karman

got my front m5tech bumper installed that i bought from umnitza, fitting wasnt bad aside from having to cut a little foam.. my question/problem is that, after i gt the bumper installed my service engine soon light came on. for increased emmissions. at the same time my outside temperature is reading -40 degress. i am thinking that in the process of installing the bumper the outside temperature sensor got messed up. so i go to the car and check that and it is still intact. but does ANYONE know where the wires go from the actual sensor? i know whre the sensor is. but where are the wires that connect the sensor. also how is the sensor removed. im thinking that when the foam was cut maybe a wire was also cut? thanks guys ive searched every for this and cant seem to find a simple diy on how to replave the outside temp sensor on a 2005 e60

karman

bump

Mihainede85

Check the engine temperature. There is a video on youtube how to do that.
If the temperature is under 90 after 20-30min, that`s your thermostat that is gone.
I had the same problem on my 530i, increased emission. If you have a 530 i can send you some pictures so you can change it yourself.

OEM thermostat $160
coolant $30
Dealer wants 600 (in Vancouver)

It will take you around 30-45 min

khooger

Same issue just came back from stealer...charged me $500 for thermostat and coolant.

BimmerFan52

I did an Umnitza mtech bumper during the summer and had the same fit issues with the foam pieces that support the bumper cover. My body shop hung it the first time without shaving the foam pieces and it left large gaps between the bumper cover and hood. I was correctly told that replacing the E60 stock foam pieces with PNs 51117896591 and 51117896592 would allow the mtech bumper to fit properly, and it turned out looking much better. I tried to talk Umnitza into including this information along with the PNs for the proper brake ducts on their website but to no avail. As soon as I have time I will do a DIY.

Back to your increased emissions light. The thermostat is a wax based plunger type, universal to almost all auto thermostats. BMW, as well as many other manufacturers, also includes a small resistive coil in the wax which allows the engine to start the coolant flow sooner than just engine heating would allow by running a current through this heat coil to melt the wax faster. At start up the engine tests if this coil is intact. If it is open the increased emissions light will come on.

This is not the same as the situation of a thermostat "stuck" open, where coolant flows immediately before the engine warms up.

Remove the wire connected to the top of the thermostat and with a multimeter measure the resistance between the two connectors on the thermostat. If 14-16 ohms is measured then the coil is intact. If the measurement is 1 that means the coil is open and the thermostat heater coil is bad.

Operating the car with a bad coil will in no way affect the normal operation of the thermostat and is perfectly safe. However, if you are like me you hate dash lights and will want to correct it.

The thermostat is a very easy DIY changeout. I changed out my water pump and thermostat when my alternator went bad as preventive maintenance and the first thermostat I tried was an attractively priced Beck Arnley unit at $35. The heater coil burned out in four days. I replaced it with an OE Wahler thermostat for less than $60 and it has been rock solid.

Simply drain your coolant into a clean gallon jug using a funnel (reuse the coolant if it has been changed recently). Remove the cable from the top of the thermostat, one hose and three bolts holding the thermostat to the water pump. Install new thermostat, reconnect cable and hose, close coolant drain valve and pour coolant back into the expansion tank and you are done. If you work slowly and methodically it will take about an hour.

$500?? That's why they are called $tealers !