1995 E38 750iL - Engine Fail Safe Program

[Hegemon]

And so the party begins....
So I am dealing with a rough cold idle, (intake gaskets?), but otherwise the car runs great and is getting good mileage, I am averaging about 15.5 in town. After a minute or so the idle smooths out after cold start.
However, when I start the car hot or cold, I get the "engine failsafe program" message on the display after about 15 seconds, and it remains on for the entire time I use the car. Yesterday it finally threw the SES.

I used my Peake Reader to pull the codes, and here is where the confusion begins.
The vehicle is a 1995 E38 750iL. When I pull the codes, I see FF (Fault found), but scrolling past the codes I get seven consecutive "01"s before the reader cycles back to the beginning. I can't decipher that string of faults from the Peake Manual. (Maybe I am at "fault" here)
The other thing that confuses me is that the "engine failsafe program" will display after a few seconds even if the car has not been started yet, key in position #2. Engine still starts and runs normally no matter what. Other than the rough cold idle.

Anyone seen anything similar?

Suggestions? I have tried the battery nap. Same result.

Thanks all

'hege

[Timm]

You need to get the codes from the EML module rather than the DME's - that will be the source of the engine failsafe errors.

[OregonMTB]

1995's 750il's are known to throw weird codes. My 1995 750il has done that--it is even hard to read for my indy dealer that has the real BMW software. It sounds like you have 2 different problems. Yes--it sounds like possible intake gaskets. It also sounds like possibly a bad DME or two (replace in pairs).

[Hegemon]

Problem 1 solved.
Typical for myself, waited to the last month of the year to address the issues and <gasp> face the gods of SMOG CHECK.
Ordered up intake gaskets and both OSVs(? at the rear of the intakes), dropped the pile on my indy, and asked him to check for intake leaks, replace whats needed for smooth starts and lets get ol' Liesl smogged.
A couple hours later, he has found no leaks other than the passenger side OSV, he replaced it, cleared the codes, drove her a bit to set the monitors (smog tech talk?) and she passes with flying colors! <and the crowd does WILD>

On to issue 2, "engine failsafe program". The car runs beautiful. All electronics function, except that the cruise control is intermittent. Some days she works, some days she does not.
The PO has installed an aftermarket radio, and it has affected the drivers side ducting in the dash, at minimum. If the installer tapped a critical power wire to use for the radio, perhaps the input voltage to some other critical component (DME?) has been compromised?
Should be a simple test but I would have thought this would have been seen before... thanks all for putting up with reviving this old thread... but progress is progress, and I won't have to leave sunny CA to continue my love of this car as one of our more astute members would have some believe is the best course at smog time. <wink to Sig>
'hege

[redpicker]

Problem 1 solved.

<snip>

On to issue 2, "engine failsafe program". The car runs beautiful. All electronics function, except that the cruise control is intermittent.

My 750iL did this. All electronics function, ran well, except CC would quit sometimes. It would always work again, once I re-set it. I only got the Engine Failsafe Program once, but it scared me enough to fix it. I replaced both MAFs. Bosch only, no eBay crap. AutoPartsWarehouse had them for less than $200 each. Money well spent.

rp

[psjr]

My 750iL did this. All electronics function, ran well, except CC would quit sometimes. It would always work again, once I re-set it. I only got the Engine Failsafe Program once, but it scared me enough to fix it. I replaced both MAFs. Bosch only, no eBay crap. AutoPartsWarehouse had them for less than $200 each. Money well spent.

rp

How did you diagnose it?

[redpicker]

Well, my indy told me that the O2 readings were out of whack on one bank and that he thought it might be the MAF. I read on this board that someone had a dealer tell them that a bad MAF would cause the Cruise Control go out. Figuring the MAFs on the car were original, I figured they were probably in need of replacement, anyway, so I just did it. It didn't help the gas mileage much (if at all) which surprised me, but it run smoother and the Cruise Control hasn't dropped out since I replaced them.

rp