Imagine yourself driving quietly aboard your BMW 7 Series and abruptly an engine warning light shows up on your dashboard ! The most frequent kind of response is the fear of risking a critical issue. To know what exactly this light corresponds to, you will have to learn how to read an BMW 7 Series fault codes, you may have previously heard of OBD system, this is precisely what we are going to focus on. Our writers have chosen to write this document to help you fairly quickly discover the origin of this default code and to give you peace of mind. To get this done, we will first look at the nature of a fault code on BMW 7 Series, then how to read an BMW 7 Series fault code, and finally how to erase this fault code in order to turn off the light on your dashboard.

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What is a BMW 7 Series fault code?

A fault code is a universal or standard code common to all automotive companies , they are also known as DTC (Data Trouble Code), the purpose is to ensure that any diagnostic OBD can understand them. They will be symbolized by a standard format, like for example: P0255. Each info will have a special interpretation. Default codes are codes issued by the calculators of your BMW 7 Series. These ECUs will constantly monitor your vehicle’s emissions, pressures, mixtures and when the values exceed the limits set by the vehicle’s ECU, the fault code will appear. The advantage of knowing how to read a fault code on your BMW 7 Series is that you will have be able to access to precise statistics about your vehicle which will allow you to understand what issue you are standing in front of.

How to read a fault code on my BMW 7 Series?

In this second section we will now focus precisely on what brings you here, how to read a fault code on BMW 7 Series. To discover this useful info you will need to to buy a diagnostic tool, also called OBD 2, named after the socket on your BMW 7 Series to which you will have to connect. These diagnostic tools are freely obtainable, you will be able to find some in Bluetooth version which connects to your phone and some standard versions with a reader associated to the socket, as far as price is concerned, you will be able to find models between 30 and 100 euros. Once you have purchased an OBD2 diagnostic reader, you will need to locate the diagnostic plug on your BMW 7 Series, it is located on the left side of your steering column on the lower part of your dashboard, behind a hatch. It is easy to locate because it is triangular shaped and has 16 pins. All you have to do is connect with your diagnostic tool to read the fault code of your BMW 7 Series.

How to erase the fault code BMW 7 Series

Finally, to finish this article content, we are going to demonstrate you the process to do to erase a fault code on your BMW 7 Series. Once you have navigated through the menus, you will access the list of active fault codes on your car. But, you will have to ask yourself an important question, is it really productive to erase this fault code on BMW 7 Series? In fact, erasing a fault code without dealing with the issue is like burying its head in the sand. Moreover, the computer of your BMW 7 Series is made to take resolutions according to the data it records, if an essential fault code is present, it will likely adjust the engine performance to preserve it. So if you get rid of the fault code, be sure you solve the issue to which it is connected. Some OBD diagnostic tools do not allow you to do this. You have a dedicated navigation menu on most diagnostic tools that should allow you to clear this fault code on BMW 7 Series.

To find more tips on the BMW 7 Series, take a look at the BMW 7 Series category.