OBD or OBD II?

BMW 318is, 1995 Is it OBD or OBD II?

It's OBD I.




"luis" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> BMW 318is, 1995 Is it OBD or OBD II?
>

Jeff Strickland escreveu:

> It's OBD I.


Thanks,
Luis

After all the 318is 1995 (sedan) seems to be OBD II.
Can someone please tell me the port location ?

IF it is OBD II compliant, then there must be a data port along the bottom
edge of the dash board in the general vicinity of your left leg as you
drive -- assuming a left hand drive, as in the USA. ( I do not know where
the port is in a RHD car.)

Part of the OBD II spec remedies a serious problem with OBD I, that is the
ability to easily locate the data port. OBD I cars can have the port pretty
much anyplace the automaker electes to put it. This lead to mechanics having
the ability to steam-roll car owners into paying fees to go to school to
find out where the data port is and understand the many different code
schemes that automakers came up with. OBD II standardizes the codes so any
code that can appear on any car always means the same thing, and the same
problem on any car always makes the same code on any car that the problem
appears on. (There are some manufacturer specific codes that Toyota might
have, but Chrysler will not have for example.)

I am aware of some Toyota products that meet the OBD II spec with 1995
production, but the spec is not required until 1996 production. I suppose
you could have an OBD II car, but according to my Bentley manual, your BMW
should have the M42 motor, which is OBD I. The 318 did not get the M42 motor
that is OBD II compliant until the 1996 models. If your 318 came at the end
of '95 production, the factory could have run out of OBD I motors and began
using OBD II. I'm not certain if all of the OBD II spec would be required in
that instance, but the data port will be as described if that part of the
spec was implemented in your car. According to my Bentley, the data port is
actually behind a cover that says OBD. This cover is to the left of the
clutch pedal, generally over the foot rest.



"luis" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> After all the 318is 1995 (sedan) seems to be OBD II.
> Can someone please tell me the port location ?
>

The car belongs to a friend of mine.
A few months ago the CO emissions were to high to pass the annual
inspection.
In order to solve that problem, my friend's mechanic replaced the O2
sensor.
The cost was about 500 euro (about 600 US dollars).
After that the car was alright.
Now, 10000 km after, the car has the same problem, high CO emissions.
My friend doesn't want to bring the car to the mechanic again because
he doesn't trust him anymore. Besides that, 500 euro is to much money
for replacing a O2 sensor.
I order to obtain some diagnostic from what is wrong with the car, we
tried this:

Turn the ignition on.
Press the accelerator pedal through full travel and release (Repeat 5
Times)
The check engine lamp will begin to flash ! flash ="1" 2 flashes="2"
etc

We had no success. There was no single lamp flashing.
So we assumed the car is OBDII and not OBDI.
This afternoon we searched, under the steering wheel and above the
pedals, for the OBD port
but it's not there. We inclusively removed the big cover and found
nothing.

The car is left hand drive,
Chassis nr wbaca51040fk09483

We don't know what to do anymore.

Thanks and forgive my poor English

Luis
Portugal



Jeff Strickland escreveu:

> IF it is OBD II compliant, then there must be a data port along the bottom
> edge of the dash board in the general vicinity of your left leg as you
> drive -- assuming a left hand drive, as in the USA. ( I do not know where
> the port is in a RHD car.)
>
> Part of the OBD II spec remedies a serious problem with OBD I, that is the
> ability to easily locate the data port. OBD I cars can have the port pretty
> much anyplace the automaker electes to put it. This lead to mechanics having
> the ability to steam-roll car owners into paying fees to go to school to
> find out where the data port is and understand the many different code
> schemes that automakers came up with. OBD II standardizes the codes so any
> code that can appear on any car always means the same thing, and the same
> problem on any car always makes the same code on any car that the problem
> appears on. (There are some manufacturer specific codes that Toyota might
> have, but Chrysler will not have for example.)
>
> I am aware of some Toyota products that meet the OBD II spec with 1995
> production, but the spec is not required until 1996 production. I suppose
> you could have an OBD II car, but according to my Bentley manual, your BMW
> should have the M42 motor, which is OBD I. The 318 did not get the M42 motor
> that is OBD II compliant until the 1996 models. If your 318 came at the end
> of '95 production, the factory could have run out of OBD I motors and began
> using OBD II. I'm not certain if all of the OBD II spec would be required in
> that instance, but the data port will be as described if that part of the
> spec was implemented in your car. According to my Bentley, the data port is
> actually behind a cover that says OBD. This cover is to the left of the
> clutch pedal, generally over the foot rest.
>
>
>
> "luis" > wrote in message
> oups.com...
> > After all the 318is 1995 (sedan) seems to be OBD II.
> > Can someone please tell me the port location ?
> >

"luis" > wrote in message
ps.com...
> The car belongs to a friend of mine.
> A few months ago the CO emissions were to high to pass the annual
> inspection.
> In order to solve that problem, my friend's mechanic replaced the O2
> sensor.
> The cost was about 500 euro (about 600 US dollars).
> After that the car was alright.
> Now, 10000 km after, the car has the same problem, high CO emissions.
> My friend doesn't want to bring the car to the mechanic again because
> he doesn't trust him anymore. Besides that, 500 euro is to much money
> for replacing a O2 sensor.
> I order to obtain some diagnostic from what is wrong with the car, we
> tried this:
>
> Turn the ignition on.
> Press the accelerator pedal through full travel and release (Repeat 5
> Times)
> The check engine lamp will begin to flash ! flash ="1" 2 flashes="2"
> etc
>
> We had no success. There was no single lamp flashing.
> So we assumed the car is OBDII and not OBDI.
> This afternoon we searched, under the steering wheel and above the
> pedals, for the OBD port
> but it's not there. We inclusively removed the big cover and found
> nothing.
>
> The car is left hand drive,
> Chassis nr wbaca51040fk09483
>
> We don't know what to do anymore.
>
> Thanks and forgive my poor English
>
> Luis
> Portugal
>
>

Sorry, you have to remove nothing to locate the OBD port, other than a small
cover that clearly says OBD on it (this cover appears to be removable by
using the edge of a coin). There is a trick to switching the ignition ON and
depressing the gas pedal 5 times -- you have to complete the depress and
release sequence within 5 seconds. The code sequence you described is an OBD
I format. I'm not sure that OBD II cars can retrieve data in this manner.

<QUOTE>
On cars with OBD I, the fault codes can be read by turning the ignition on
and fully depressing the gas pedal five times within five seconds. The Check
light will remain lit for 5 seconds, blink off, come on for 2.5 seconds,
then go off for 2.5 seconds. At this point, the fault codes will begin to
flash.

</QUOTE>

You seem to understand the flashing, pause, and flashing again as the means
to display the code. 1264 means the heater in the O2 Sensor is bad, 1221 is
the actual output of the O2 sensor being out of range. There is also a code
1222 that means the O2 sensor detects too rich or too lean, and I assume,
can not bring the fuel mixture back to within range.

<QUOTE>
To erase the fault code memory, make sure the fault code 1000 (short blink
then the light goes out for a long time) is present, then depress the gas
pedal fully for at least 10 seconds. Read the fault codes as described
earlier and check for code 1444 (no codes stored).
</QUOTE>

Your english is much better than my portuguese. If my english is too
complicated, let me know and I'll explain again.

Replacing the sensor is much the same as replacing a spark plug. I haven't
purchased an O2 sensor for my BMWs yet, but I have replaced a few O2 sensors
in my day. I recall the price for a Bosch sensor to be in the range of about
$50 (USD). I do not know what the conversion is for euros to dollars, but if
you paid 500 euros, that seems too high for a job that is easily done at
home.

>Jeff Strickland wrote:

>
> Sorry, you have to remove nothing to locate the OBD port, other than a small
> cover that clearly says OBD on it (this cover appears to be removable by
> using the edge of a coin).


I know the little cover that you mean, but on this car, it simply does
not exist.
Should I assume it's a OBDI car?

>Jeff Strickland wrote:

>There is a trick to switching the ignition ON and
> depressing the gas pedal 5 times -- you have to complete the depress and
> release sequence within 5 seconds. The code sequence you described is an OBD
> I format.
> I'm not sure that OBD II cars can retrieve data in this manner.

This trick (OBDI format) is not working. We've tried it and nothing
happens; no blinking at all.




>Jeff Strickland wrote:


> Replacing the sensor is much the same as replacing a spark plug. I haven't
> purchased an O2 sensor for my BMWs yet, but I have replaced a few O2 sensors
> in my day. I recall the price for a Bosch sensor to be in the range of about
> $50 (USD). I do not know what the conversion is for euros to dollars, but if
> you paid 500 euros, that seems too high for a job that is easily done at
> home.

Replacing the sensor is not the question, the question is knowing what
really is causing the CO emissions being too high. It is possible that
the O2 sensor is working fine and that some other malfunctioning part
is causing the problem. That's why we need a diagnostic. Either OBDI
or OBDII.

Thanks for all,

Luis