header CEL fix help

Ok so i was on bimmerfest doing my research about getting headers.


my dillema is much like the others, i want the power, but dont want the CEL and would preferably like to pass OBD II inspection.

so basically the defouler thing is less then 50% approval rate but i did find this.
http://www.vfaq.com/mods/O2bypass.html (not a bmw our wires are under hood.

so i have done a ton of searching on both e46fanatics and bimmerfest and teh internet in general, i was wondering if there were people on here that did this mod and did it work? i am currently talking to a guy on bimmerfest about how he did his, he claimes he did it underhood and has gone 5K+ miles with no CEL, the car throws no codes and he said that he passed OBDII inspection and the guy who did the visual check thought the resonators were cats......



so basically has anyone done it this way? has it worked for extended periods of time?

My buddy (dakkon) has his stocks on his 330 atm but he had headers and still has them, and wants to put em back on but only if he can pass inspection and get rid of the light. the defouler thing failed for him. once i get all the details from the bimmerfest guy we may try to put em back on and do this but i am trying to gather as much hard data as possible first. if it works i will get them over winter break as well ..



thanks in advance guys.

EDIT: link to original thread: http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...t=ebay+headers

EDIT2: The two WHITE wires are just for heating the tip. They remain hooked up and working. The black and gray SENSING wires are cut from the sensor and the 'SIM' that you create by soldering those components together acts as the sensor by mimicing a proper voltage feedback.



an update here is what that guy sent me.

2- 1uf Tantalum Capacitor # 272-1434
1- Pack of 1MegaOhm 1/4Watt resistors #271-1356

from the drawers in radio shack

Take one resistor and one capacitor. Polarity does not matter. and solder them together in paralell with the black and gray wires after cutting them at the sensor harness on top of the engine. Leave the two white heater circiut wires hooked up and sensors in the headers for reliability. Costs about $3 plus a piece of heat shrink tubing.


I used that link you had a referenced,but that one also added a heavy duty ceramic resistor in order to completly elimonate the O2 sensor. Those resistors dont last thats why I left my sensors in the headers and just worked with the black and grey wires under the center engine cover.

I cut the wires and slipped a piece of heat shrink onto each one. I then bent the resisor leads to match the cap. and twised them together in paralle. I soldered one half to a gray an one to the black wire and slid the heat shrink up over the connections. I then put on a third piece of heat shrink over every thing from the top to seal it off.

This is done for each of the two the rear sensors, which the plugs and connectors are on the TOP of the engine,not the ones directly above the manifold. You may understand those pics a litte better now.


he said it worked for him and one other guy who did it. 100% success rate.

is there really no one on this site that has done this?

I have, and it does work.

awsome. thats one. we will probably do the car during winter break.

awesome info!

Originally Posted by BMW04E46

awesome info!

your welcome. it will be even better when we actually do it to my buddies car cause then we will have real pics.

Keep us updated on if it works or not

Originally Posted by bimmerfan1990

Keep us updated on if it works or not

will do.

Has anyone tried these?

http://www.o2simulator.com/index.php...products_id=10

I guess so..

http://www.o2simulator.com/index.php...&reviews_id=18

I bought myself a set of e-bay headers and i haven't installed them because of the CEL issue. I'm going to order one of the dual channel units from the site above and I'll report back with my findings.

Originally Posted by s142s14a

Has anyone tried these?

http://www.o2simulator.com/index.php...products_id=10

I guess so..

http://www.o2simulator.com/index.php...&reviews_id=18

I bought myself a set of e-bay headers and i haven't installed them because of the CEL issue. I'm going to order one of the dual channel units from the site above and I'll report back with my findings.

thanks, i like to be cheap. and i am pretty sure these do the samething, except its more plug and play, and lesss DIY.

hey i did this and i am getting codes 1156,1152,1138,1135 now. I did drive for about a month without the mod so the check engine light was always on, could the back o2's throwing a code for so long possibly cause a front one to go bad??

Originally Posted by techy330

hey i did this and i am getting codes 1156,1152,1138,1135 now. I did drive for about a month without the mod so the check engine light was always on, could the back o2's throwing a code for so long possibly cause a front one to go bad??

sorry i was not checking this thread.

did you do it right? as in did you cut the right wires? cause it doesnt matter if the O2 sensor is bad. what it does is alllows the heating wires to keep working (there is no sensor on them) and the actual o2 sensor wires get the cap and resistor, so they mimic the positive signal.

i do not know what those codes are from the top of my head, but to guess i would say you soldered the cap and resistor in the wrong way. take a look at your setup and get back to me so we can troubleshoot.

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I wish I was more electrically inclined so I could take this on. I'd love some headers without a CEL

i did this last night after reading the post, i did everything correct but on the way to work this morning the SES came back on..... i hope its for a different trouble code, as i did run a "d2" code along with the o2 codes. i will check using my peak tool when i get home. i will keep you guys posted.

i know this has been beaten to death but....

which o2 sensors do codes e3 and e4 pertain to? pre cats or post cats? thanks...

Originally Posted by e4sixxx

i know this has been beaten to death but....

which o2 sensors do codes e3 and e4 pertain to? pre cats or post cats? thanks...

I hope someone can chime in on this, cause i am really unsure. i know iits only the post cat o2 sensors that should have been modified.

If you throw codes from headers, you have to the codes cleared. They will not go away on their own.