BMW 130i - Smorgasbord of niggles!

[DannyZimmer]

Afternoon all!

 

First post by me, hoping for some helpful advice with a few issues with my new 130i m sport I recently bought.

 

It's on an 08 plate.

 

All advice is majorly appreciated.

 

On driving the new baby home, it suddenly showed the EML light and run rough with a lose of power (engine rumbling quite badly). This was after I hit the gas pedal fairly hard. It stopped after a few minutes with the EML light disappearing, and the engine began running back to normal.

 

Iv been advised it could be one of the coil packs jumping and unseating itself. 

 

Iv happened once more very briefly but this time it was not after a hit of power.

 

Any suggestions as to what this may be?

 

Secondly, I have been trying to get the bluetooth to work. I have checked the VIN number on a decoder and it has the mulf2 box installed. But when I press the phone button on radio or steering wheel, there is no response. I have checked under the boot carpet and removed the mulf2 unit to check connections etc, but still no luck.

 

Before I go and buy a replacement box, is there any other ideas I could try?

 

This is my first BMW, and to date the nicest motor I have bought! So I'm keen to get everything working and running correctly.

 

Also if anyone has any recommendations for a good mechanic (preferably mobile) in the Essex area, I'd really appreciate it.

 

Many many thanks in advance!

 

Dan

 

 

[Greydog]

Morning Dan

Welcome to the Forum very tasty choice of motor ENJOY

You need to get the codes read to find out what is going on with the rough running, you need a garage with Autologic or BMW specific software or even get your own it will pay dividends. I use BMW 1.4.0 on a laptop only cost about £15

Can;t help with a garage in Essex but have a look at the BMW Specialist Register it will give you all there are in your area.

I believe your car has Idrive so you should be able to get connected through the Idrive, Check your handbook with my bluetooth in the X5 it only holds 4 or 5 phones in its memory when I first got mine I couldnt connect (I have a "pairing" button in the cubby under the arm rest) because the blutooth memory was full. I cleared it and all good I have read though that some smart phones/Iphones are difficult.

Some sites that may help www.realoem.com an on line BMW parts list put the last 7 digits of your Vin number in the search box and it will bring up your model it will make sure if you buy parts they are correct for your car. www.newtis.info is a BMW Technical information site, the same information used by BMW Dealers 

Dave

[DannyZimmer]

Dave...thank a lot for the info! Your a top boy 😁

So even thought the EML light has gone, it will still throw up the error code?

 

Might get myself one of those OBDII bluetooth jobbies....had one for my ford focus before!

I dont think mine has idrive, as there is no master control for it anywhere. It's a small unit with a circular control is it not? It definitely has the mulf2 bluetooth module, so I will look up on how to pair and remove old paired devices. Failing that I'll have to fork out for a new module and see where it goes from there.

 

When I press the audio button, Bluetooth does not display as an option (see pic)

 

And this is the box I have in my boot.

 

Appreciate the info once again Dave!

 

 

[Greydog]

Morning Dan

From the pictures you have the Professional CD setup and I don't see a Bluetooth symbol in the display? Can you select Aux then scroll through to see if there are options under the Aux connection (guessing now). Also try searching with your phone as my phone could find the ULF in my X5 but could only connect when the ULF was in pairing mode.  Some of the systems used the aux/usb connection in the center console to connect phones/external devices. Check realoem it should tell you what is fitted to your car.

The BMW system will record all faults as they occur and retain them in the memory, as an example with BMW 1.4.0 if I scan and get an Error message I will see a red marker Error present with a description of the error, or a yellow marker error not present (so intermittent) with a description so I know where to check. After scanning and repair if I clear the recorded codes it should clear all 

I have read that Carly for BMW an App for you mobile is OK however it is a subscription App so annual fees, me being a tight old git I paid for BMW 1.4.0 and have it on an old laptop I use in the garage. What ever you settle on you will find it invaluable and it can save a fortune in the long run.

Dave

[DannyZimmer]

Well I have now read up a little more, and discovered there are two professional radios available....one has a white connector on the back, and one has a blue one. The blue one I believe is the one I need but I dont have that one!

 

I have the phone cradle in the armrest, picture attached. I dont own an iPhone so this is completely redundant to me!

 

When I check with my phone, no device found. And when I check on the AUX setting it doesnt have any other options.

 

All I was hoping to do was to connect via bluetooth with my phone, and install a usb somewhere but its proving tricky with the OEM radio! I did want to keep it looking standard, but it's looking likely I'll have to install a aftermarket radio.

 

It's annoying as the car already has the mulf2 box fitted to the boot.

 

Thanks for you advice though Dave, its much appreciated!

[Greydog]

OK Dan not the end of the world if you have a charging cradle the phone still needs to connect somehow, when I look at the picture of your phone charging cradle the button at the bottom of the picture looks just like the pairing button in my X5. So try this "press and hold the button for a couple seconds before turning on the ignition, continue to hold the button for around 5 seconds" or try the "voice" how_to_BMWTele1series.pdfhow_to_BMWTele1series.pdf button on the steering wheel if it works like the X5 then "Bluetooth Pairing" will come up on the radio display then follow the instructions on your phone screen. Somewhere in your book pack you may have a card or note with a pairing code

You can also change the charging cradle for not a lot of money I have had,Motorola, HTC, Samsung, I phone 3 and Nokia in the X5. I would search on Ebay if you want the cradle if not there should be instructions for pairing somewhere. Is there a button with a phone symbol on it on the radio right hand side?

Just tried uploading instructions I found the upload failed so try this https://www.babybmw.net/forum/howtos/how_to_BMWTele1.pdf

[DannyZimmer]

Tried that and still no luck Dave!

I have since looked to see for a microphone in the map light in the headliner, and there are two installed (I'm assuming one for hands free, and one for the voice control).

 

I am starting to think this may be something simple. 

 

Maybe someone has replaced the head unit, and it hasnt been coded yet. As everything else seems to be in place.

So I will look into getting the HU recoded, and hopefully that will activate my bluetooth.

 

I was hoping to retrofit a usb port in where the aux sits in the arm rest. I have read a few posts about this, and it seems a bit of a headache! If anyone has any info that might help me, or links I'd appreciate it a bucket load.

 

And thanks for the literature Dave, that will come in handy once I get it working!

 

Regards

 

Dan

 

 

[Greydog]

Aren't modern cars amazing in their ability to frustrate us. As you say quite probably something simple have a look at BMW Vindecoder it should bring up the build sheet for your car that will tell you for sure.

Dave

Let us know what it is as I am in my 70's and BMW and Mercedes haven't been able to defeat me yet (they have both tried hard and even come close) with the help from the Forums we will win.

[DannyZimmer]

I have checked the VIN decoder out, and I do have S644A Preperation F Mobile Phone W Bluetooth. So I am guessing it was working at some point!

 

Think I need to upgrade my mulf in the boot to a mulf2 hi which has usb, and then run this cable to the centre console in order to install the usb/aux module.

 

Then I will have the radio and the mulf2 coded at the same time. Failing that I'll just scrap the idea completely!

 

Thanks again mate, I'll keep you posted 😉

[Greydog]

If playing BMW gets stressful or boring I put a Dynavin unit in my 4.4 X5 some years ago the unit was brilliant and I covered the cost by selling the redundant BMW units. Check them out

[DannyZimmer]

I will keep that in mind thanks Dave!