[fmcfad01]

All,
I come from the z3 M Coupe world and fully understand the question I'm about to ask has probably been answered a million times. As the title suggests, my father passed away and I've got a 2000 M5. The car is in Florida where there is no state inspection. It has a check engine light on. Unfortunately, I'm from the northeast, so if I want to drive it, i have to get it to pass inspection.

Free autozone scan returns the following:

PO411 secondary air injection

PO420 cataqlyst effeciency below normal: BANK 1
PO430 Catalyst effeciency below normal: Bank 2

I understand Carbon Build Up is probably the cause of the first code and is very expensive to have BMW fix. I also understand PowerChip software will get rid of this code. Is that the best route to go? They've offered me their holiday sale price...can't really complain.

The second two are most likely bad O2 sensors or clogged cats. My father was a little cheap and it wasn't until recently that I got him to switch from 5w30 to 15w15 to TWS. The M5 burned a lot of oil when he ran the thin stuff. I'm guessing that could have clogged up the cats. If so, i can handle cutting the cats out and putting some aftermarket ones in as well as changing out the O2 sensors. I've got access to a shop and a lift...

Anyway, any help is much appreciated. I'd love to get the M5 back on the road as my daily, keep the 01 M Coupe in the garage for fun, and sell my cash for clunkers Honda Fit!!

Regards,
Scott

 

[havasusteve03Beast]

Scott,

First off, sorry about the passing of your father. With regards to the M5, it sounds lke you are on the right track. The S.A codes can be remedied by Powerchip or other software designers that offer an off-road/racing package. After all, you need to remember that it is illegal to override that emissions element.

If you plan on keeping the Beast, get a Peake reader. They are worth their weight in gold with regards to the E39 M5. Table 18 is exclusively dedicated to our cars.

Clear the codes 1st and formost, then run it for a bit. You dont mention mileage or maintenance?? Pre-CATS are a viable option with regards to the catalyst efficiency codes, but again, a Peake would solidify that. If the pre-CATS have never been replaced, then I would replace them...OEM Bosch units can be purchased via Amazon for about $100 for the set of pre-cats.

Recommend you read this thread as it will provide valuable info with regards to these cars:

http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/e3...34-e39-m5-frequently-asked-questions-faq.html

Hope this helps, welcome to the Board, but sorry again about the circumstances.

Steve

 

[icanhazbeast?]

Scott,

Condolences about your father.

I have the same codes for catalysts on my car, and can echo the previous poster's recommendation on replacing the pre-cat 02 sensors. Amazon has the best price and even has a little app built in to give you the specific Bosch units you need. With a lift it would be incredibly straightforward.

There is another active thread about replacement cats right now, some folks have used Magnaflows if you end up needing to replace them. Much cheaper.
http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/e3...02-need-2-oem-catalytic-convertors-01-m5.html

 

[fmcfad01]

Thank you both for the very informational replies. Looks like this forum is full of great people just like the z3/coupe forum over at bimmerforums.com.

I'm going to send a Peake FCX3-U tool down to my Mom in Florida. Going with that one since it'll work with both the M5 an my M Coupe. It's about time I bought one of these anyway. Picking it up from Bimmerzone - free priority shipping and no tax. Vincent (the owner) is a great guy too.

Once I get the Secondary Air Code turned off, I'll drive the M5 up to NJ and attack the rest of the issues in my shop.

She needs a new clutch too...

FYI, it's got ~110k miles. Dad had the engine rebuilt by BMW around 60k miles due to it burning a ton of oil, or possibly the piston ring issue...i don't recall (was in college at the time). It runs amazingly well except for the clutch at this point! It's got it's fair share of common M5 issues that I can take care of over time, but that won't hamper my enjoyment of the car.

Thanks again for the info.

 

[gherardini]

Terribly sorry to hear about your father. It's a horrendous way to come into a great automobile. If he was a serious ///M enthusiast, maintaining it and driving it is a great tribute you will feel every day you sit in its seat.

Be careful of that clutch on the way home. The ///M is a powerful car that will easily overwhelm an already weak clutch. Take it *EASY*. I drove several hundred miles on my clutch after i knew it was bad, it should [theoretically] make it home as long as you aren't too crazy enjoying all that power that your coupe doesn't have. Mine would slip every time I went to pass someone. Not sure how yours is.

She's a bit expensive to fix at times, but if you use the forum [& search], there is enough information and assistance here to fix almost anything you come up against.

Good luck!

 

[fmcfad01]

Ok, I finally bought my Peake Code Reader and my 60yr old mom was kind enough to get under the hood in Florida for me.

Here are the codes:


FC Fault Code
Go Button

1b Table Number
AA Secondary Air System, Flow Too Low
45 Knock Sensor, Cylinder #5-6
b2 Catalyst System Efficiency, Cylinder #1-4
b3 Catalyst System Efficiency, Cylinder #4-8
91 Fuel Control, Cylinder #4-6
AF Mixture Adaptation, Cylinder #4-6
d4 ???? not in the table.

I can do my research here and find out the solutions but if anyone has any tricks of the trade or solutions out of the ordinary, please let me know.

AA code will get solved through Powerchip software.
Assume Knock Sensors are relatively easy to replace, but is a bad sensor the cause here or something else?
Cats are either bad cats (from carbon build up) or fouled O2 sensors. I'll start with the sensors and if necessary I'll weld in some new cats.
Fuel Control and mixture adaptation?? No clue on those.

Last
D4 does not seem to be in the table...anyone ever run into this one? Maybe she misread/typed it.

Thanks all and sorry for the noob questions that have been asked 8598598348940 times. i know it's annoying but I haven't spent 4 years reading this forum like I have for my M Coupe.

-Scott

 

[chowdah]

Sorry for your loss.

A common mistake/misprint/confusion is which table to read, and what letters/numbers you think you are reading from the Peake.

You're reading the wrong table, but for the most part those codes are similar (except for cylinder #s). See the Peake Sticky FAQ.

In general, your Peake is noting a problem on Bank 2. Start with pre-cat O2s, as they are cheap. B2/B3 are generally not in-fact bad cats. Next, consider new MAFS. Check the air filters. You can safely ignore AA until you need to pass some state inspection.

 

[fmcfad01]

You're reading the wrong table, but for the most part those codes are similar (except for cylinder #s). See the Peake Sticky FAQ.

Pretty sure it's the right table. I figured that out the hard way because Mom said it was table 16 and none of it made sense. Then I realized it was table 1b based on the manual calling attention to this common mistake and all but the last code existed in that table. Additionally, these codes from Peake mesh with the codes autozone pulled.

If you know what table I should be looking at, tell me, but I think I got it right!

 

[Sailor24]

table 18 d4 is misfire on #8 during warm up. The others are right sort of but bank 2 is 5-8. the knock code though is still 5and 6. Something I have never noticed where the heck is the knock code for 1 and 2?

 

[chowdah]

Pretty sure it's the right table.

I have an older Peake when the table was 18. The new one could be 1b, as you say. I just know there's some confusion on the table in the newer Peakes. I do have a D4 in my table 18; it is as Sailor24 has indicated.

 

[fmcfad01]

I finally took posession of my Dad's M5 after a little over a year. He passed away last November. It's a 2000 M5 with 115k on it. It's been in it's fair share of accidents and incidents, but it holds a lot of sentimental value in my book. Time to get to work on her.

 

[E39LOLZ]

Just read this thread the first time. Sorry for your loss but your father is probably looking down on you making sure you drive this thing more than the shoe :M5thumbs:. Did you have the car delivered to you or did you fly down and drive it up 95?

 

[JDMM5]

I finally took posession of my Dad's M5 after a little over a year. He passed away last November. It's a 2000 M5 with 115k on it. It's been in it's fair share of accidents and incidents, but it holds a lot of sentimental value in my book. Time to get to work on her.

Looks good to me...

 

[fmcfad01]

My 61 yr old mother was nice enough to take the Amtrak Auto Train from Sanford, FL to Lorton, VA and spend a long weekend with me in DC.

 

[Sailor24]

Step one is clear your codes and drive it. Check for codes after 200miles or the ses light and go from there. The knock codes are mislabeled in Peake so if they come back we will have to find the right description for you. Found it cyl3,4. The other thing you may want to do is a MAF test and then unplug the MAFS and do the test again. Last just drive it with the MAFs unplugged and try and relay the difference.
I suspect this is bad MAFs and dirty injectors.

 

[fmcfad01]

Thanks! I'll look up the MAF test. I love Bimmerzone and know he sells MAFs at a great price.

 

[fmcfad01]

I hope this isn't a premature update. Basically I rescanned the codes after clearning them and most didn't come back. The only ones that came back were AA and either b2. I replaced both MAFs and all the O2 sensors (in addition to my thrust arm bushings). As of tonight, only AA came back on for the Secondary Air/Carbon Build Up issue. Hopefully the O2's stay off. I'm driving it from DC to Philly and back this weekend, so I'm sure I'll find out. If I successfully got rid of all the codes but AA, I have the PowerChip software I bought earlier this year before all of these buyer beware threads popped up.

To my knowledge, their software is the only way to get rid of the AA code without blowing ~$10k by cleaning out the secondary air channels in the heads. Is that correct?

 

[VacMan]

Most tuning vendors will do it now. You probably got a non Alpha N tune when Matt was still around PC so you should be just fine. I have had no issues whatsoever with my PC tune from last year.

 

[TimInNOVA]

You really need to baseline this car or you will spend endless hours chasing down issues. At that mileage and with those codes I would recommend changing the following:

_The Fuel Filter
_Both MAF sensors
_Both Exhaust Cam Position Sensors*
_Both Pre-Cat O2 Sensors

Consider this a good starting point. Best of Luck.

*I was also getting a b2 (bad cat) until I changed these.

 

[Beemer Guy]

If I successfully got rid of all the codes but AA, I have the PowerChip software I bought earlier this year before all of these buyer beware threads popped up.

To my knowledge, their software is the only way to get rid of the AA code without blowing ~$10k by cleaning out the secondary air channels in the heads. Is that correct?

I think EVO is considered to be one of the better tunes (my memory sucks, so I may be remembering the name incorrectly) and hopefully they have a solution to the AA issue. I'm guessing that you never got around to installing the PowerChip solution?

M