dlevi67

Actually, I think that's a cop out. There is a thread here about how the binnacle of the E9x is based on the E6x, but without the stepper motors etc. to get the cruise speed and the variable max revs depending on engine temp. I think either solution is no replacement for a proper monitoring "screen" with oil temp and pressure, voltage and water temp. And it should cost very little for BMW to do it.

aybeesea

We have to assume there's a a preset level for a warning in plenty of time.

Just like the washer level!

Such an alarm is just telling us that an early threshold (though it may not be our individual threshold) has been reached.

ABC

hythe

I should warn you guys that the marker around the tacho is NOT to be relied on... My B5 has both that AND a proper temp gauge (similar to the M5) - the tacho bars indicate the engine is warmed up when the actual temp gauge is indicating another 50 deg C still to go!

Please don't put too much load on your engines until well AFTER this indicator suggests you could...

Raighne

Does that indicator show you the coolant temperature or the oil temperature... if it's the latter then could that explain the discrepency?

Rudy

It's hard to say for sure -- there could be more than one factor in the formula that controls the white bars on the tach.

In my opinion, the white bars should be used for what they were designed to be used for -- a suggested RPM range where you should try not to exceed while the car is warming up. Sure, it's logical to draw conclusions between the white lines and the coolant or oil temperature but as others have mentioned, it's no substitute for actual gauges for these things.

You'd think by now BMW would've created an iDrive screen to display the vital signs that are already being monitored...how hard could it be? They already have something similar in the ACM module that we talked about a few months ago here.

Take a look at the last page of the attached .pdf manual for the ACM module and see where they already show details on coolant temp, battery voltage, and oil pressure (even though the text describes it as "fuel quantity").

E60MMInt.pdf

Wiu-Bimmer

Since we are on to this, what would a cold start represent on an e60? +2C?, -2C? -10C? and how long should you wait until you start driving (I've heard that the best thing to do is start driving immediately but at low RPMs).
How many white bars should I expect to see when the car really needs to warm up?

the-oneil

Mine goes halfway between 5K & 6K RPM at start up (0 degrees temp outside), then gradually go up, untill they are just above the 7K RPMand stay there. They'll never fully disappear (You'll always see 4 bars).

hythe

Actually, I think it's the oil temp, but would you really want to run the engine to the redline when the oil temp is 40 degrees C?

aybeesea

Is it the case that there is a system generated audible and visual warning if the engine's critical parameters (as determined by BMW) hit an initial safety threshold?

Assuming there is, it could be argued that BMW is "dumbing down" what many of us enjoy as a driver's car but bear in mind that a large proportion of e60 customers (who do not feature on this forum) are worried by "TMI".

However, the principle of providing optional additional information for the "flight enginerrs" among us is, of course, sound.

ABC

Rudy

That's exactly my point. They can dumb down the dashboard as much as they want for the average customer but there's no reason why they couldn't keep us happy too by giving us access to the data that's already being monitored and measured...

Don't forget that it is possible to display some of this information in the "secret" menu...
http://forums.e60.net/index.php?s=&sho...st&p=234533