E46 M3 check engine light - recommend a garage Southend?

E46 M3 check engine light - recommend a garage Southend?

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trackdemon

Original Poster:

12,146 posts

260 months

Tuesday 23rd August 2016
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Morning all,

Picked up E46 M3 last night, good deal with a mate, but the yellow check engine light is on and I've had it go into limp mode a couple of times. Can anyone recommend a mechanic in the Southend area who could plug into the OBD to figure out what the problem is?

many thanks,
Steve

WIL35

523 posts

209 months

Thursday 25th August 2016
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Might be worth asking on the M3Cutters site. I have the diagnostic stuff, DIS/INPA, but am not near

SS2.

14,450 posts

237 months

Monday 3rd October 2016
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A bit late to this thread (and I'm sure you've sorted it by now), but similar happened to my 2005 M3 last Thursday - CEL comes on, engine develops a nasty case of the coughs and splutters and isn't happy about either revving or moving the car forward at much more than 30mph tops.

My nipper had one of those cheap and cheerful OBD II readers he'd bought from eBay for about £5 which I thought was worth a go.

Downloaded a freebie app to my phone, plugged the code reader into the M's diagnostics post and connected via Bluetooth.

The fault returned was 'Misfire - Cylinder 6'. OK, probably a fritzed coilpack for which the M3 is famed.

Got a EuroCarParts discount code online (30%) and reserved a Bosch replacement for the princely sum of £19.96.

Swapping packs was no more than 30 minutes from start to finish, including removing the strut brace and a few trim pieces such that the engine cover could be removed fully - this is necessary to access the coilpacks for cylinders 5 & 6).

Result was instant - no more CEL and engine running sweet as a nut. Happy days.

Not saying cheapo code readers are capable of detailed diagnostics but, for the buttons it cost, it saved me a bundle had the car been taken to a dealer or decent independent for inspection.