got rid of rich problem, but intermittent LHM was fuel pump. Did you get the car in HB behind Coast Motor Werks? I remember that car, looked kind of sad and alone sitting back there.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jan 2017
    Location
    The Netherlands
    Posts
    153
    My Cars
    850i
    Update for future forum searches: stomp fault codes 1235 and 2235 indicate DME error 63 "Converter lockup clutch", probably caused by the automatic transmission in Failsafe mode.

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