I have been troubleshooting and spending money for 4 days and my car still hates me.
Here is how everyhting has nappened so far. Last friday, Valentines Day, my wife took my 2003 "S" to Tuscon Arizona from San Diego. On the way there the "SES" light came on. She had it scanned in Yuma and P0171 popped up, indicating a lean condition. I immediately suspected a vacuum leak. So when she got home Monday i started to tear into the problem. I didn't find anything glaring so i bought a Scanguage2. The code was now a P2096, and the P0171 was gone.
With this code and the mileage (50K), I decided to pull the 02 sensors and bench check them. They seemed to indicate erratically so I went out and bought the Bosch universal o2 sensors. That was before reading reviews from some people saying they didn't work well in the mini. With them in the car the light and code stayed. At this point i figured i would give the NTK OEM replacements a shot. I got them today and put them in. The code is still there.
Still thinking i may have a vacuum leak i made a smoke tester and checked the vacuum lines. I hooked the machine up to the hose that connects to the PCV valve on the valve cover (passenger side). Initially I had what appeared to be a leak coming from the hose that connects the BPV to the intake tube. However on subsequent tests, this area did not smoke. It may have been a fluke and been some smoke coming from the tube that connects to the air cleaner as that was a bear to seal.

During the smoke test i did have 2 anomalies. The oil cap had air escaping when it was fully tightened (clicked). If i back it off it seals. Also there was a liquid dripping underneath the car.The liquid appeared clear but slightly slick. I could not see anything from the top with the intercooler removed but looking underneath it appeared to be coming from the non-pulley side of the supercharger and running down the back between it and the block. The vacuum line I used does go into the supercharger so it may have been some condensate mixed with SC oil or just grime from the block. but i could not find the source. No idea where said "condensate" would come from. Maybe water pump is leaking. I don't know.

Anyway, i can not find a cause for the code. I think i am pretty mechanically inclined but this has me very close to calling the dealer.

Scangauge shows:
long term fuel trims at 8 while driving and 11 at idle. This is very high.

PLEASE HELP!!!

 

What do you think a P2069 code is?

See this:

http://www.motoringDELETEalliance.co...#axzz2u175v0TS

Delete the DELETE part to make the link work.

 

i edited my post to reflect the right code. no idea what P2069 is, mine is P2096

 

A P2069 is fuel level sensor error.

You're P2096 - Post catalytic converter fuel trim , bank 1 - too lean - makes more sense with the previous P0171 code.

I'm assuming that you manually reset the code after you changed the O2 sensor?

Could the wiring be bad? Sometimes it touches the exhaust and such.

 

That clear slick liquid is possible Power Steering Fluid.

Check the level.

 

BJ,
I will check the level, im curious though what is in between the SC and engine block that carries PS fluid and would get pressurized from the vacuum system?

cerenkov,
Are you asking about test 21 for the reset? i did not do that after the second set of o2 sensor, i will though.

I am also going to do a smoke test for the exhaust.

 

From my research, the 2096 is usually one of three things: exhaust leak- usually after the cat, intake vacuum leak, or in my case and many others, a glitch with the computer that requires the adaptations to be reset and codes to be cleared using dis/gt1 and inpa. While it's possible to be the o2 sensor, that usually isn't the case, and I would think they should still be good at 50,000 miles. Keep in mind this is a "hard" code and won't go away without using the bmw software to clear it. I've read it can go away on its own after 2 or 3 hundred miles, but that wasn't the case for my car, and I wasn't able to find anything physically wrong.

 

Since you got the 0171 before the 0296 I would continue along the vacuum leak path as opposed to o2 sensors.
It's a PITA but double check the condition of the hard plastic vacuum lines coming off the S/C, it's not unusual for them to develop issues and since you had what seemed like oil from the S/C, sometimes those lines will develop cracks right near the fittings into the S/C.

 

There's always the propane torch trick for vaccum leaks. With the car running, open the valve on the torch and put it next to anything using a vaccum, if the idle change, you'll know where to look.

 

Check the condition of the rubber connector's on the two small breather tube's. One "T's" into the vacuum tube underneath, the large SC horn. The other is connected to the fuel rail diaphragm..

I had a P1477 code, it took a week to track it down..

The rubber (real rubber) on those two pipes turns into play-dough after a while,
exposed to so much heat/cold, oil and grime they don't do well..

The culprit for my code was the tube under the large SC horn. It was still attached and looked fine, I gave it a tug, it split and came apart in my hands. I was able to roll the rubber connector into a sticky ball!! replaced it, code sorted.

 

Coolant is also, slightly slick..

 

My car had p2096. I replaced the header with a low milage one and the o2 sensors. Yes it is a hard code. It took my car. 3 months to clear.

 

I replaced all the relatively accessible vacuum lines and reset the adaptions. So far no light. My scan gauge2 was reading 12 at idle and 8 at cruise for long term fuel trims. Now it is reading 2 or 3 at idle and 0 at cruise. So far so good.

 

The P0171 code for me was a loose/leaking intercooler boot on pass side. Not positive, but that could also trigger the other code for post o2 sensor due to mix being lean at that point....maybe.

I have yet to hear any success stories with non-oem replacement o2 sensors...they all trigger codes either immediately or soon after installation.

 

This probably will not be helpful but I thought I would share.
Last October my husband and I drove to Arizona from So Calif.
Trip out went fine, bought gas before starting home.
Suddenly I got a message that something was wrong and that I wouldn't have full power but I should be able to get home by taking it easy.
Drove 75-80 on the way home still seeing the message.
The day after I got home I bought gas, after a couple of miles the message
disappeared never to return.
I figured it was the gas.