[Carneylad]

Hi guys.

Today my check engine/engine management light came on.

iDrive is reporting no faults and everything is driving/operating exactly like it should.

Is there a way I can reset this without going through the OBD? A combination of button presses carried out under the light of a full moon etc?

Cheers.

[Tejas1836]

gas cap?

[Carneylad]

Originally Posted by Tejas1836

gas cap?

Must admit, I was sceptical when I saw that come up when I googled. I did check and it’s on tight. Ad Blu is tight as well.

[apw2607]

Depending on the nature of the issue, it is possible that when CEL is active, CBS (condition based servicing) iDrive notifications also report the fault in more detail.

An example might be, and very common on the diesel engines, was CES would come on, and then CBS would report there was an issue with the Diesel particle filter .... and ask the driver to come in for a service visit.

But, more common than not CES will light, without any more notifications in iDrive.

This simplest solution to your problem is to buy a OBDII dongle and use the BimmerLink app to read the faults. You can also clear the faults as well. However, if it really is a fault, then CEL will come back on.

[Carneylad]

Originally Posted by apw2607

This simplest solution to your problem is to buy a OBDII dongle and use the BimmerLink app to read the faults. You can also clear the faults as well. However, if it really is a fault, then CEL will come back on.

I’ve had a look to see if the connector I have for Bimmercode will work. Turns out it’s the same developers charging me twice for both sides of the same coin.

I’ll buy that now and plug it into my iPad and see what we get. Hopefully nothing serious and the £35 (UK) for the app will be worth it.

[Qsilver7]

Two different systems. And yes, to clear the CEL (check engine light)…you’ll need to connect to the OBD II port with a scanner/reader that can pull the code and reset the light. But if the issue is still there…it will return if the issue is still present.

The CEL (check eng light) is part of the OBD II system which monitors the car’s emissions. It is a standard that many countries have issued as a standard across all car manufacturers for diagnostics for (air/ignition/fuel) systems to register any faults. If a fault is detected twice…then the MIL (malfunction indicator light) will illuminate. You retrieve those fault codes by connecting to the OBD II port in the car.

The iDrive system will report CBS (condition based services) and Check Control (CC)warnings from various systems around the car. The CC system and the OBD II system are not connected. Thus you can have a CEL light illuminate without having a warning from the CC system. They are monitoring different things.

And the CEL is to varied to ask generically why it illuminated. Again, this system is monitoring fuel, spark, and air…thus it could be hundreds of things…some as simple as an improperly screwed on gas cap to failed grille shutters (reducing the proper amount of air intake) to misfiring spark plugs, to a clogged MAF, etc. An OBD II code reader needs to be connected to the car to retrieve the code so that you know WHICH system and sensor set the fault code.

OBD II became a federal mandate in the USA market in 1996 (see 3rd bullet in top image below). In Europe and other countries full compliance may have occurred later:

[Carneylad]

Got the app and read the codes. Nothing overly stood out to me.

I’m an ex McLaren F1 Mechanichal Engineer so I have a mild understanding of what I’m looking for. I’ve had semi serious issues in the past and they’ve always displayed on the infotainment screen so I was reasonably confident it wasn’t major hence asking if there was a button combo for resetting it that I wasn’t aware of. I did try presses the start button 3 times to wonder dignostic mode but there was nothing immediately obvious in there.

Anyway, I connected my iPad via Ethernet to the OBD, saved the error log and cleared all the codes. A lot of them were legacy such as face not recognised from the drive recorder, speed sensor issues, auto parking abortions etc.

Once all was reset, the light hasn’t come back on so hopefully that’s it all sorted.

Stay tuned for pictures of it sitting in a pool of oil tomorrow…

[Marty in NY]

Originally Posted by Carneylad

Got the app and read the codes. Nothing overly stood out to me.

I’m an ex McLaren F1 Mechanichal Engineer so I have a mild understanding of what I’m looking for. I’ve had semi serious issues in the past and they’ve always displayed on the infotainment screen so I was reasonably confident it wasn’t major hence asking if there was a button combo for resetting it that I wasn’t aware of. I did try presses the start button 3 times to wonder dignostic mode but there was nothing immediately obvious in there.

Anyway, I connected my iPad via Ethernet to the OBD, saved the error log and cleared all the codes. A lot of them were legacy such as face not recognised from the drive recorder, speed sensor issues, auto parking abortions etc.

Once all was reset, the light hasn’t come back on so hopefully that’s it all sorted.

Stay tuned for pictures of it sitting in a pool of oil tomorrow…

Well, the good thing would be that oil prevents rust The more and more features our cars have these days, the more potential issues we can have and the fact that just about every inch of the car is software coded, well, ok, I worked in this field, it ain't perfect! However, like any computer, a good reboot seems to take care of the lost or stuck bits and all is back to normal again. When in doubt, reboot, clear codes and reset. A true issue will always come back and then you will know.