E90 320d going into limp mode???

[jarrodl]

Hi Guys,

Has anyone ever had their E90 320d go into limp mode,

Mine is doing this quite often and its so frustrating as i dont know whats wrong,

From 1000rpm to about 3800rpm there is nothing and then all of a sudden booooost, i notice the exhaust gets a deeper sound when this happens too,

Then ill pull over and switch the car on and off again for a few secs then its fine...

Some days its normal and then some this limp mode happens

Any suggestions,

 

[KarshS]

Dirty boost sensor? Boost leak?

Get the errors read

 

[jarrodl]

thanks

any idea who has a diagnostic machine where i can get the errors read?

 

[Ratslaaf]

If you in the East Rand area I can do it for you.

 

[jarrodl]

that will be awesome man,

Yes i am i live in edenvale but can meet you anywhere in the east

 

[Ratslaaf]

Excellent,

Send me a PM to make arrangements.

Ta,

 

[Ratslaaf]

OK, so this is the fault diagnostics - look at the first 3 entries:

What's interesting is that a DP was fitted two weeks before the symptoms started. So I'm thinking O2 sensor. What bugs me is that this is very intermittent and it can be caused by either a genuine fault of the sensor or some wiring that was damaged when the DP was fitted. I suppose you can just go out and buy another sensor but I'm not entirely convinced this is the cause.

I've reset the errors so we will see when it crops up again to get a better idea of the sequence of events leading up to a loss in performance.

Anyway, what do you guys think?

 

[Andy1GP]

Sounds typicallly like the mutsubishi turbo is acting up. The electric actuator starting to fail however the O2 sensor leads to something else like you suggested.

 

[Ratslaaf]

Ja, I'm looking at the mileage readings to get a sequence of events. If the O2 sensor is acting up, then I imagine than the electronic actuator will be affected. Again, I'm speculating here. The fact that we have an O2 heater activation error tells me that either the heater connection is suspect or the heater is faulty. But then it won't be intermittent. The fact that the electronic actuator is also throwing activation errors makes me think, in conjunction with the O2 activation, that there's a dodgy connection(s) rather than actual failure of the actuators and heaters. And the work on the DP being done before that is maybe a little more than coincidence.

Jarrod, if you have electrical cleaner then disconnect those terminals and spray it on the connections, or I can do it when the faults come up again (which I suspect it will). With possible oxidation on the terminals of the connectors, and the guys doing the work disconnecting these connectors, I'm thinking those contacts can do with a good cleaning.

I looked at the actual looms and nothing appeared frayed.

 

[jarrodl]

Hi Guys,

I want to thank you all for the help, and a huge shout out to Gert what a nice guy he has helped me with no questions asked,

So update i left Gert friday eve and the car was fine boosting as normal,(gert's car is immaculate by the way)

Saturday morning i went out for a drive and it started happening again, i then stripped the whole front end nearly and cleaned every pipe/connector/wire/plug i could see, i also removed the O2 sensor and gave it a clean, i traced the O2 sensor wire and cleaned those connects too i even went as far as boost pipes and turbo inlet pipes,

I put everything back together and everything was fine,
I did about 200Km's this weekend and the car was boosting as it should, Gert it looks like you might of been right about a connector or something not getting leka contact,

below is pic of my turbo before i cleaned it for shits and giggles

 

[jarrodl]

Hi All,

So updat once all the errors were cleared by gert the car started doing the same we had a look again and the same errors poped up aswell as some egr errors, Gert will upload the new errors soon

We then did a actuator test were is suppose to move in increments of 10% but did not at all, while test was running i heard the same exhaust sound it makes when there is no boost, i am pretty sure to say my actuator is faulty or sticky,

If anyone can help me with what i should do i would appreciate it,ie

clean actuator?
replace actuator?
replace turbo?
:blueCry:

 

[stiaan]

Hi All,

So updat once all the errors were cleared by gert the car started doing the same we had a look again and the same errors poped up aswell as some egr errors, Gert will upload the new errors soon

We then did a actuator test were is suppose to move in increments of 10% but did not at all, while test was running i heard the same exhaust sound it makes when there is no boost, i am pretty sure to say my actuator is faulty or sticky,

If anyone can help me with what i should do i would appreciate it,ie

clean actuator?
replace actuator?
replace turbo?
:blueCry:

Hi
I will put my money on the actuator, as your symptoms are exactly as mine was, sometimes its fine, sometimes theres no power and boost at 3500+rpm.
My fault codes were also the same at the time. As mine was a 2008 N47 with the Mitsubishi turbo, you must replace the whole turbo, as you cant buy actuator loose, and at around June 2014, there was no such turbo available except at stealers.

You can check my posts dated +- Feb 2014 till June 2014, somewhere there are the diagnostic codes as well

 

[Ratslaaf]

I'm in no way confident enough in this area of the car, hence I was reluctant to issue a final verdict on the fault. Talking to my FIL who use to be a Workshop manager at BMW, he also confirmed that the turbo needs to be replaced as you can't buy the actuator separately.

But based on the symptoms, it's not like the actuator isn't working, it's just sticking. Surely the turbo actuator can be removed from the turbo and properly cleaned up? I'm assuming it's not a completely sealed unit? It really is just a linear actuator controlled by a servo, if the piston or connecting rod of the actuator is full of grime, this will hamper correct operation of the unit?

Thoughts?

 

[DieselFan]

I'm in no way confident enough in this area of the car, hence I was reluctant to issue a final verdict on the fault. Talking to my FIL who use to be a Workshop manager at BMW, he also confirmed that the turbo needs to be replaced as you can't buy the actuator separately.

But based on the symptoms, it's not like the actuator isn't working, it's just sticking. Surely the turbo actuator can be removed from the turbo and properly cleaned up? I'm assuming it's not a completely sealed unit? It really is just a linear actuator controlled by a servo, if the piston or connecting rod of the actuator is full of grime, this will hamper correct operation of the unit?

Thoughts?

Would be worth taking it off and having a look.

 

[Maljan]

Found this on the interwebs. It may be of help.

BMW 320D, 325D, 330D Turbo Actuator Fault (E90, E91, E92, E93)

This is a very common fault for all BMW 3 series diesels built between 2005 and 2010, when the actuator fails it causes the engine to loose power intermittently the drop in power is normally quite severe as the engine will feel as though it has lost about half of its overall horsepower. If you turn the engine off and leave it for a while then it will normally rectify - but the fault always returns and just gets worse over time.

We can now rebuild customers own units and provide replacement units from stock when available.
http://www.ecutesting.com/bmw_3_series_turbo_atuator_fau.html

 

[DieselFan]

Found this on the interwebs. It may be of help.

BMW 320D, 325D, 330D Turbo Actuator Fault (E90, E91, E92, E93)

This is a very common fault for all BMW 3 series diesels built between 2005 and 2010, when the actuator fails it causes the engine to loose power intermittently the drop in power is normally quite severe as the engine will feel as though it has lost about half of its overall horsepower. If you turn the engine off and leave it for a while then it will normally rectify - but the fault always returns and just gets worse over time.

We can now rebuild customers own units and provide replacement units from stock when available.
http://www.ecutesting.com/bmw_3_series_turbo_atuator_fau.html

It could just be for the garret turbos and not the mitsubishi but some one contact them and let us know!

 

[Ratslaaf]

During the diagnostic process, Ista/D did make reference to the actuator linkage that can be a culprit, so it must be possible to separate the actuator from the turbo. It just occurred to me now...

 

[Solo Man]

I think the actuator on the Mitsu turbos work via a worm drive as it sounded like that when I had a look at Stiaan's car a while back. I think the right people to take the actuator to is Combined Electronics in Plattekloof, Cape Town as I spoke to one of their guys recently about this problem. He (the guy) suggested I take it up with Henry at Combined. They are very clued up and work on most of the German brands, doing all kinds of repairwork, etc. on the electronics side. They are closed for the holidays, though. There is a company in the UK that claim they can repair the actuator, so it is possible with the right instruments and expertize.

 

[Ratslaaf]

Actually, the unit is faulty, so what do you have to lose by just taking a peek?

 

[jarrodl]

Hi Guys,

So after a while of researching and time at workshops i have come to a conclusion that i wont be able to find a turbo for my car ;(

No one has it and no one can even recon the turbo because the problem is sitting with the actuator,

If anyone knows of anyone with this turbo, someone who can recon and fix the actuator or a aftermarket turbo that will fit even if its a lil bigger please let me know,

Spec of turbo is as follows:

BMW 320D PREFACE 700447-0003 GT1549V

thanks for all your help guys