Sics Consolidated Faded Moderns Thread - 2006 Golf Mk5 GTI & 2004 BMW Z4 2.2

[Eddie Honda]

I don't have any wiring diagrams so not sure what black with green tracer is. Presumably some high current path wire otherwise it wouldn't be of thick gauge.

Brown is ground as per DIN standard. Everything is numbered.

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[Eddie Honda]

I forget my German, but

RT = Rot = Red
SW = Schwarz = Black
BL = Blau = Blue
BR = Braun = Brown
GN = Grün = Green
GE = Gelb = Yellow

Also wire sizes are on German diagrams, in this case 4.0mm2 I think.

Had to learn to how to read this shite having had one or two of their motorcycles.

[SiC]

That airbag light.


Programming the module was a massive pain. The steps aren't clear on what to do to actually flash it, not helped being in German. So ended up thinking it was flashed so carried on but got coding errors.

Anyway ignored the guide and used instinct on the GUI. Ended up flashing okay. As a firmware engineer by trade, these progress bars especially make me nervous as I see them fail all the time when developing but I have other ways of fixing it when my own stuff. This stuff is bricked if it fails.

 
Once that was sorted I realised that I was missing the expert profile in NCSExpert. Found a package with that and got the coding reset to default.

But then the light didn't clear. INPA error code gave an error of unterbrechung sbe1. Not sure what that was I googled it. Which helpfully gave all results for German websites too.

Plugged in my Foxwell and it gave something more intelligible.


Ah! Okay a proper error. Quick Google of seat occupancy detectors find loads of emulator modules to make the car think it's okay with aftermarket seats. 

So with a failed sensor, it possibly means replacement seats are needed. Either the box is at fault or the mat. The error is coming back as open circuit so I presume it's the mat at fault. I'd rather not buy replacement seats if I can just make it think it's all okay.

Checking the coding of the drivers side I found it was disabled. Unsurprisingly as it assumes someone is there all the time. Anyway I reckoned that it would be safe to disable the left occupancy sensor and it'll just fire the airbags as if someone is there. So coded it out with NCS Dummy and sent the code in with NCSExpert.

VAG coding with VCDS is a million times easier and simpler than this shit.

Taken all bloody night but I've managed to get the airbag system sorted and the light is now out. Success!

 
Now just need to figure a solution for the fan resistor. Pretty sure I'll just chop the connector and solder it directly on. But first connect it all up on the terminals to make sure the resistor pack is indeed good. 

[SiC]

I think I'll probably look at getting new seats sometime if any cheap ones come up. I don't have any doubt that disabling the passenger detection mat will still make all the airbags fire (my wife or me will be sitting there after all). But the passenger side is missing it's back board which annoys the heck out of me.

I actually really like the rental car spec fabric seats in convertibles as they wick away sweat rather than sitting on the surface. However I've never seen fabric seats on any Z4 before. Must be incredibly rare.

 
As the weather is so stonking nice today, I made an effort to put the car back together. So I popped the resistor pack in to test that the fan now works properly. Then put the case on. 

The crimp contacts I cleaned the insides of with contact cleaner and a set of carb jet cleaner wire. 

It all works fine but I'm not convinced the contacts will not fail again. However it does prove the resistor pack does work before permanently soldering it in. 

 
I hoovered the pollen filter area out as much as I could. I have a new filter coming but it's not arrived yet. So hoovered the old one out and stuffed it back in as a short term measure. I don't want leaves and other crap to jam that fan up. 

Gave the interior a good hoover out and wipe down with interior cleaner.

Then took it for a spin.

Don't be fooled by the photo making it look tidy. Definitely a 10 footer car and stuff like this is noticeable closer up.

 
Anyway gave it a quick blast then probed the discs for their temperature.

Rear left (new caliper)


Rear right

 
Fronts were both 62c.
 
Hmm. That rear left is still much hotter than I'd like with quite a temperature difference. Could either be it's braking better than the other side or the flex pipe is causing a flow restriction.

I did jack each side up and they still both spin freely and about the same.

I think I need to put some more miles on it first and let the pads bed in a bit before doing much more. I do suspect the pipe might be causing a bit of restriction too and compounding the issue it had. 

Right now though as the wheel still spins when in the air with not a lot of drag, I think I'll just put some more miles on before going further. 

[SiC]

Why is it some people have zero problem with some brands and others always have issues?

I have never had anything ever problematic with Hondas. Just get in and drive. VAG mostly the same - despite others always having issues with them. 

For me it's BMWs. Whether hire car or ownership, they always seem to want to try my patience.

Last night I filled up the tank with petrol in expectation of using it today. On getting back the right hand indicator started flashing rapidly. But the front/side/back were all lit?


Well it turns out these have two indicator bulbs in the front headlights. I'm sure there is a BMW indicator joke in there somewhere.


Annoyingly they use a weird bulb that very little else uses. H21W. Ended up picking one up for a fiver in Halfords. 

Fitting is through the wheel arch with a flap you can just about remove on full lock. Then a Philips to unlock the bulb holder.


Today I set off and went to the in-laws. As a way to persuade me to go, we took the Z4 and planned to go to Avebury. While taking the scenic route along the A4, I decided to push my luck and detoured at Atwell Wilson Museum instead. It happened to be drive it day today, so they had plenty of visitors. I'll do a separate post of that in a moment with photos I took.

Anyway back to the Zed which got to the in-laws fine.


The way back we went down the A34, along the A303, past larkhill and through Wiltshire/BANES back home. Along the A34 I had the Emissions light ping up. 

Also noticed that left corners gave a worbling brake noise. Pull up the handbrake would stop this for a bit. So I'm pretty sure something in the handbrake shoe/cable mechanism is sticking. Tbh the handbrake always has been a bit mushy and doesn't hold the car great. 

I hate dealing with shoe handbrakes on the driveway, so probably throw it at a garage to be sorted. Probably needs a clean up, adjustment and maybe a few parts replacing.

We got home fine and covered 187 miles. All in I've probably covered nearly 500 miles since I've owned it. Not bad considering its spent a week on axle stands.  

Still, I came back to Engine light, bulb out light and dodgy brakes. BMWs seem to hate me.


In better news, it's indicating 36mpg. Which if true then is stonkingly good for a 6cyl. That's a mix of motorway, fast a-road and some b-roads.

Also the blower fan has been well behaved the whole time. So far it's just had cleaned up contacts and all put back together. I don't expect it to last as is. I plan to remove it again and hard wire it by soldering directly to the contacts on the hedgehog resistor pack. But I know that resistor pack is good and I can do it in confidence that it's very unlikely to need removing again.
 
What gave that light?


Hmm. Google suggests its often an intake pipe splitting. I pulled it out and it looked fine. 2017 date code.



What this does have is the pipe that goes to the firewall to parse on engine noise. It makes the 6cyl roar louder. While quite nice, it gets bloody painful at 5k+ rpm. This usually is only fitted to the 2.5 and 3.0. Almost certain it's been retrofitted on this. The clamp to the intake hose is Pearl which is definitely not OE BMW!

You can see the box just under the brace bar.


 
This has a diaphragm in it so it's not a direct connection between the interior and intake. Otherwise unmetered air would get in. 

This isn't completely air sealed when sucking. Some air can get in. You do really have to suck though.


I'm wondering if this might be causing the code. I am tempted to remove this as it's a bit too annoying. Probably better on the bigger engines as you'd rev through it much quicker than this.

While I was there, I removed the throttle body and gave it a clean. I've seen much worse but it was dirty enough to make it worthwhile. Bit of a PIA to remove. Not TFSI awkward but still fiddly. Took me a good 20mins to remove and similar to put back in. An annoying bracket is in the way that was a fight to get past.


After

 
I've cleared the codes for now and I'll have to see if they come back. The front lambda I can see and it doesn't look that old. I need to check the paperwork and see if a decent brand was fitted. If it comes back, I'll do some more investigation. My suspicion is a vac leak somewhere.
 
 
 

[SiC]

Mix of Atwell Wilson photos. No particular order except roughly the order they uploaded in. Maybe some repeats as I walked around and took them again.

Good mix of cars outside. As I was leaving the classic USA contingent was arriving. Presumably late from all their fill up stops on the way.

While the Z4 is not a car I'd usually put on show for somewhere like this, it was the only one and adds to the mix of cars. Better than arriving in my wife's Honda Civic Estate.

[SiC]

Inside shots of the museum. It's been extended since I last went and now has a small coffee shop area. There is an extra barn to the side that extends to display area.
Tbh it actually felt smaller and less exhibits than when I went last time. That said, some of the exhibits were outside on show for drive it day. 
Mini was Paddy Hopkins and used for races. F1 car is a Williams. 
Again not in order, just how they uploaded. There aren't photos of all the museum, just as I wandered around. Elsewhere on here are better photos from when I went last time.



 

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

M54’s have a vacuum hose to the fuel filter. If that’s split or leaking you will have EML and running problems. The hose runs to the intake bellows.

[SiC]

Not had a proper look yet but I'll stick that hose on my hand vacuum pump and see if it holds a vacuum. I think that hose also supplies the charcoal canister valve and brake booster.

If there is a one way valve that is shared, I think it may be okay going by that the brake vacuum hose is collapsing when the booster is holding pressure. Pumping the brake pedal causes that hose to expand back out as the vacuum is used up. Presumably the hose shouldn't do that either and I probably want to replace it...

I disconnected the MAF after a drive to warm the car up. Arse Dyno suggests it's much more lively with it disconnected. So presumably either a vacuum leak somewhere or MAF is tired.

MAF looks immaculate inside. Has Siemens written on it, which suggests it's not a cheap part. Hard to know if genuine or not but I think it is. Can't see any date codes on it though. Too expensive to parts dart with a new one.

[SiC]

That part number (7513957) on RealOEM says it's superseded in 2006. So it could possibly be original. I'd thought it would have BMW written on it though?
https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/partxref?q=7513+957