CA BAR Referee / ODBII Codes

[mammoth_e30]

Hi guys,

Went for my BAR Referee appointment yesterday and failed multiple items. The swap I am attempting to BAR is a '99 S52 fully OBDII into a '90 e30. 15 mph HC's were high (max 56/meas 91) but that is my only smog issue and I think I can get that to pass.

The major fault I have is two of my OBDII monitors are not set to ready (2nd Air System & Evap. System), from what I understand the DME is not getting a signal that they have self tested and are functioning properly. I do not have any P0XXX codes coming up and no check engine light and I know the 2nd Air System is functional because it turns on when I have a cold start. He suggested I go to a smog station and have them read the Mode $06 data to verify the monitors are working.

That said I have been doing research into what Mode $06 data is and I am reluctant to go to any smog place and pay to have them read these codes and give me a proper diagnostic. Does anyone know of a BMW shop in SoCal that is familiar with diagnosing these detailed codes?

Question is posted here and bf.c.

Thanks,
Brett

[einstein57]

I have BMW diagnostic software. Have not gotten around to installing it though. These are pretty cool and cheap

http://www.ebay.com/itm/V1-5-ELM327-II-OBD-2-Bluetooth-Auto-Car-Diagnostic-Interface-Scanner-for-BMW-/251273509298?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Make%3ABMW&hash=item3a811179b2&vxp=mtr

[spdracrm3]

[quote=mammoth_e30;3732761]Hi guys,


The major fault I have is two of my OBDII monitors are not set to ready (2nd Air System & Evap. System), from what I understand the DME is not getting a signal that they have self tested and are functioning properly. I do not have any P0XXX codes coming up and no check engine light and I know the 2nd Air System is functional because it turns on when I have a cold start. He suggested I go to a smog station and have them read the Mode $06 data to verify the monitors are working.

The DME doesnt get signals per say from any system as it is the tester itself (its the brains of the complete operation) but it wont run the tests until certain criteria are met ,ie temp ,run time ,good closed loop operation ....alls it takes is for one criteria not to be met and it wont run the test and since it wont run the test it wont set codes or reset monitors (unless its is a component or wiring failure ,ie opens,shorts ,grounds,which are tested continuously under the components monitor)
as far as the Sec air system it uses the O2 sensors to detect flow buy going very lean in the exhaust with air pump system activated during closed loop operation and and so it has to be up to temp and in closed loop with good O2 switching both banks.

the Evap test is very hard to get to run (even on the correct car the engine came in)as it will test some functionality with the engine running and some with the engine off,after complete cooldown (looking for leaks in the fuel tank and purge system that will allow vapors to escape to atmosphere) and unless you have the factory setup from the car the engine came from the E30 fuel tank system will not pass as it was never setup to pass such stringent EVAP tests (it will be testing for a leak smaller than the size of a pin tip) no E30 tank was sealed that well and the components to seal and test the system are not on an E30.

That said I have been doing research into what Mode $06 data is and I am reluctant to go to any smog place and pay to have them read these codes and give me a proper diagnostic. Does anyone know of a BMW shop in SoCal that is familiar with diagnosing these detailed codes?

Mode $6 is just the Engineering data (usually in hexadecimal code ) that if you know how to read and interperet will tell if the various test have run and what the results were (ie clearly passed or just barely,or fail).you need a scan tool to read and interpret the data buy supplying the conversion factors or have access to those conversion data to interpret, it will not tell you why the test wont run directly but may give clues (ie if all the O2 test havent run and passed it likely wont run the Sec Air test "as it needs to know the O2 are working correctly otherwise the test is is useless",so need to figure out why the O2 test havent run). and again without knowing the various parameters to run all the tests to resest all the monitors this can get very frustrating to deal with (as stated even with engine in correct car )and BMW is one of the worst auto manufacturers to release such data (all their diagnostic's on newer cars is built into their $15K scan tool ,on top of the subscription fee to access their servers,so this is why BMW are expensive to work on) only thing i like about VW is with a factory equivalent scan tool you can command all OBDII test to run in the service bay and watch the results with realtime data ,cars suck but their diagnostics are great,wish BMW could learn from them...

best thing i can suggest is to find out if someone with the same setup you have has been able to get the car to pass and talk to them about what they did to get it to pass .

hate to say it but your in the worst state to get a pass in (here in Wa you can have one readiness not set and pass,and its usually EVAP ) Carb rules in Cali are the toughest in the nation and im sure on a retrofit they wont let you get away with anything less than full passing on everything , those that have gone before you may be your best friend and info source

BTW im a WA certified emission specialist which is why i know so much about this as i get to deal with it everyday, but not as strict as Cali thank goodness

[mammoth_e30]

I have BMW diagnostic software. Have not gotten around to installing it though. These are pretty cool and cheap

http://www.ebay.com/itm/V1-5-ELM327-...1179b2&vxp=mtr

Haha I actually just ordered one of those earlier this week but I had to revert back to Win 7 on my laptop which has Bluetooth last night so it would sync with the scanner. I will give it a test tonight to see if it works. I am going to try and avoid jail breaking my iphone....

I have all the software too, installing it is quite the process, and then learning how to use it properly...

The DME doesnt get signals per say from any system as it is the tester itself (its the brains of the complete operation) but it wont run the tests until certain criteria are met ,ie temp ,run time ,good closed loop operation ....alls it takes is for one criteria not to be met and it wont run the test and since it wont run the test it wont set codes or reset monitors (unless its is a component or wiring failure ,ie opens,shorts ,grounds,which are tested continuously under the components monitor)
as far as the Sec air system it uses the O2 sensors to detect flow buy going very lean in the exhaust with air pump system activated during closed loop operation and and so it has to be up to temp and in closed loop with good O2 switching both banks.

the Evap test is very hard to get to run (even on the correct car the engine came in)as it will test some functionality with the engine running and some with the engine off,after complete cooldown (looking for leaks in the fuel tank and purge system that will allow vapors to escape to atmosphere) and unless you have the factory setup from the car the engine came from the E30 fuel tank system will not pass as it was never setup to pass such stringent EVAP tests (it will be testing for a leak smaller than the size of a pin tip) no E30 tank was sealed that well and the components to seal and test the system are not on an E30.


Mode $6 is just the Engineering data (usually in hexadecimal code ) that if you know how to read and interperet will tell if the various test have run and what the results were (ie clearly passed or just barely,or fail).you need a scan tool to read and interpret the data buy supplying the conversion factors or have access to those conversion data to interpret, it will not tell you why the test wont run directly but may give clues (ie if all the O2 test havent run and passed it likely wont run the Sec Air test "as it needs to know the O2 are working correctly otherwise the test is is useless",so need to figure out why the O2 test havent run). and again without knowing the various parameters to run all the tests to resest all the monitors this can get very frustrating to deal with (as stated even with engine in correct car )and BMW is one of the worst auto manufacturers to release such data (all their diagnostic's on newer cars is built into their $15K scan tool ,on top of the subscription fee to access their servers,so this is why BMW are expensive to work on) only thing i like about VW is with a factory equivalent scan tool you can command all OBDII test to run in the service bay and watch the results with realtime data ,cars suck but their diagnostics are great,wish BMW could learn from them...

best thing i can suggest is to find out if someone with the same setup you have has been able to get the car to pass and talk to them about what they did to get it to pass .

hate to say it but your in the worst state to get a pass in (here in Wa you can have one readiness not set and pass,and its usually EVAP ) Carb rules in Cali are the toughest in the nation and im sure on a retrofit they wont let you get away with anything less than full passing on everything , those that have gone before you may be your best friend and info source

BTW im a WA certified emission specialist which is why i know so much about this as i get to deal with it everyday, but not as strict as Cali thank goodness

Thanks for all the great info, going to need to go through it a bit more thoroughly when I have time. I have ordered a OBDII code reader that can read all ten modes so we will see what information the car gives me. It's all very interesting, I just wish it wasn't preventing me passing smog.

I would never have gone OBDII in CA if I had known all of this before. It's been a total waste of time and money if these are the things that are going to prevent me from passing a referee inspection here.

[mcr_driver]

Might be time to go OBDI Brett but I am checking a source as well to see what their input is.

[cyberkaa]

Start by looking up the BMW OBD2 drive cycle.

The evap and secondary air injection tests are fairly easy to set if your components are working correctly and you follow the procedure. If the test conditions have been hit and they've failed, the DME will store the codes to indicate why they failed.

Evap usually has two components - tank leakage and purge. Both must function and both have different test start criteria. If the monitors are unset and you don't have codes, you probably haven't driven the car according to the drive cycle. The car needs proper rest time, drive time, fuel level, and temperature for the leak detection to run. For purge, temperature, cold idle time, warm idle time, and a few other criteria must be met while you drive the car.

SAI requires your pump, valve, and O2 sensors to be working properly. As a first step, the pump should run on a cold start. If it does, you might have a low flow code or something else that will point you in the right direction.

[mammoth_e30]

Start by looking up the BMW OBD2 drive cycle.

The evap and secondary air injection tests are fairly easy to set if your components are working correctly and you follow the procedure. If the test conditions have been hit and they've failed, the DME will store the codes to indicate why they failed.

Evap usually has two components - tank leakage and purge. Both must function and both have different test start criteria. If the monitors are unset and you don't have codes, you probably haven't driven the car according to the drive cycle. The car needs proper rest time, drive time, fuel level, and temperature for the leak detection to run. For purge, temperature, cold idle time, warm idle time, and a few other criteria must be met while you drive the car.

SAI requires your pump, valve, and O2 sensors to be working properly. As a first step, the pump should run on a cold start. If it does, you might have a low flow code or something else that will point you in the right direction.

I believe you have hit the nail on the head. The same day I had time to google obdII drive cycle info I also got the scanner tool and it came with a mini hand book that explained "readiness" and drive cycles in layman's terms. After reading the following threads on bf.c I think I can get the OBDII ready codes, now just a slight improvement on the smog and I "could" be good to go.

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?1718947-OBDii-Readiness-Flags-SAI-not-ready

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?1433620-Emissions-inspection-OBDII-quot-Not-Ready-quot

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?1285660-OBDII-drive-cycle-explained-smogging

If you're reading this thread MR325 you may want to tow it to 24v swap section and archive the other thread I have there that didn't get any responses....

[mcr_driver]

Thanks for chiming in Kalim I knew you'd have an answer to get him on the right road.

[cyberkaa]

No prob. Good luck.