car goes into limp mode

[Low N Slow]

howzit all

Was wondering if anyone has a similar experience and hwat the outcome was. My car was experiencing erratic idling, dropping of revs for no reason and now funny enough going into Ecu limp mode… I had my error codes read and it it came up with misfiring on piston 1 and 3 as well as crank sensor.

The problem is intermittent though and I ad error codes cleared last week and car was perfect…to date have repalced the following:

New Maf unit
Crank sensor
Cam sensor ( intake)

Would have taken the cam sensor exhaust as well but they never had stock…

When we replaced the parts I noticed my vacuum hose was broken so we replaced that as well. Car drove perfect up until yesterday….and it goes back into limp mode with a heavy idle…now power as well…

Any clue as to what this can be without having my codes read again? Only thing I can think of is replacing the cam exahsut sensor….heard from someone it could even be a faulty fuel pump or coil pack…these never bring up error messages…the car normally used to start after 1 swing and now it takes up a few seconds to start….

Any ideas or pointers would be appreciated….would hate to buy incorrect parts and waste more money

Thanks

 

[Dion-ZN]

I'm sure the guru's would be onto you soon.

 

[Low N Slow]

i think a hard reset of DME will solve...but i dont know how

 

[Johnny135i]

I would say have the spark plugs checked.and the ignition coils also.

My car had similar problems a few months ago and the diagnostic report was also the same.a new set of coils sorted out the problem.

 

[Low N Slow]

hi

just replaced the plugs with ngk irradium about 2 months back... It may very well be coil....

 

[Philip Foglar]

I would investigate the coil packs. What about the Vanos, this might very well be part of the problem if the seals are worn. Idle control valve might need cleaning.

 

[ChrisBrand]

Howzit bud? What type of cam sensor did you buy? If you want we can read the codes again to check if its your exhaust cam sensor or something else

 

[Low N Slow]

I would investigate the coil packs. What about the Vanos, this might very well be part of the problem if the seals are worn. Idle control valve might need cleaning.

never thought about the vanos, good suggestion....would this not throw a seperate error?

will check out - how can i spot for wear on idle valve?

@ chris thanks dude. will let you know. Ps where did you buy the reader and software..i am thinking of buying a decent one to keep and read and fix error codes as well.

I bought the cam and crank sensors from master parts....the cam sensor had a funny name : meat and doring or something like that...some german make...think it was about R700 and the crank sensor was R450...

Couldnt afford agents prices..got quotes of R1800 each....i would have been really upset in spending that kind of cash and the problem is still there.lol

 

[ChrisBrand]

With INPA and DIS one can check if there is a problem with the VANOS unit and/or Sensors.

As a side note: I had endless problems with hard starts in the mornings and loss of power after I replaced my camshaft sensors. Not OEM but reputable. Gave my old sensors a clean and put them back this weekend. Runs fine again and starts first crank in the morning.

So, it could be one of two things. Either the DME needs to be reprogrammed to run with the new camshaft sensors as I noticed they give different readings than the OEM ones but still worked according to my scans, or the sensors were faulty.

 

[Low N Slow]

With INPA and DIS one can check if there is a problem with the VANOS unit and/or Sensors.

As a side note: I had endless problems with hard starts in the mornings and loss of power after I replaced my camshaft sensors. Not OEM but reputable. Gave my old sensors a clean and put them back this weekend. Runs fine again and starts first crank in the morning.

So, it could be one of two things. Either the DME needs to be reprogrammed to run with the new camshaft sensors as I noticed they give different readings than the OEM ones but still worked according to my scans, or the sensors were faulty.

awesome thanks. where did you buy the INPA and DIS ?

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did a quick google search and cmae up with this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-USB-OBD...Ediabas-BMW-DIS-v57-SSS-v32-GT1-/231131036820