BMW E36 Blog

It has been a while since I purchase my BMW E36 and since that time, I have been looking for the English manual for the car as it came with the German one. Unfortunately, I was unable to find the English version anywhere on the web. This pushed me to use Google translation tools which do not perform a good job in translating the German text into understandable English.

Today, while I’m searching the web, I have found an unclear version of the English manual which talks only about the on board computer (OBC). Only 7 pages manual. So, I took it and decided to publish its content on the blog hoping the you will find the information provided useful. Today, I’m posting part #1 of the manual and I will be posting the rest of it in the next few days. So, please stay tuned.

On-Board Computer Manual
The on-board computer can be used to call-up and display information which contributes towards safe, economical driving. System malfunctions are shown in clear text via the Check control. There is also a general warning light on the instrument panel.

The digital clock can be used to
– Display time and date.
– Program a reminder signal (Memo) every hour, for instance so that radio news bulletins are not missed.

Take a look at the image below:

1. Display
2. Time of arrival
3. Numerical input keys
4. Information keys
5. Light emitting diodes (LED)
6. Display unit changeover key: The display unit changeover key enables information to be displayed either in metric or imperial units of measurement.
7. SET/RES key (start/stop)

Available without previous input:

TEMP	Outside temperature
RANGE	Probable range
SPEED	Average speed
CONSUM	2 average fuel consumptions

After manual input:

DIST	Distance before destination is reached, with time of arrival
LIMIT	Speed limit

The following systems are controlled by the on-board computer

TIMER	-2 switch-on times for independent ventilation control. -Direct operation of independent ventilation control -Stopwatch
CODE	Immobilizing device

The on-board computer can be operated from ignition key position 1 onwards. For reasons of driving safety, always input data to the computer before starting your journey or when the ca is at a standstill. The computer calculates and memorizes data from the start of the journey onwards.

Note:
Check Control warnings displace the computer displays.
Apart from priority 1 messages, you can clear displays by pressing the CHECK button. If the “PPPP” fault display appears, consult a BMW service station.

Outside temperature

To display: Press the TEMP button.
If the outside temperature falls below +3 C, a gong signal is heard as a warning; the temperature is displayed automatically and flashes for 8 seconds.
The warning is repeated if the temperature rises to at least +6 C and then drops again to +3 C.

Important:
Whether or not a temperature warning is given, remember that ice can still form on the road at above +3 C in certain circumstances, for instance on bridges and in shadow.

Average speed

To start computing, press the buttons in the order illustrated above. To call up, press the SPEED key.

Probable range

This display indicates how far the car can probably be driven on the fuel remaining in the tank.
The value takes into account the way in which the car has so far been driven.

To display, press the RANGE button.

A plus sign (+) in front of the displayed value means that it is still undergoing a correction process (measuring tolerance).

If the three display segments flash, the range is below 15 km and the car should be refueled as soon as possible.
The on-board computer registers fuel added to the tank only.
– If the quantity of fuel exceeds 4 liters and
– When the engine has been stopped.

Average fuel consumption

Average fuel consumption can be computer for two distances in parallel, for instance a complete journey and one section of the journey.
To start computing for distance 1, press the buttons in the order illustrated above.
To start computer for distance 2, press the buttons again in the order illustrated above.
To display, press the CONSUM button. Each time this button is pressed, the display alternates between the average consumptions for distances 1 and 2. There is also an indication of whether distance 1 or 2 is being displayed.

Distance from destination

Shows how far the car is from the destination, provided the total distance was input before the journey started.
To input distance, press the keys in the order illustrated above.
To display, press the DIST button. The probable time of arrival, which is recomputed continually as driving conditions change, is also displayed.
If the car has completed the full distance input at the start of the journey, the distance value is preceded by a minus sign.

Display units changeover

Press km/mls changeover key.
– Once, To alter the distance display or twice
– Or twice to alter the arrival time display also.

BMW E36 Blog: The ultimate BMW BMW E36 information source.

As you may know, I’m relying on the advertisements to cover the BMW E36 Blog expenses like disk space and bandwidth and those advertisements are what is keeping this blog running. Today, I have realized that BMW E36 Blog is consuming more and more bandwidth. This is a good sign meaning that I’m getting more readers than I used to, but at the same time, it means more and more money to pay for the bandwidth. So, I’ve decided to push some of my advertising spots hoping that I will get some more advertisers to help me in this. For those of you who may be interested in advertising on this blog, there are some spots that are currently open for advertisers. So, if you’re interested, please check my advertising page here.

BMW E36 Blog: The ultimate BMW BMW E36 information source.

Hey friends, I have found a thread on bimmerforums with this question "You know you DON’T drive an e36 when" and this thread received some very funny responses that I thought you have to see it. It’s really funny and true at the same time. If you think that some of these are not true, then maybe you’re not driving your BMW E36 the way you should. I suggest you go and have a BMW E36 driving course … Enjoy

You know you DON’T drive an e36 when:
…You meet the minimum balance requirement on your checking account.
…You don’t have any “check” lights on in your car.
…You haven’t been checked out by a chick while driving.
…You have a house.
…You only have one car year round.
…You don’t have any speeding tickets.
…You have a solid relationship with a girl, and they say you DO give them enough attention.
…when you know you can drive further because gas mileage is so much better.
…when you are not afraid to put down the windows and have it break on you all the time.
…when you aren’t afraid of constant minor problems.
…when you get tired of driving after an hour.
…you get a good nights sleep every night because your not up till 4am fixing your car.
…when you drive an e46.
…Your headliner doesn’t sag.
…You can open the door with the least amount of effort.
…There’s no blue and white badge at the front.
…A power window switch doesn’t cost $100.
…when you press the “Window Up” button, and the window goes up.
…when you go over a bump and don’t hear SQEAKRATTLESHAKEBANGCRASHSQEAKRATTLE.
…when you park your car and walk away from it without looking back at it and thinking to yourself “****ing sexy…”
…when you drive with the top down through less-than-fortunate neighborhoods and don’t get flipped off.
…when you pull up to someone else with an E36 and they acknowledge you, instead of looking down or to the side pretending to not notice you.
…when you cut a hard turn and your car flips over.
…when you cut a hard turn and your ball joint breaks.
…when you go to a repair shop and don’t have to be escorted out by ambulance due to heart attack.
…when you can afford more than one new mod/repair a month.
…when people don’t chuck crescent wrenches at you when you drive by (yeah, uh huh, happened).
…when you have angel eyes/projectors and other E3 owners don’t look at them like “OMG I never knew that was an option!”.
…when you fill up for less than $50.
…when an oil change is <$20.

BMW E36 Blog: The ultimate BMW BMW E36 information source.

Yesterday, I’ve taken my car to run a full-diagnosis for it. The diagnosis came back to me with two problems. First, the knock sensor which apparently needs to be replaced, but it seems like a hard job and I need to do some research before jumping into it. The second problem was with my airbag sensor. Actually, the right sensor was not running correctly and that what was causing the airbag light to keep flashing in my dashboard. So, if your airbag light keeps flashing for like 5 minutes after starting the car and then goes away, it’s more likely to have one of the sensors damaged and needs to be replaced. Of course, this doesn’t mean that this is the only reason that can cause the airbag light to keep flashing, but I guess this is one of the most common causes. Just run a diagnosis for your car and replace it if it was reported. After all, your safety is the most important thing, right?

BMW E36 Blog: The ultimate BMW E36 information source.

Hi Guys, One of the issues that were annoying me about my car is the OBC (On Board Computer) check button. Whenever I press that button, I was receiving this row of orange squares that I didn’t know what they meant. After a while, I thought this meant the car was ok and that there’s nothing wrong to report until today when I found an article that’s talking about this exact problem and how to unlock the check functionality. It turned out that the row of orange boxes (which looks like a full battery) meant that the check functionality is disabled in the car and that you have to enable it simply by following some easy steps.

Disclaimer: Use this info at your own risk!! I’m not responsible if this didn’t work for you :-).

To unlock your car’s check button functionality:

1. Hold down 1000 and 10 to get access to the hidden menus. [TEST –]

Note: please notice that this may not work if you didn’t unlock the hidden menus in your OBC using TEST 19. If you don’t know how to do this, please refer to my previous post BMW On Board Computer (OBD) secrets!.

2. Enter 11, and press Set/Reset. You will notice this on the OBC screen [EINHEIT 1: xx] (xx will be a number)
3. Change this EINHEIT 1 value to 71, using the 10 and 1 buttons, then press Set/Reset.
4. Press the 1000 button once to move to the next value which is [EINHEIT 2 xx] (xx will be a number)
5. Change this EINHEIT 2 value to FF, using the 10 and 1 buttons, then press Set/Reset.

Note: I’ve found that this value was already set correctly on my OBC.

6. After that, just press your "check" button.

I’ve tried this on my car and I have to admit it didn’t work completely as expected. Now, I receive this "Check Control Inactive" error which apparently trying to tell me that I’m one step short from making this work on my car.

Video of my car OBC after unlocking check functionality

So, if anyone can help with this, please let me know.

If your car is:
325i 1994 or 318is 1993: Set EINHEIT 1 value to 71
320i 1994: Set EINHEIT 1 value to 7B
328i 1995: Set EINHEIT 1 value to BA
M3 1997,1998: Set EINHEIT 1 value to B3

BMW E36 Blog: The ultimate BMW E36 information source.