B4 - Engine Cooling Fan issue

[bmw virgin]

Hi Guys,

Can I pick your brains regarding an issue with my B4?

I took the car for two new tyres and a 4w alignment to BMTR in Birmingham and on the 8-mile journey back I noticed the engine cooling fan came on at full blast and stayed on until I turned the engine off. Can't say I've heard the fan that often, especially sounding like an aeroplane ready to take off!

Sytner's saw Air-Con fault codes, so I took it to my usual Specialist....he claims to have spent 30mins doing some coding work in relation to the Air-Con...the fault was still there on my drive home.

Later I was able to get a friendly breakdown guy to plug his tester in...he cleared the fault codes and a "Gateway" code returned and he advised taking the car to Sytner's, as they'd have more knowledge.

Booked the car in with Sytner's Solihull last week and they diagnosed a faulty Thermostat....which of course didn't tally with anything seen before. They did give me a copy of the fault codes they saw & after searching one, a faulty Thermostat was mentioned.

Sytner's want £405 to replace it and coolant etc, so I wondered if anyone could recommend a decent specialist in the Birmingham area....hoping they'll be cheaper. NCB Autokraft didn't spot it or seem to know what the cause of the fan issue was.

Whilst at Sytners I got them to value my car (2014 B4 f32 40k miles)....wasn't quite expecting £16k!

I sat in a new D4s too.....I must say I'm not a fan of the new big grill/big screen dash cars. Wasn't keen on the look of the front splitter & the finishes of the interior looked cheap + it seemed characterless without the usual dials. I dare say the car drives well but just sitting in it didn't wow me.

[churchie386]

If it were mine, I'd get the Bimmer Link App and an OBC bluetooth adapter. Look at the codes yourself ... clear the codes and go for a drive ... then check the codes.

Next google the fault codes and get a better understanding of what's pinging up. Then take these findings to an independent BMW 'specialist'. Knowledge is power etc.

Ask the 'specialist' what they'd recommend given the fault and codes, then go from there.

[bmw virgin]

I must admit, I have been considering getting something to check fault codes and change settings.

I doubt I'd be able to get the official BMW software, but which is the best and easiest to use?

Would you have a link to a decent an OBC Bluetooth adapter?

Thanks.

[churchie386]

This is the one I got. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B073XKQQQW/

BimmerLink / BimmerCode list compatible OBD adapters on their website here ... https://bimmercode.app/adapters/

[churchie386]

You can also download ISTA (the official BMW diagnoticis) too. You'll need a laptop running Window 10 and an appropriate wired OBD adapter.

I have both ISTA and BimmerLink. To be honest, BimmerLink is much simpler to get going with and for grabbing and clearing error codes is just fine.

[bmw virgin]

Thanks for taking the time to provide the above information, I will order what I need for Bimmer Link to start with.

Don't really want to drag it on too long before getting the issue sorted, just need a new recommendation for a Specialist not too far from Birmingham.

Colin

[ScooBeeFive]

Don't really want to drag it on too long before getting the issue sorted, just need a new recommendation for a Specialist not too far from Birmingham.

Colin

Hi Colin,

I use these guys just north of Wolverhampton:

https://bmautomotivesolutions.co.uk/

They are only small but very good to deal with. They also have good knowledge of Alpinas - there's often another one there when I take mine down.

Hope you had a good experience with BMTR too - my friend is a director there. I always make a trip over for tyre issues as I don't trust many people to touch Alpina alloys!

[bmw virgin]

Hi Paul,

Thanks for the recommendation. I am wary of driving it too far whilst in the current condition, maybe I'll give them a call and ask their advice.

Yep, Craig at BMTR looks after both myself and my partner, wouldn't go anywhere else. It was just strange the problem wasn't there on the way to BMTR but was on the way home.