roganjoshd 0 Report post Posted August 26, 2013 Hello all, I bought my 3rd ever BMW earlier this year and if I recall correctly it was April the 1st when I did so and as it turns out I believe I have been played for a fool! It failed its first WOF I took it in for earlier this month... I'm looking for someone nearby to Nelson who may be able to help me fix the little issue of the SRS (airbag) light NOT coming on as expected for a self-test at startup, which has been caused by one or more of the following 3 things a previous owner has done: 1. swapped out the instruments cluster, as confirmed by the VIN stored in the IKE not matching the car and the "tamper dot" is also showing next to the odometer 2. replaced the Airbag Control Unit with one from an E34 as confirmed by its BMW part number 3. cut at least 1 wire coming from the Airbag Control Unit, possibly there are more but I'd have to completely remove the centre console to find out The previous WOF was done in February as part of the car's re-registration as it had been off the road since 2006 (apparently not because it was an insurance write off) and I have spoken to VINZ who did the testing and they claim that the SRS light must of been functioning fine then, however I suspect that it was missed and as a result I have ended up with the problem because the AA were a little bit more thorough when doing the last WOF. I'll start a new thread regarding this issue in the relevant section of the forum, but just wanted to spell out my troubles to you all in the hope that someone near or in Nelson maybe able to help (with the required ADS cables to connect to the car's 20-pin socket, I have the old laptop with a serial port and software to do so). I have been down to the local authorised BMW service centre (Haven Motors) and while they have been very helpful and have also tried unsuccessfully plugging into the car, to get it fixed with new parts there is not economically viable, I'd be better off taking the car to a wrecker in exchange for cash. Cheers! josh previous BMWs: 1972 2002tii (colour inka orange) - I was a member of the BMW car club for a year with this vehicle and took it around Mansfield one weekend with them 1986 323i (I swapped this plus cash for the 2002) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
qube 3570 Report post Posted August 26, 2013 welcome to the forum im guessing your new bmw is the 1994 e38 740i judging from your info panel put up some more info about the car and photos! hopefully someone can help you with your problems Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
roganjoshd 0 Report post Posted August 26, 2013 cheers Qube, yes the car in question is an E38 740i (with M60 4L V8 engine) I don't have any flattering photos of it to post up, just a few snaps I have taken of various bits such as the cut wire, wrong part number and VIN! I have created a new thread in the electrical section regarding this car and mines problem in the hope someone out there can help, hopefully not too far from Nelson as the car is illegal on the road now! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Allanw 1071 Report post Posted August 26, 2013 You can use BMW scanner to change the VIN in the cluster (BMW can't do it to a used/already coded cluster/module, apparantly). I brought it here : BMW Scanner 1.4.0 appears to be US$32 today, shipped. You'd need the adapter for the earlier round connector under the bonnet, or could possibly just get version 1.36 instead. Ours has OBD2, so I use 1.4.0, and it works great - have changed the VIN and Milage in a later LCM to fit into our car and can read fault codes and program functions etc. You can interogate all the modules then, and may be able to find something out. I'd be talking to the pervious owner. The consumer gaurantees act does apply to private sales, and there is a good chance they knew of the problem. VINZ is obviously covering their arse, but they quite likely did miss it. Problems with airbag systems and the like is easy to reapir, IF you take it to the right people. In typical "Kiwi Car Owner" fashion, they've tried to do it cheap/DIY, done it wrong and probably palmed off the car once they passed the point of no return! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
roganjoshd 0 Report post Posted August 26, 2013 Thanks Allan! I have some cables already that allow me to connect to the car and it looks very similar to the v1.36 box you mentioned, but mine is just like this one and says it is however the big issue is this E38 does NOT support OBD (1 or 2) but requires the ADS (Active Diagnosis) connector, possibly v1.36 would do this, I'll have to look into it.And I have contacted the previous owner who is now in WA... The odometer reading recorded by VINZ appears to align with the car as it is today, so I would be pretty certain it was like it is now when they saw it, but I think it would be my word against theirs in a small claims court, so I think it is easier to fix it myself, as long as I can avoid the cost of having to get new parts from BMW cheers josh Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
