Dimitris

Good morning Dave True, the one I got ad 79k, full BMW service history and I had to replace almost all gaskets, o rings, hoses, abs sensors, seals, and I still don’t have a fault free car. Although I have just serviced the car, it looks that I should replace the oil sensor just to be on the safe side, I am using the car for family holidays so the last thing I want is to be stranded. Thank you for the support. Very much appreciated!! Take care Dimitri

Hello Dave. I don’t know if it will stop the engine from running, I read it in one of the BMW forums. The strange thing is that I don’t get a fault on my dash!! only on the OBD. I got my first 735 last August, loved it from the first ride, and now I am trying to fix all those little things that the main BMW dealer have not bothered to put right, hence my questions. Almost there!! Many thanks Dimitri

Hello all, on the topic of the failure code 28 "oil thermal sensor oil level defect", considering this is an early vehicle that does not have an oil thermal sensor, and I do not have a fault on the dash, is the fault above an oil level fault and not an oil thermal sensor? I have read that if the oil level sensor fails the car will not start. is this true? Many thanks all for the great support!! Dimitri

Hello Dave. maybe having 2 operating systems is the solution. Many thanks Dimitri

Hi Stu, I guess I need to get a windows 7 laptop set up just for this.

Good morning Dave I can’t thank you enough for your help. Although I don’t think it’s an earth issue, the car lived all its life in the Med and away from the sea and its very clean both inside and outside, I will try to trace all earth points and see if this will sort out the fault codes that I see. Considering I have no fault on the dash, does it worth replacing the oil level sensor or not? Regarding the 1.4.0 I got the CD cable and plug and tried it to a windows 10 - 64bit laptop and on a 16bit Windows vista, downloaded drives from the net and tried drivers that I had on the disc without luck. I have found other suppliers of the 1.4.0 who include a 64bit windows 10 driver in their disc that I will try in the near future, August. What windows version you use? Thanks Dimitri

Hello Dave Thank you for the respose. I will try to locate the connector and clean them up. Could it be the head air bag and not the door air bag that is faulty? (BTW the car is a LHD). Considering there is no oil thermal sensor could the “Thermal Oillevel Sensor” be a faulty oil level sensor? I have tried to instal the 1.4.0 on my laptop but I gave up after 3 hrs in trying. I could not find the correct drivers for the software. Dimitri

Good morning Dave Thank you for your response. I did have some work done but none was in the steering wheel or instrument cluster. I do have an airbag code 09 "Side airbag, front right" on that I have not managed to clear out yet. I did clear the fault codes 2-3 times which it did remove most of the fault codes apart from 3, 09 Side air bag, front right 28 thermal sensor for oillevel defect - BTW my vehicle does not have a oil thermal sensor 94 LED for anti-theft alarm system open circuit - BTW the red light that is on the top of the dash has never been ON. Dimitri

I did, I cant see a link between the fualt codes and the part number. Dimitri

Does anyone know to which airbag is 09 side airbag fault is related to? It is for an early E38 - 1997 - 735i series. Many thanks

Hello all. I have a failure code 28 on my 735 1996 E38 and I am not sure what to replace. The car does not have a thermal sensor on the oil filter like the newer models have, there is no fault on the dash, no low level warrning, and the engine runs without any issues. Does enyone know what the code 28 is related to on the 12/1997 E38? Many thanks

You are absolutely right. The strange thing is that when I put the chassis number on the realoem it shows that the temp sensor is not applicable on my vehicle. I will physically check for a sensor. In the meantime, do you think that the removal of the MAP activated thermostat will effect the temp gauge on the dial instrument item 6? I am tempted to add a dummy resistor , 11.5ohms - 13watts , to simulate the MAP thermostat. Your thoughts?

I have checked realoem and it gives me no temperature sensor option , which is strange. Also what I did was to remove the map thermostat and disconnected the resistance heating that is inside the thermostat and replace it with a 88C from an x5. Nothing else has been changed. The strange thing is that it run like that for 3 weeks in August. When I start the car last week the temperature dial was going to max before dropping to normal value. And that happened only when cold. When warm the dial was showing the right temp. I also saw that the map for the thermostat was engaged when the car was running cold which made me think that there may be a connection between the thermostat dial and the map thermostat not being connected.

I checked on the ODB and there is no fault recorded , apart from "map activation". The temp gauge behaviour is strange. Any idea why it's going up and down like when cold and then it settles down ?

Hello all I got myself a 1996 E38 735i back in August and I, as expected, run into some probs. I have seen the engine temperature dial, when cold, it was rising to maximum for a short period and then dropping back to normal after a few min. when the car was hot it was running OK. What I have done, back in August when I got the car, was to remove the 105C thermostat and replace it with a non 88C Map thermostat. The electrical connector on the thermostat is not connected – free plug. Will the non use of the MAP thermostat through a fault like the temperature dial raising to max when running cold?

Hello I am back in this post with a new question I have removed the 105C Thermostat and fitted a 88C thermostat. The engine worked well all summer. I parked it and did not used it until now. Last week I started the car and I almost immediately got the temperature dial on the cluster going from blue to red and back again. Once the car is warm this the water temperature dial is stabilized. I initially thought that I have a faulty temperature sensor, failed sensor giving infinity across the resistance load. I have been looking for a water temperature sensor without any luck, my car is a 1996 model and can not find it on the spare parts list. I’m suspecting that the problem may be a result of the electric resistance on the water thermostat being removed. Does anyone having similar problems?

The best site ever !!! Many thanks As for the electric thermostat, I am aware of this one as I am using it on my 69 MGB for the electric fan conversion. The engine thermostat of this car is at 105C, which is too high in my opinion. I just want it to open lower to save the engine and all the low-quality plastics that they used. The X5 thermostat is an 88C but the hose fittings are not the same. I am planning to take the 88X thermostat from an X5 body and fit it to an 105C body. This way I can keep the engine temperature low. Will let you know once its done. Dimitris

Hello Dave. I finnaly managed to find a solution to the thermostat. I removed it for the summer. I am sill in search for a 88C unit. The X5 thermostat has a clip on hose and mine is with jubilee clips, so it does not fit. I have another question regarding VIN number. My VIN is an 18 character and not 17. Is there a free site that I can use to find when the car was made? Thanks

Thank you Dave. Mine is a 735i, is this what you have ? I will def do that in the near future.

Hello. Thank you for the responce. I have decided to change just the engine thermostat for now to an 88C MAHLE from an E38 740D engine. It doe not have the electric resistor but i have read that this will not cause any issue. I am interestead on the lectric option. How did you integrate that and from which vehile does it come from? Thanks

Hello all. I am trying to find a 88C or lower engine thermostat for my E38 735i to replace the 105C thermostat without much luck. I do know that there are lower temperature replacment outther, see it in other forums, but I ca not locate one .Can anyone help please. Many thanks a new member D