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E46 320CD DSC and yellow handbrake light

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Hi guys,

stumbled and confused with what's going on and really irritating me with the lights on my car :(  

 

have both these lights up on my car, had it diagnosed as brake pressure sensor. 

I checked and both are outside, so I got a whole unit and had the brake fluid changed same time. 

The light stayed on constantly and after driving for abit the light went off. The problem is the light comes back on now and then. Is there something I'm missing ?

 

thanks 

C2446B36-FC65-4709-B590-E6987BBA79C4.jpeg

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Which brake pressure sensors did you change? Do you mean DSC pressure sensors? They're attached to the brake master cylinder and are around £100 each for proper items which you can ONLY buy from BMW.

If we're talking about the same ones, which ones did you replace with? If you bought from BMW - get them to re-test the sensors.

If you bought Chinese eBay specials or used ones - they're probably knackered again.

I replaced mine with genuine BMW ones a while ago now, no issues since. Steep at £200 for the pair but no point scrimping if replacements fail so often

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13 minutes ago, momo said:

Which brake pressure sensors did you change? Do you mean DSC pressure sensors? They're attached to the brake master cylinder and are around £100 each for proper items which you can ONLY buy from BMW.

If we're talking about the same ones, which ones did you replace with? If you bought from BMW - get them to re-test the sensors.

If you bought Chinese eBay specials or used ones - they're probably knackered again.

I replaced mine with genuine BMW ones a while ago now, no issues since. Steep at £200 for the pair but no point scrimping if replacements fail so often

The attached is what I changed. I replaced with second hand one which had no problems. 

2920E9DA-F283-447D-999E-CE07FD4B43D5.jpeg

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Yep that's the DSC pressure sensor.. No codes need to be cleared - once the values return to within tolerance the fault should clear. I'd say one of them has gone again.

I was told to replace them in pairs - if one goes the other won't be far behind and it's not worth the labour twice. That's what I did.

To be sure, get the codes read again. If DSC sensor still comes up - one of them needs replacing again. This time bite the bullet and buy new from BMW. Not worth risking a 2nd hand one failing again as you may find..

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IV got the code read through ISTA+ 

2 faults came up 

one being 'charge air pressure actuator' which i plan to just change the whole turbo on this car 

the othe error which more concerned about is 005E20 pressure sensor 1

 

getting it booked with dealer to get both replaced for good regardless.

Am i right in replacing these 2 ?

 1054486163_brakepressuresensorfault.thumb.JPG.7c86a1b9aa5e117499e4998aaa1b3962.JPG

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I know it's normally considered a waste of time to fit non genuine sensors to the E46, but these DSC sensors worked just fine for me:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ABS-DSC-STABILITY-CONTROL-Pressure-Sensor-For-BMW-E46-3serie-OEM-34521164458/153438397599?fits=Plat_Gen%3AE46&epid=19031288571&hash=item23b9a4249f:g:cLQAAOSwxc5cpEtS

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2x-ABS-DSC-Pressure-Sensor-For-BMW-E46-E60-E61-z3-3-5-6-series-34521164458-UK/401783467989?fits=Plat_Gen%3AE46&hash=item5d8c292fd5:g:hEYAAOSwcHRc~hYD

I took a punt when one of my sensors went bad. What sealed it for me is that the pattern of the glue in the picture looked identical to a genuine part. The picture is showing ATE marked on it which is a genuine factory fit BMW braking brand.

I replaced a bad factory sensor with one of the above, and got my diagnostic hooked up. Well it showed exactly the same values at all times between the genuine (good) sensor and the new one I fitted to replace the broken one, e.g. 0 bar with no brake pressure, and same at 80 bar, 100 bar, 150 bar as the genuine sensor in the other bank, with pressure on the pedal. If the readings weren't the same I would have got a 'definitely genuine' sensor instead.

It's worth a try based on my experience, worked well for 18 months so far.

Also you can replace the sensors without bleeding the brakes, I think I read this on a Z4 forum. What you do is loosen the sensor, apply moderate brake pressure (engine off). Then unscrew the old sensor, having the new one ready to install. Once the old sensor comes out, quickly screw the new one in (really as quickly as possible, keep rags underneath to to mop up any fluid). I used an axle stand wedged between the driver's seat the brake pedal to keep brake pressure on. Obviously do this at your own risk and it there's any doubt over whether the brake pedal is not as firm as before (i.e. air has got in), bleed the brakes before driving the car. Having INPA or DIS is recommended to bleed if required when parts have been removed from the ABS system or upstream of it, as they can buzz the the ABS valves to clear any last air bubbles from inside the ABS unit.

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Thanks so much for the support and respond guys much appreciated 🙂

 

I ended up biting the bullet just couldn't take the annoyance of the light and being messed about. I made bmw replace them both. And so far nothing has come up and it usually would of come up by now so it's been fixed 👍🏼

 

The readings fluctuate arround -0.7 for both when idle and then when pressed 80+ which I'm assume is right ?

 

 

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Glad you got it sorted. Yes that sounds perfect, mine shows has roughly -1 bar of pressure without the predal pressed with both the factory sensor and replacement. 80 bar sounds like firm pedal pressure with the engine on, I think I got it up to about 170 bar-ish by ramming the pedal as hard as I could.

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Yeah it goes up depending on pressure of pedal,

 

next move now is turbo😅 

been getting charge air pressure actuator Code now and then and seems like an electrical actuator on these later cars. 

Might just end up getting a new turbo as car isn't as powerful as it should be ! 

Got new clutch and flywheel done and also swirls blanked. 

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