sickmint79

hey all, need some help with my 2004 545i. original problems:

driving normally with no change on the accelerator, the car would seem to "hiccup" where the engine would noticeably rev oddly. this sometimes, more often that not recently, would result in a check engine light and an increased emissions warning. occasionally an active steering or dynamic stability control warning would come up on the computer as well.

originally searching online i thought this might be an electric problem. my battery would need charging and i found the relay mentioned here - http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=316911 - i also felt that my relay was warm even after leaving the car off for hours. replacing the relay seems to have cured the loss of battery power, but not my problem. i bought the car 2/2010 and was told it had a new battery, although i never saw the light on my battery green, only black. i picked up a new battery from bmw this weekend, and the service guy said my old one looked like it was more of a 6 year old battery. it did not have the shipped date with sticker on it either.

the battery and alternator were previously checked at autozone. the guy there said the battery was good but insufficiently charged. he said the voltage and diodes on the alternator were good, but the peak current of 226 amps might be of concern. in any case, replacing the battery has not fixed my problem either.

i bought the tool from http://www.autoenginuity.com/ with the enhance bmw package and registered my battery as new. i also cleared the check engine codes. drove around and eventually the car had some problems last night. i got in the car, turned it on this evening, it felt ok in the driveway and i pulled off the following:

Steering Column Module (SZL)
94F2 - Unknown Trouble Code Description
Status: Static Fault, Currently Present

Heating and AC (IHKA)
9C55 - Fogging / Vapor Sensor
Status: Static Fault

Enhanced Powertrain
27A0 - Electronics Box Fan: Activation - Short Circuit to Positive
Status: Static Fault, Currently Present

2782 - Camshaft Sensor Outlet
Status: Static Fault, Currently Not Present

27BB - Camshaft Control Outlet-VANOS
Status: Static Fault, Currently Present, Currently Not Present

277F - Crankshaft Sensor
Status: Currently Present

i have the BMW TIS installed but make up how to use it, and i'm not sure what to do with the codes above or if i can even look them up in it. any techs or anyone else available here that can tell me what i need to do to address these problems? thanks!

545felix

Have you had any issues with starting it? I would replace the crankshaft sensor since it's showing as an active fault. it's mounted on the transmission bell housing, not too hard to get to if you're comfortable with a wrench and can get under the car.

sickmint79

not usually, although if she gets testy she might be a little tougher to start. not from just sitting overnight or at work though. i work 35 miles/50 minutes from home and generally the troubles won't start until the last 10 minutes and seem to happen at night more often. it took me 3 places online to find parts, but i'm hoping for these 3 that the parts will do it -

i ordered 2 camshaft position sensors and o-rings and a crankshaft position sensor and o-ring.

545felix

ok. thanks for that link on the blasted relay- after alternator and battery replacement my voltage is still all over the map on cold starts, so I'm going to pck up the relay at the dealer on the way home. The car isn't throwing any voltage faults, but the A/C and radio cut in and out a lot those first few minutes so I'm hoping this cheap little circuit will take care of it.

sickmint79

i'm not sure if the sensors were just related to the ECU getting all hot and bothered. i have not addressed the prior 2 codes, but my check engine light is off after addressing the 4 above and the car is operating as expected, with much thanks to my buddy josh.

we replaced the exhaust camshaft sensor on the passenger side, and the crankshaft sensor. having some child labor with little hands would have helped. the camshaft sensor was easier to get to after removing the airbox, a step needed to get to the ecu and ecu fan. i'm not sure if the sensors were actually bad or if this whole shebang was kicked out because of the ecu getting all hot and bothered, but the ecu fan in there was seized. it had water damage and was rusty, it looked like water made it into the ecu housing on a bad part of the seal, and that the housing may not have been in locked position.

the crankshaft position sensor didn't need an o-ring; the thing i ordered is large and looks like it's for the actual crankshaft. i didn't even open the camshaft o-ring box, those are probably for the camshafts as well... the sensors should have come with them (i only needed 1) - 1 sensor did come with the ring and the other without.