Engine Management Light does not come on

I don’t know if this has already been discussed here, but I bought my car in December 316i 1999 model, and up until Friday I realised that the car’s engine management light does not come on at all, I tried to disconnect a few sensors from the engine bay including the MAF Sensor and still the light didn’t come on, though the engine was so shaky after disconnecting the sensors. I have removed the Instrument Cluster to check for bulbs only to find that there’s LED’s instead of bulbs….
Why I was looking for management light is because since I bought the car, the car has never run smooth, it feels like it’s a bit shaky or judders sometimes…I really don’t know.
Has this happened to anyone before (the light not coming on I mean)? I have other cars too and the light comes on every time I turn the ignition to on, start the car and the light goes off.

Originally Posted by clio

I don’t know if this has already been discussed here, but I bought my car in December 316i 1999 model, and up until Friday I realised that the car’s engine management light does not come on at all, I tried to disconnect a few sensors from the engine bay including the MAF Sensor and still the light didn’t come on, though the engine was so shaky after disconnecting the sensors. I have removed the Instrument Cluster to check for bulbs only to find that there’s LED’s instead of bulbs….
Why I was looking for management light is because since I bought the car, the car has never run smooth, it feels like it’s a bit shaky or judders sometimes…I really don’t know.
Has this happened to anyone before (the light not coming on I mean)? I have other cars too and the light comes on every time I turn the ignition to on, start the car and the light goes off.

Please help i tried on bimmer forums and been a week now no replies maybe i offended someone...lol

When you scan for codes, do any come up?

No I haven't, don't know how to and I don't even have a software or scanner. I will need to take it to someone local and pay £30 minimum let alone dealers as they will charge me 3 times that.

Check engine light should come on when key is turned but before engine starts, during bulb check.

You can also run a cluster test as mentioned in the 4th link below in my signature.

Suggest you read this thread, you will see toward the end of the thread what the original poster found wrong with his dash to cause the CEL not to light!

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthr...light=monitors

Thank you, am gonna remove that instrument cluster again tomorrow and try and take it apart to see if there's nothing covering the light there. That scanner you mentioned in the post, can I buy it in the UK as well? Just thought I might as well ask.

Looks like the only place I can buy the scanner is Hong Kong, China and shanghai. Now aware of CCC(cheap Chinese cr*p)
Has anybody bought this from China before? Is there anyone on eBay UK got it got sale?

You should be able to purchase the Launch CReader VI on ebay. Most likely will come from Asia?

But also look over this thread as well - http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthr...light=software

I know you guys have customs and VAT issues, so not sure how that impacts both price and simplicity of ordering things like scanners and such.

I believe there is an ebay seller in the UK that offers BMW GT1 type of software?

You sure this will read my car? I have just searched on eBay I can buy one in the UK infact it's only 15-20 miles from my place to where tha scanner is. But am not sure if it will work on my car, as its showing for cars from 2001 - 2006...what do you think?

Not sure what I can tell you, I believe the OBDII standard was not fully required in the EU area until 2001, however, your car may support OBDII??

You may also have the round underhood BMW interface that may require an adapter cable?

Hi, today I took the instrument cluster out and inspect it thoroughly and nothing was put up to hide the EML light coming on. Anyway out of curiosity and me thinking am going crazy...I borrowed my friends instrument cluster and connect it to my car. Still no EML light.
And I did what jgoj suggested to look at the hidden OBD features the last link on his signature.
Now what will it be? Really confused...

Try to swap in the DME from your friend's car. If the light is still not on,
then it must be a wiring issue. Trace the wire from the EML light in the cluster
to the relay panel/DME, checking for continuity.

I am totallywith this car after removing the cluster and checking if there was a tape or something like that at the back to cover the light….and also after swapping the clusters and still the same??? Ok I don’t have experience mechanically let alone auto electrics I have no clue what the DML is and even if I knew I don’t know how to check for the currents flowing and continuities.
Apart from people finding tapes taped on their EML light what else will cause this???
It seems I just have to buy myself an OBD scanner….need one that I can use for all my cars than just buying one for each of my cars….so if anyone has an idea of this too pls let me know…not expensive though

The DME is the computer, it's located under the plastic cover on the driver's side at the firewall. It's not any harder to remove it, than the cluster, which
you've already done. I'd swap DME, see what happens.

Originally Posted by lszlszx

The DME is the computer, it's located under the plastic cover on the driver's side at the firewall. It's not any harder to remove it, than the cluster, which
you've already done. I'd swap DME, see what happens.

Please tell me exactly what the DME will look like (sorry to sound a bit ignorant) i just dont know what i will be looking for. Where will i find it on the firewall, how does it look like, any colours to look out for or shape, size...

This is what is looks like:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-323i-328...4062dd&vxp=mtr

Purchase a Bentley manual for your car if you intend to DIY.
By the way, if your car is running fine, you don't have to worry about
that light too much. I don't know if it's an issue with inspection where
you live.

My car doesn't run fine...it has a bit of misfiring and also juddered when in reverse and first gear. I have changed the coil pack before from another car and it was still the same. The car also hisses when for about 3-5 minutes at first start in the morning, now am not sure if that hiss is normal. I have other cars too and their EML light is on when key is turned to on position and goes out when the car starts. Now tjhisnis the reason why am concerned with the way this car drives and the EML light not coming on at all even after I disconnected about 3 sensors in the engine bay including MAF sensor, still the light didn't come on.

My car is misfiring...I don't know what's causing it, I have changed spark plugs and coil park...but still sluggish. What could be causing this?
My car is 316 1.9 Petrol engine. Pls help I love the car, but now I have noticed I am using a lot more fuel that I did when I just bought the car 6 months ago.

Originally Posted by clio

I don’t know if this has already been discussed here, but I bought my car in December 316i 1999 model, and up until Friday I realised that the car’s engine management light does not come on at all, I tried to disconnect a few sensors from the engine bay including the MAF Sensor and still the light didn’t come on, though the engine was so shaky after disconnecting the sensors. I have removed the Instrument Cluster to check for bulbs only to find that there’s LED’s instead of bulbs….
Why I was looking for management light is because since I bought the car, the car has never run smooth, it feels like it’s a bit shaky or judders sometimes…I really don’t know.
Has this happened to anyone before (the light not coming on I mean)? I have other cars too and the light comes on every time I turn the ignition to on, start the car and the light goes off.

Turn the key to Position II (RUN) but leave the engine off. The check engine light MUST be on else there is a fault that will cause the car to fail emissions testing in many jurisdictions.

Your car conforms to the OBD II specification, so if you think there is a problem then you should pull codes. Normally, you would pull codes tyo find out why the light was on, but you said your light does not work. The light comes on to tell you why the engine does not run well, and when the light comes on there are codes stored. Pull codes to find out what the engine computer thinks is wrong, then go from there.

LOL IN THIS THREAD - WHO THE HELL ADVISES SOMEONE TO SWAP THE DME/CLUSTER FROM ANOTHER CAR!!
The DME is paired to the IMMO and specific to the engine type.

WHO THE HELL ADVISES SOMEONE TO TRACE THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT BACK TO THE DME?
The KOMBI communicates with the DME over a communications bus shared with other functions.


Clio, take it to someone who is specializes in this. It is possible the DME has been re-flashed/tuned to disable the CEL... unlikely, but possible.


Anyway point is, many of these guys will have you rip apart your car until you damage something.

Misfires can be caused by a number of things including intake gasket leaks... take it to a good mechanic or be prepared to do a lot of reading from qualified sources before following any advice or opening your wallet.