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Subject: Resetting oil change and inspection lights Author: DavidC (moderator) : member since December, 2003 : 11918 posts Posted on: 2004-04-25 19:51:15

I took my '86 BMW 735i to the local quick-lube place for an oil change today. According to records, the previous owner had put in Valvoline 5W30, but he was in Michigan where the weather can be quite cold. I decided to put in Castrol 10W40 (regular, not synthetic) as it is much hotter here in Atlanta. I believe that's a decent choice for oil -- it was that or 20W50 from what I've been told. BTW, I provided my own filter, puchased at our local BMW dealer for $6 last week. The oil service company had an aftermarket filter that would fit, but they gave a $5 discount since I provided my own.

At any rate, the oil service company didn't know how to reset the service interval indicator lights in the instrument cluster. You could take it to a dealer and have them do it, or you could buy a reset tool such as the one from Peake, or you could pay the oddballs on ebay who advertise such a tool but are really just providing information you can get here for free, or you can do this -- reset your lights with a single piece of wire for free!


First, put the ignition key in position 2 as shown above. There's the off position, the first detent turns on the battery, then the 2nd detent position is the one just before the starter cranks.


Open the hood and, from the passenger side, locate the diagnostic connector on top of the engine as shown above.


Open the cap on the diagnostic connector.


Take a short piece of wire, strip and twist the ends so that no strands are sticking out, then bend it into a "U" shape as shown.


Place the wire into the holes as shown. These are pins 7 (left) and 1 (right), respectively. Leave the wire in place for three seconds to reset the oil change lights then remove it. If you were to leave the wire in place for 12 seconds, it would also reset the inspection lights.


Your instrument cluster should now look something like this. Notice how you now have five green bars in the center? You just saved yourself $80 by doing it yourself!

The car's computer will gradually turn off the green lights, one by one, until you reach approximately 7,000 miles, depending on your driving habits.

David Cecil
'97 740iL, 120k miles
'86 735i, 91k miles
'77 320i, 140k miles

www.e38.org has links for everything about your BMW 7-series automobile

• Resetting oil change and inspection lights (pic) (url) - DavidC 2004-04-25 19:51:15 (23153 views)
  • Be very careful if turning the car on first.> - kff 2004-04-25 23:50:12 (2329 views)
    • Re: Be very careful if turning the car on first.> - ejonesie22 2004-04-26 11:03:29 (1994 views)
      • Re: Be very careful if turning the car on first.> (pic) - ejonesie22 2004-04-26 18:38:57 (2067 views)
      • ebay had reset devices that were just a momentary > - kff 2004-04-26 13:40:18 (1745 views)
      • I'd like to see that (nt) - DavidC 2004-04-26 11:58:01 (1486 views)