BMW E36 Forum

Hi all Ive found a nice bmw fault scanner on Liteinthebox.com its a OBD2 Diagnostic Tool OBD FULL KIT BMW Carsoft 6.5 only £33.99. "BUT"!! for the life of me i cant find anywhere that will confirm my 97 328i coupe is OBD2 compatible this product seems to support some e36 models that suggests my car is obd.2 but other sites say obd 2 connection is ONLY inside car and if its outside like on the e36 round connection its then obd1 !!!!!!!! Ive looked at my cars vin , nothing there, hand book not there, on round connection , nothing there so Im at a loss can anyone definitely help with this does anyone know for an absolute fact what exact OBD my car would be 1 or 2. big thanks for any help

I can only go based on my experience. My 1995 325i (Production date 10/95). It will not accept the OBDII. Supposedly, all cars and trucks manufactured for sale in the USA from 1996 on are OBDII compatible. The plug for it is usually located below the steering wheel and is trapazoidal in shape. Some have a cap on them and some do not. BMW typically has a cover under the dash with "OBDII" emblossed on it. Inside some have anothe cap which make it look like it isn't there. You probably need to lay your head on the seat or open the driver's door and 'kneel' through the door to see it. Hope that helps.

I just talked to another BMW owner who has been around longer than I. He says BMW had some models the did not 'release' as 1996, because they were not ready for the OBDII. They made them compliane and released them as 1997 models. For those pre 1997 that do not have it, there is an adapter that supposedly makes the round plug accessible to the OBDII. How is that for confusion??

Thanks guys yes even more confusing. Ok well there is no cover of any shape under dash or steering wheel driver or passenger side. Im led to believe that cars made in the USA from 1966 are obd 2 but cars made for European market inc UK did not become obd2 till 2001 this is very confusing because the product I mentioned earlier clearly shows the round plug found under the bonnet just in front of the brake servo this also is where you can turn off your service lights.Ive now E mailed the sales dept supplying this product for more info, I dont want to purchase this what would be a very handy tool if its not going to be any more use than just turning off the service / inspection lights. I will post any reply I get from them. Thanks all

Well even more confusing .com. These people are asking if I want a fault scanner or a tool to program the ECU !!! They suggest the V-CHECKER V401 for BMW . but looking at this product I think may not work as its still the same ol issue 1966 for us built cars and 2001 Europe/UK cars grrrrrrr Ive now found more reliable info but a bit confusing still to a laymen like me on Bimmerfest Its all about e36's back as far as 91=99 it appears there is what they call a"STOMP TEST" This involves turning on IGN but not starting and quickly pressing the accelerator fully 5 times within 5 seconds but its a little tricky to get it right so they suggest you try a few times if it dont work first time. This should give out flashing codes that you would need to right down. this is IF the car IS obd 1. It will not work on cars with obd 2 Other than that apparently there is a product that is for older e36's that will work , these are from PEAK RESEARCH CORPORATION, Think my next step is the stomp test and may consider buying from Peak. ( FCX-3 Scan / Reset Tool
For models produced from 1987 - 2007, includes a adapter cable allowing use on all BMW models )

Hi Guy's well after lots of research and confusion Ive found what I have been looking for ; IE a code reader and fault light re setter for early BMW's Including our E36's So anyone out there who has a fault warning light on look on Amazon or just Google ... GUNSON 77O83 you can find your own cheapest site but ive gone for Amazon at only £65.00 free p+p. I did email them and they sent me an email back with the products Manual this shows pics of the product and its connections our round 20 pin plug as well as the later 16 pin plug it also shows pics of under the bonnet round socket, this manual also makes references to fault codes that would only be on the E36 ,im so now convinced this is the right code reader ive ordered one myself the only stipulation they made was that the fuel system had to be Bosch, not sure but dont think any other type has been used Well I hope this helps anyone looking for a code reader for early BMW's I personally dont have any warning light showing but just wanted this tool to keep in my tool box just in case

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I have not struggled with any of this since I got my Peake Scanner, CEL codes plus the applicable BMW codes...plus reset codes, oil light etc...Got mine on eBay, but autohausaz.com also stocks it. I understand there are several variations of these which vary in cost by what they do. Mine was $132 and between my two 3's and my wife's 7...and a few of my friends, it was a good investment.

I have the Gunson code reader also does the service lights etc but have not had any faults so far thank god lol so not had the chance to use it apart from the initial test that said no faults!!! presumably if it connects and reads then its ok for my e36 ....id rather test it for real on some one else's car though

I understand that...perhaps you could get the word out through local car club, 3x5 cards on the bulletin board at super markets...even the parts stores...could be fun?? hey...could even possibly pay for the 'tool'>>