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Thread: new to me x3

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2018
    Location
    caribbean
    Posts
    72
    My Cars
    09 x3

    new to me x3

    hi, I just bought this 09 x3 that had some hurricane damage. I am a vastly experienced mechanic ( retired ) and have worked on and had bmw in the past but nothing modern . this car has only 21,000 miles on it and only some broken glass. car runs and drives as new. while I am trying to source a workshop manual , I have a couple of quick questions....please...

    1) the little light that indicates the car is in park is lit all the time even when the car is off and key out of ignition... is this normal ?

    2) " 4x4 " light is on but owners manual is a bit confusing in this regard.... can that be that the DCS switch on the dash is " off" or " on" or does that indicate some genuine issue ? haven't had the car in the air yet to see if the FWD is actually engaged.

    3) air bag warning light is on and overhead light says " passenger air bag off " . is that key controlled somewhere ?

    4) " brake" light is on but fluid level correct and car stop perfectly. haven't had the wheels off yet to look at the pads... do they have a sensor that trip that light if the pads are thin ?

    and yes... the car really is 10 years old with only 21 k on it... it got bought new in the US and shipped to a vacation home in the Caribbean where it got driven about 1 month a year every year.

    thx

    steven

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2002
    Location
    Aberdeen, NC (yes, again)
    Posts
    23,672
    My Cars
    E39M5, E500 4WD
    Oh my.

    Step one is to connect the car to ISTA, Autologic, or another BMW specific top-of-the-line diagnostic computer, and find out what the ~70+ computers know.

    There is no workshop manual per se.

    1) The shifter light should stay on for ~17 minutes, and then go off. If it doesn't go off, the car isn't going to sleep.

    2) If the 4x4 light is on, then at least one of the computers in the car is seriously pissed off. You need to talk with all the computers, using a BMW specific diag computer.

    3) Airbag light on means the SRS/MRS system is pissed off, having nothing to do with the passenger airbag being switched off because no one is sitting there. Again, talk to all the computers.

    4) Again, talk to the computers. You can't diagnose this vehicle without doing this....no matter how much experience you have.

    Chris Powell
    Racer and Instructor since, well. decades, ok?
    Master Auto Tech, owner of German Motors of Aberdeen
    BMWCCA 274412
    German Motors is hiring ! https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...1#post30831471

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2018
    Location
    caribbean
    Posts
    72
    My Cars
    09 x3
    hello and thank you ... probably why the car was cheap. whats the least expensive version of the scanners that you mention that I can buy or that you recommend ? will an obd read and reset this stuffto see if it was just the fact that the bat was out of the car for 6 months ?

    also the car has a hole in the windshield over , roughly, where the glove compartment is and for sure some rain got in there on or behind the dash... whats hiding back there that could have likely suffered ?

    put a battery in it that I had here and it held charge overnight and started right up so no BIG drawdown on the system

    I see your scca number... mine is 33697 5 digits... that's how far back I go. nat champ 79 and 03
    Last edited by stvsxm; 02-25-2018 at 06:11 AM.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jun 2002
    Location
    Aberdeen, NC (yes, again)
    Posts
    23,672
    My Cars
    E39M5, E500 4WD
    Right behind the glove box is the....FUSE BOX! And always a whole bunch of computers, too. I'd recommend that you remove the lower dash panel and glove box and kickpanel, then unplug any computers you find back there, clean both sides of the plugs with electrical contact cleaner, and blow dry with compressed air.


    https://www.ecstuning.com/b-schwaben...020sch01a~scf/

    An OBD scan tool will not help you at all; you need a BMW specific device which can communicate with your car's dozens of computers. The ECS / Foxwell unit I've linked to, above, seems to do a great job for many owners. It allows two-way communications with all the modules, so that you can command and reset almost everything.

    Chris Powell
    Racer and Instructor since, well. decades, ok?
    Master Auto Tech, owner of German Motors of Aberdeen
    BMWCCA 274412
    German Motors is hiring ! https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...1#post30831471

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2018
    Location
    caribbean
    Posts
    72
    My Cars
    09 x3
    Quote Originally Posted by bmwdirtracer View Post
    Right behind the glove box is the....FUSE BOX! And always a whole bunch of computers, too. I'd recommend that you remove the lower dash panel and glove box and kickpanel, then unplug any computers you find back there, clean both sides of the plugs with electrical contact cleaner, and blow dry with compressed air.


    https://www.ecstuning.com/b-schwaben...020sch01a~scf/

    An OBD scan tool will not help you at all; you need a BMW specific device which can communicate with your car's dozens of computers. The ECS / Foxwell unit I've linked to, above, seems to do a great job for many owners. It allows two-way communications with all the modules, so that you can command and reset almost everything.

    thats good info and thx.... are you talking about the foxwell NT510 ?

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jun 2002
    Location
    Aberdeen, NC (yes, again)
    Posts
    23,672
    My Cars
    E39M5, E500 4WD
    Yes, that's the same product, and if you buy it carefully, you can get the exact same diagnostics for $50 less. In fact, ECS Tuning sells their "Schwaben" version on sale for ~$150, same as the Foxwell labeled unit on E-bay. The main issue I'd worry about, if you buy the unit on E-bay, is whether you'll have any recourse, if, say, the BMW software doesn't work, etc. Buying from ECS gives you a company that will stand behind the product.

    Chris Powell
    Racer and Instructor since, well. decades, ok?
    Master Auto Tech, owner of German Motors of Aberdeen
    BMWCCA 274412
    German Motors is hiring ! https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...1#post30831471

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2018
    Location
    caribbean
    Posts
    72
    My Cars
    09 x3
    understood. and thx

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