Hey zone
My 13 button OBC is displaying the PPPP error code. What does this mean and is something damaged? It was after jump starting the car due to a flat battery.
I also replaced the regulator on the alternator as it was giving a weak voltage. Could it be that?
OBC PPPP
Moderator: martauto
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BristolE30
- E30 Zone Regular

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BMW E30 316 ‘87
BMW E30 325i ‘88
Bristol, UK
BMW E30 325i ‘88
Bristol, UK
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BristolE30
- E30 Zone Regular

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Also I might add, in the haste to get the car jumped and running again, there was a brief moment where we connected the leads to wrong terminals on battery due to the colours of cables being opposite on my friends car. His neutral was red and live was black. After the spark we read the terminals and swapped them back. Seemed no harm done until I read the PPPP a few hours later..
BMW E30 316 ‘87
BMW E30 325i ‘88
Bristol, UK
BMW E30 325i ‘88
Bristol, UK
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Brianmoooore
- E30 Zone Team Member

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AAAA and PPPP are the OBC's fault displays. On the few occasions I've seen it, disconnecting the battery and reconnecting sorted it, but I fear you might not be so lucky.
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BristolE30
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Do you know what causes the fault code? Is there something burnt out inside the OBC?Brianmoooore wrote: ↑Sat Oct 10, 2020 8:31 pmAAAA and PPPP are the OBC's fault displays. On the few occasions I've seen it, disconnecting the battery and reconnecting sorted it, but I fear you might not be so lucky.
BMW E30 316 ‘87
BMW E30 325i ‘88
Bristol, UK
BMW E30 325i ‘88
Bristol, UK
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BristolE30
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Is there an OVP reverse polarity relay on these?
BMW E30 316 ‘87
BMW E30 325i ‘88
Bristol, UK
BMW E30 325i ‘88
Bristol, UK
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Brianmoooore
- E30 Zone Team Member

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I'm not familiar with the internal circuitry of the OBC, but if you're lucky, the power in will lead to a simple voltage regulator consisting of a resistor and a zener diode, both of which are likely to be knackered.
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BristolE30
- E30 Zone Regular

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Interesting okay. So do E30’s not have any reverse polarity protection? My brothers Mercedes had a fuse/relay OVP by the battery for such an occasion.
BMW E30 316 ‘87
BMW E30 325i ‘88
Bristol, UK
BMW E30 325i ‘88
Bristol, UK
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Speedtouch
- Old Skooler

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Zone Wiki suggests this:
https://www.e30zone.net/e30wiki/index.p ... AAA.2FPPPP
Also, see this thread:
https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/show ... ore%20work.
https://www.e30zone.net/e30wiki/index.p ... AAA.2FPPPP
Also, see this thread:
https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/show ... ore%20work.
///M aurice
ECU Upgrade EPROM Chips, £40 posted within the UK. Note these are not Zone chips.
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=279421
ECU Upgrade EPROM Chips, £40 posted within the UK. Note these are not Zone chips.
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=279421
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Brianmoooore
- E30 Zone Team Member

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Definitely worth a try. Forgot that the OBC has a reset button.Speedtouch wrote: ↑Sun Oct 11, 2020 6:27 pmZone Wiki suggests this:
https://www.e30zone.net/e30wiki/index.p ... AAA.2FPPPP
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BristolE30
- E30 Zone Regular

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Will give it a try and report back!
BMW E30 316 ‘87
BMW E30 325i ‘88
Bristol, UK
BMW E30 325i ‘88
Bristol, UK
