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replaced Starter and now P0030 (wiper washer too)

5K views 4 replies 3 participants last post by  mattboy_hotrod 
#1 · (Edited)
Hello all, my name is Wesley and I am pretty new here. Just joined a couple of weeks ago. GREAT POSTS btw. You guys have helped me a lot.

That said, I have to whine a little. I had the starter go on me and I couldn't even attempt to change it myself because of medical problems I'm having and I really didn't want to crawl under the car wearing a heart monitor.
Sorry, off-topic a bit, but the car is a 2003 330Ci convertible. Now, just in case it means anything I'll mention this....I had replaced the windshield washer pump because it wasn't working any more but it didn't fix the problem. Oh well, a month later the starter goes on me. I gave it to Pep Boys to fix because they had a starter that was cheaper than the dealer as well as almost $1,000 less in labor.

Well, they replaced the starter (in a couple of hours btw) and the car starts up fine. However, the very next morning after driving it home, the Service Endine Soon light comes on.

I go back to Pep Boys to have them look at it, thinking it's possibly related to their work or the starter, and they look at it. Ok, hold on to your seats, they tell me that the code the SES light is showing, is a code they can't even read. It has to be a dealer thing. They can't do anything with it, the starter looks ok, and I have to go to the dealer. A little upset, considering now is the time my ELM 327 ODBII adapter decides to break, so I can't even check the code myself...or clear it for that matter, I go to Autozone to have them check the ODBII code. It's showing the P0030 code only.

Is it possible they knocked the O2 sensor around a little when putting in the starter? Maybe it's a relay? A relay that might also be related to the Windshield Washer pump? I realize I'm guessing here. Thoughts?

--Wesley
 
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#2 ·
The starter is replaced from above, I couldn't see then doing it from below that would not make any sense.

Maybe they bumped something maybe not, i doubt it. Maybe it was not the right starter and the voltage is off? Perhaps it is just random, things wear out.

The key is going to be getting that code out.
 
#3 ·
From above? When I brought the car back for them to look at, they said they'd check the starter to make sure it was ok. They lifted it up, pulled off the metal cover and accessed the starter from under the car.

Then again, that was maybe just an easy way to take a look. I'm just guessing obviously. I haven't done anything too involved myself with this car yet due to reasons mentioned in my original post. Usually, I do most repair work myself.

I'll have to doublecheck all of the relays though. I'm kinda hoping the windshield washer pump not working is related to this. I replaced the pump itself so unless the actual lever switch in the steering column is bad, it could readily be a relay.

Thanks for the quick reply.

--Wesley
 
#4 ·
I've been watching and searching the posts here and something is kind of bugging me. Every post I see regarding O2 sensor codes showing up when the SES lights up, are never P0030.

I've seen P0137 I think it was, err...I actually forgot which, but it's irrelevant. My ELM327 interface is still flaky so I can't check it myself but I don't think my ODBII laptop interface would pick up a different code than that of Autozone's ODBII handleld scanner.

I don't know what to make of this. Why is everyone else getting a different O2 sensor code. The sensor either puts out the required data or it doesn't. It might be sensitive, but it's simplistic by nature. How many codes can there be? Sorry about the whine but I feel like the red-headed ***** stepchild.

--Wesley
 
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