OBDII Readiness - worked! 1996 Carrera 2
08-26-2013, 01:36 AM
#1
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
OBDII Readiness - worked! 1996 Carrera 2
Hi folks,
Thought I'd share this as I'm quite beside myself with satisfaction.
I purchased this 48K miles Aventurine Green C2 and quickly discovered that the OBDII readiness lights weren't set b/c the battery had been replaced very recently! And running through the readiness cycle requires doing so from a cold start ---- So I busied myself with minor "house"keeping ---
- replaced the brake/clutch pedal rubbers
- clayed and waxed the car
- replaced the undersized supersport tires with potenza s04s
- got new lug nuts
- reconnected a disconnected battery vent tube (phew! lucky catch) only to find that the battery hold down bolt threads in the trunk and been stripped --- grrr -- re-tapped the threads
- tightened down both wing mirrors with the allen key (all my tools were too clumsy and big --- glad I saved the cheap allen keys from IKEA!)
- Traced down a fault trunk/engine/glovebox light to a simple blown fuse 11 --- EZ!
- Replaced trunk/engine lights with LED lights to slow down battery drain
- Followed all the instruction posted and converted the hopelessly broken switchblade key to a normal key and put the switchblade electronics in a new remote fob housing (generic --- ebay)
I ran through the BMW OBDII drive cycle once with great ----GREAT---- frustration.
1) Idling from a cold start for 2 min 10 sec --- not a problem
2) Drive 20-30 MPH under 3K rpm for 3 min 15 sec --- BIG PROBLEM. I live in a congested city --- it was nearly impossible to drive without being interrupted by a stop sign / light / pedestrians / idiotic drivers cutting me off for a whole 3 min 15 seconds. I must have tried this eight times until I finally got over 3 min 15 seconds uninterrupted. The first seven times I did this I got anywhere between 1 minute and 3 minutes 2 seconds. Argh.
3) Drive 40-60 MPH under 3K rpm for 15 min --- not a problem
4) Idle for 5 min --- not a problem
I did this entire cycle (took me 90 minutes), checked the OBDII codes, and found that the OBDII readiness codes were NOT READY.
Ugh.
The next day, I did it again...
And, as before, step 2 took me many many many many tries. At 11PM at night, step 2 took me 6 tries.
Then the next morning I had to fly out for work. No time to check the codes! Pins and needles for a week and half!
So nearly a week and half later I get back home now and steel myself for having to run through the cycle again --- fire the car up, plug in the OBDII code reader --- and found that all the readiness codes are A-OK!
Hallelujah!
Okay, so the obligatory pictures are below. I've realized this color is very difficult to photograph.
Thought I'd share this as I'm quite beside myself with satisfaction.
I purchased this 48K miles Aventurine Green C2 and quickly discovered that the OBDII readiness lights weren't set b/c the battery had been replaced very recently! And running through the readiness cycle requires doing so from a cold start ---- So I busied myself with minor "house"keeping ---
- replaced the brake/clutch pedal rubbers
- clayed and waxed the car
- replaced the undersized supersport tires with potenza s04s
- got new lug nuts
- reconnected a disconnected battery vent tube (phew! lucky catch) only to find that the battery hold down bolt threads in the trunk and been stripped --- grrr -- re-tapped the threads
- tightened down both wing mirrors with the allen key (all my tools were too clumsy and big --- glad I saved the cheap allen keys from IKEA!)
- Traced down a fault trunk/engine/glovebox light to a simple blown fuse 11 --- EZ!
- Replaced trunk/engine lights with LED lights to slow down battery drain
- Followed all the instruction posted and converted the hopelessly broken switchblade key to a normal key and put the switchblade electronics in a new remote fob housing (generic --- ebay)
I ran through the BMW OBDII drive cycle once with great ----GREAT---- frustration.
1) Idling from a cold start for 2 min 10 sec --- not a problem
2) Drive 20-30 MPH under 3K rpm for 3 min 15 sec --- BIG PROBLEM. I live in a congested city --- it was nearly impossible to drive without being interrupted by a stop sign / light / pedestrians / idiotic drivers cutting me off for a whole 3 min 15 seconds. I must have tried this eight times until I finally got over 3 min 15 seconds uninterrupted. The first seven times I did this I got anywhere between 1 minute and 3 minutes 2 seconds. Argh.
3) Drive 40-60 MPH under 3K rpm for 15 min --- not a problem
4) Idle for 5 min --- not a problem
I did this entire cycle (took me 90 minutes), checked the OBDII codes, and found that the OBDII readiness codes were NOT READY.
Ugh.
The next day, I did it again...
And, as before, step 2 took me many many many many tries. At 11PM at night, step 2 took me 6 tries.
Then the next morning I had to fly out for work. No time to check the codes! Pins and needles for a week and half!
So nearly a week and half later I get back home now and steel myself for having to run through the cycle again --- fire the car up, plug in the OBDII code reader --- and found that all the readiness codes are A-OK!
Hallelujah!
Okay, so the obligatory pictures are below. I've realized this color is very difficult to photograph.
09-12-2013, 04:08 PM
#2
Glad to hear your success. I've been having the same issues with resetting the readiness codes as I can never drive long enough for step 2. I will try it again over and over like you did.
Nice pictures. I've got an aventurine green cab. Definitely the best color in my opinion
Nice pictures. I've got an aventurine green cab. Definitely the best color in my opinion
09-12-2013, 07:50 PM
#5
Three Wheelin'
There is a very long and informative thread on this board that covers this topic.
That said I'll post my personal experiences.
993TT
I've done this drive cycle to reset the readiness codes about 4 times.
I have found that it needs to be done twice to reset the flags with a complete cool down in between.
I do the steps in order, however in my experience it doesn't matter if you get interrupted, like on step 2, as long as you don't exceed the upper boundaries for speed/rpm or shut off the engine.
If you get stuck at a red light or stop sign, just resume when you can and always keep the throttle inputs light and gentle.
That said I'll post my personal experiences.
993TT
I've done this drive cycle to reset the readiness codes about 4 times.
I have found that it needs to be done twice to reset the flags with a complete cool down in between.
I do the steps in order, however in my experience it doesn't matter if you get interrupted, like on step 2, as long as you don't exceed the upper boundaries for speed/rpm or shut off the engine.
If you get stuck at a red light or stop sign, just resume when you can and always keep the throttle inputs light and gentle.
09-12-2013, 08:17 PM
#6
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
Hi p911enthusiast and rlme36,
Yes, I when I did it with my C2, my observations were exactly as badabing relates --
1) I had to do the entire cycles twice -- not once. Twice.
2) I did the steps in order. I do not know if they HAVE to be in order but I did them in order.
3) Further, if I was unsuccessful in a step (like step 2) I would restart step 2 again and again and again until I was able to complete step 2. Only then would I proceed to step 3.
Yes, I when I did it with my C2, my observations were exactly as badabing relates --
1) I had to do the entire cycles twice -- not once. Twice.
2) I did the steps in order. I do not know if they HAVE to be in order but I did them in order.
3) Further, if I was unsuccessful in a step (like step 2) I would restart step 2 again and again and again until I was able to complete step 2. Only then would I proceed to step 3.
09-12-2013, 09:44 PM
#7
Three Wheelin'
Hi p911enthusiast and rlme36,
Yes, I when I did it with my C2, my observations were exactly as badabing relates --
1) I had to do the entire cycles twice -- not once. Twice.
2) I did the steps in order. I do not know if they HAVE to be in order but I did them in order.
3) Further, if I was unsuccessful in a step (like step 2) I would restart step 2 again and again and again until I was able to complete step 2. Only then would I proceed to step 3.
Yes, I when I did it with my C2, my observations were exactly as badabing relates --
1) I had to do the entire cycles twice -- not once. Twice.
2) I did the steps in order. I do not know if they HAVE to be in order but I did them in order.
3) Further, if I was unsuccessful in a step (like step 2) I would restart step 2 again and again and again until I was able to complete step 2. Only then would I proceed to step 3.
I did it once in NYC during the day. I did a cumulative of 10 mins on step 2 to be safe.
