What do these fault codes actually mean?

[johnny12]

Hey guys,

I've had a full scan on my car of all the fault codes to see what's there and the following has come back from my mechanic. 130i, 2006 model.

ABS - 0378 message (FRMFA, Ox944) faulty reverse gear switch, receiver DCS, Transmitter DME-DDE.

5D93 wheel speed sensor Front left start Recognition V comparison

94B5 - SZL Steering angle sensor, Sensor Failure - illegal code.

SE43 - Steering angle sensor internal

5DE0 - Wiring supply voltage > 18 volt.

D373 F- Can SWA Top sensor data is missing

I bought the car recently and it's had a new battery last year and 135i brakes installed as well by the previous owner.

Can anyone please shed some light on what these codes actually mean and what may need replacing? He has reset all the codes in the meantime to see if any come back etc.

Thanks in advance

[johnny12]

Sorry, that first one should be:

ABS - 0378 message (FRMFA, Ox944) faulty reverse gear switch, receiver DSC, Transmitter DME-DDE.

[reisf]

Do you get any warnings on your instrument cluster or idrive?

If you have the following warnings:
- DSC inactive
- TPMS inactive
- ABS inactive

It means the steering angle sensor (SZL) is faulty. This is the thing where the indicator, wipers and cruise control stick out of.

There is an optical disc inside it that is used to determine the position of the steering wheel (for indicator cancelling, adaptive headlights etc... i assume) and this can happen when the steering wheel is removed and not re-installed correctly or the optical disk just gets dirty.

There's a DIY somewhere on here that shows you how to remove the steering wheel, SZL and how to open it up and clean it.

Also, that battery needs to be registered with a diagnostic tool otherwise it could explode. And if the previous owner upgraded the brakes, it is possible he did not replace the brake pad wear sensor, which could be causing that fault.

[johnny12]

Originally Posted by reisf

Do you get any warnings on your instrument cluster or idrive?

If you have the following warnings:
- DSC inactive
- TPMS inactive
- ABS inactive

It means the steering angle sensor (SZL) is faulty. This is the thing where the indicator, wipers and cruise control stick out of.

There is an optical disc inside it that is used to determine the position of the steering wheel (for indicator cancelling, adaptive headlights etc... i assume) and this can happen when the steering wheel is removed and not re-installed correctly or the optical disk just gets dirty.

There's a DIY somewhere on here that shows you how to remove the steering wheel, SZL and how to open it up and clean it.

Also, that battery needs to be registered with a diagnostic tool otherwise it could explode. And if the previous owner upgraded the brakes, it is possible he did not replace the brake pad wear sensor, which could be causing that fault.

Thanks ever so much for the reply reisf. No, none of the fault codes are showing up on the instrument cluster.

As for the battery - never knew this - any reason why they may explode?!

As for the wear sensor - why would it need to be replaced as apposed to just being reset?

Again, many thanks for the reply.

[Mr Rooty Von Tooty]

The codes are the secret codes that only show up using BMW diagnostic tools. You can't pull them with a universal scan tool. Most of the time they aren't serious. For example, you might have a bad interior light bulb. If you are anal, you can get them all fixed, but some might get expensive?

[reisf]

Originally Posted by johnny12

Thanks ever so much for the reply reisf. No, none of the fault codes are showing up on the instrument cluster.

As for the battery - never knew this - any reason why they may explode?!

As for the wear sensor - why would it need to be replaced as apposed to just being reset?

Again, many thanks for the reply.

The alternator in the car is a "smart" alternator, which means that it adjusts the charging voltage according to how old the battery is. For example, an older battery may need a higher voltage in order to charge sufficiently.

The wear sensor can be thought of more as a "fuse". It integrated into the brake pad an once it trips (due to the pads being worn down), it triggers the warning to replace the brake pads. So there it is like a physical circuit that cant be digitally reset. But they are cheap to replace.

Now because you don't have any warnings on your cluster, your problem isn't what i mentioned before.

Have the faults returned?
Are you actually having problems with the car? Or did you just want to do a diagnostic scan?
Like MRVT said, unless you are having a problem with the car, i wouldn't worry about them. Sometimes faults just appear and are one off.

[johnny12]

I only got the faults read last week - my mechanic said for me to call back in a few weeks and he will scan again to see if any have returned. There's no faults with the car, I just wanted to see what was stored on the car.

Once again, many thank for the reply reisf.

[flinchy]

Originally Posted by Mr Rooty Von Tooty

The codes are the secret codes that only show up using BMW diagnostic tools. You can't pull them with a universal scan tool. Most of the time they aren't serious. For example, you might have a bad interior light bulb. If you are anal, you can get them all fixed, but some might get expensive?

i'm assuming the Steering Angle Sensor codes were from years ago when it failed and was repaired (2012/13 iirc). (which also kills DSC, possibly the wheel speed sensor one too), if they're not related to that then IDK.

pad wear sensors were replaced with brakes.

[johnny12]

Ah that explains it, cheers.