Weird Problem - E46 BMW 318i N42

[XMAX]

Hi,

@ Wolverine... Glad your car is sorted. Who did the work on the car, and what was the cost for the job.

Also, If have not done a de sludge on the car as yet, I would advise you to do this now. These Valvetronic motors get messed up by sludge. Better to desludge and do an oil change now than having a repeat of this issue at a later stage.



@Tai. You dont have to take the car to a Dealership to get this done. Depending on where you are, you can go to a BMW Specialist who should be able to do this for you.

My personal preferences:

Durban: RM Autotech
JHB: Tunetech, Dent Doctor Boksburg (ZALeonard)
CT: I dunno, but ive heard good things about ZEEMAX.

There are other people who would also be able to help you , but i dont know them.

 

[Wolverine]

The part is R2468 from BMW SMG Durban but you must ask for the 20% discount or they'll sell the part to you for R3300.

Do you hear a 'grrrrrrrrr' noise when you start up your car?

Give me a list of symptoms that your car is giving...lets see what we can come up with

YES! GRRRRRRRR :bangdesk: that's exactly the noise... when I rev hard it goes away then when the rpms start to drop from the rev it comes back. it also slugs a bit when moving from a standstill.

---

Also I suppose BMW is the only place you can trust to set the limits correct right?

---

---

Sounds like your valvetronic or your car is trying a crouching tiger move:biglol:

Your car should also be doing osme of the following:

- Idle very rough and back fire on start up.
- Overfueling smell coming from the engine
- loss of power between 700 - 2000 rpm
- Car fails to start when valvetronic gets hot

BMW charges R1000 labour just to fit it on and R1500 for software.
Give me a call 0844 511 266. I'll recommend you to some bodies who got a BMW service center.

 

[tai88]

:ty:

Guys it seems one of my ignition coils just bombed out.. going home to do the plug removal test

---

:yuck::bangdesk::bangdesk::argh:

 

[Wolverine]

:ty:

Guys it seems one of my ignition coils just bombed out.. going home to do the plug removal test

---

:yuck::bangdesk::bangdesk::argh:

---

---

Just remove each coil one by one and see which one is dead...

 

[tai88]

Yup coil #1.. it didn't even warn me the bugger! Bought an aftermarket one from some shop in midrand for R444.01 is this a decent price for a no name brand coil? do you know how much goldwagen charges for bosch coils?

---

The part is R2468 from BMW SMG Durban but you must ask for the 20% discount or they'll sell the part to you for R3300.

Do you hear a 'grrrrrrrrr' noise when you start up your car?

Give me a list of symptoms that your car is giving...lets see what we can come up with

YES! GRRRRRRRR :bangdesk: that's exactly the noise... when I rev hard it goes away then when the rpms start to drop from the rev it comes back. it also slugs a bit when moving from a standstill.

---

Also I suppose BMW is the only place you can trust to set the limits correct right?

---

---

Sounds like your valvetronic or your car is trying a crouching tiger move:biglol:

Your car should also be doing osme of the following:

- Idle very rough and back fire on start up.
- Overfueling smell coming from the engine
- loss of power between 700 - 2000 rpm
- Car fails to start when valvetronic gets hot

BMW charges R1000 labour just to fit it on and R1500 for software.
Give me a call 0844 511 266. I'll recommend you to some bodies who got a BMW service center.

---

---

-Ok so it doesn't back fire, but idle can be rough.
-Definite overfueling smell, from exhaust though.
-Loss of power, yes occassionally it does bog down and cough in that range.
-My car always starts hot or cold.

Hmmm does the valvetronic start giving crap or does it just give up one day?

 

[Wolverine]

Hi,

@ Wolverine... Glad your car is sorted. Who did the work on the car, and what was the cost for the job.

Also, If have not done a de sludge on the car as yet, I would advise you to do this now. These Valvetronic motors get messed up by sludge. Better to desludge and do an oil change now than having a repeat of this issue at a later stage.



@Tai. You dont have to take the car to a Dealership to get this done. Depending on where you are, you can go to a BMW Specialist who should be able to do this for you.

My personal preferences:

Durban: RM Autotech
JHB: Tunetech, Dent Doctor Boksburg (ZALeonard)
CT: I dunno, but ive heard good things about ZEEMAX.

There are other people who would also be able to help you , but i dont know them.

---

Thanks XMAX. Already did the desludge and chaged oil.
Also heard the Roopesh (RM Aoutotec) is good but he's only back on teh 9th.

Took mine to Veesan auto...R600 with labour and programming but that was a reduced price since I know the guys.

Just make sure that the limits are set correctly on the valvetronic or the car will rev up very slowly.

---

Yup coil #1.. it didn't even warn me the bugger! Bought an aftermarket one from some shop in midrand for R444.01 is this a decent price for a no name brand coil? do you know how much goldwagen charges for bosch coils?

---

The part is R2468 from BMW SMG Durban but you must ask for the 20% discount or they'll sell the part to you for R3300.

Do you hear a 'grrrrrrrrr' noise when you start up your car?

Give me a list of symptoms that your car is giving...lets see what we can come up with

YES! GRRRRRRRR :bangdesk: that's exactly the noise... when I rev hard it goes away then when the rpms start to drop from the rev it comes back. it also slugs a bit when moving from a standstill.

---

Also I suppose BMW is the only place you can trust to set the limits correct right?

---

---

Sounds like your valvetronic or your car is trying a crouching tiger move:biglol:

Your car should also be doing osme of the following:

- Idle very rough and back fire on start up.
- Overfueling smell coming from the engine
- loss of power between 700 - 2000 rpm
- Car fails to start when valvetronic gets hot

BMW charges R1000 labour just to fit it on and R1500 for software.
Give me a call 0844 511 266. I'll recommend you to some bodies who got a BMW service center.

---

---

-Ok so it doesn't back fire, but idle can be rough.
-Definite overfueling smell, from exhaust though.
-Loss of power, yes occassionally it does bog down and cough in that range.
-My car always starts hot or cold.

Hmmm does the valvetronic start giving crap or does it just give up one day?

---

---

---

---

Not sure how long it takes to give in but mine took about a month.

Are you from Durban Tai?

One of 2 things can be wrong with yours,

air mass meter
Valvetronic motor

We need to get both these parts tested before you replace the wrong part:sorry:

 

[XMAX]

also remember that the valvetronic motor does give up, but so does the sensor, though not as often as the motor.

a faulty sensor will send errors as well.

 

[tai88]

Thanks guys.. I'm in Midrand :/

Do you know what the correct ohms reading is supposed to be on our MAFs.. I can test that with a multimeter if I have the recomended reading.

am I correct in saying MAF fail slowly so you bearly notice the difference over time?

---

And do you know the lifespan of an MAF

 

[Wolverine]

Thanks guys.. I'm in Midrand :/

Do you know what the correct ohms reading is supposed to be on our MAFs.. I can test that with a multimeter if I have the recomended reading.

am I correct in saying MAF fail slowly so you bearly notice the difference over time?

---

And do you know the lifespan of an MAF

---

---

It should be around 6.4 ohms if I remember correctly, that's what my one gave when I tested. Pin 5 should give a 0 reading, think that pin acts as ground.

Yes, the MAF will fail over time..smell it and see if you get a burnt smell...that would be a give away...

 

[tai88]

Excellent.. I will give it a test on the weekend!

 

[Wolverine]

Guy's..Got a problem here and i'm stumpd!

Changed my valvetronic motor and the car worked fine for 2 days....This morning it refused to start and displaying symptoms exactly as it did before!

Idle is rough again and when the car warms up, it doesnt start:bangdesk:

Any ideas?

 

[Syl]

Guy's..Got a problem here and i'm stumpd!

Changed my valvetronic motor and the car worked fine for 2 days....This morning it refused to start and displaying symptoms exactly as it did before!

Idle is rough again and when the car warms up, it doesnt start:bangdesk:

Any ideas?

You are not serious!?!:argh:
Man that sucks!! And I'm planning to do mine tommorow!!

Jislaaik, sorry about that man! I know you must be super frustrated!

They did install a new one hey? Or was it a secondhand unit?
Where did you do it? If it was at a dealership you shouldve gotten a 2 year warranty or something like that on the part.

 

[zaleonardz]

Who did the motor transplant.

Did they recalibrate it..

And this folks, is why I hate the N42, there are such an amount of variables, and no real way to test them.

If you have an N42, the VVT ECU is seperate device, its not even coded, you can swap one directly out of another car.

Spoke to a mate of mine, and they had another wierd incident with an N42 also behaving oddly. The swapped out the DME, and the fault has not occured again.

I for one am not about to swap out a 10k at the hope of it being the problem....

 

[zaleonardz]

Quick process for the N42 VVT replacement.

Plastic covers off
take out the tray in the middle of the window
Take off the other engine cover.

There is a positive wire that runs through the length of the motor, it ties in where the battery terminal is. that has to come off

THen remove the timing gear cover.

Remove the VVT motor, replace,

Then Re-assemble.

Its about a 2 hour job...
\

 

[Wolverine]

Who did the motor transplant.

Did they recalibrate it..

And this folks, is why I hate the N42, there are such an amount of variables, and no real way to test them.

If you have an N42, the VVT ECU is seperate device, its not even coded, you can swap one directly out of another car.

Spoke to a mate of mine, and they had another wierd incident with an N42 also behaving oddly. The swapped out the DME, and the fault has not occured again.

I for one am not about to swap out a 10k at the hope of it being the problem....

---

ok, after breaking my head the entire day, I found the fault. noticed that sometime when I turned the key on, the fuel pump didn't prime up. thought the fuel pump was faulty, so took off the back seat and put direct power to the pump and it primed up...car started. no power was going to the pump. changed the fuel pump relay, cost R 45 and bam, the car starts on the turn! guys, before changing the valvetronic, turn on the ignition and listen if the pump primes up....if it doesnt, no pressure is being created and the car will never start!

 

[Syl]

Who did the motor transplant.

Did they recalibrate it..

And this folks, is why I hate the N42, there are such an amount of variables, and no real way to test them.

If you have an N42, the VVT ECU is seperate device, its not even coded, you can swap one directly out of another car.

Spoke to a mate of mine, and they had another wierd incident with an N42 also behaving oddly. The swapped out the DME, and the fault has not occured again.

I for one am not about to swap out a 10k at the hope of it being the problem....

---

ok, after breaking my head the entire day, I found the fault. noticed that sometime when I turned the key on, the fuel pump didn't prime up. thought the fuel pump was faulty, so took off the back seat and put direct power to the pump and it primed up...car started. no power was going to the pump. changed the fuel pump relay, cost R 45 and bam, the car starts on the turn! guys, before changing the valvetronic, turn on the ignition and listen if the pump primes up....if it doesnt, no pressure is being created and the car will never start!

---

Where is the fuel pump relay situated? Because except for the vvt not being lekker, ive also sometimes had trouble where I could hear the fuel does not switch on.
Ive swapped relays behind the dash. I assumed after looking on RealOeM that it was the second one from the right. (there are 4 slots with 3 relays: |Relay|Empty|Relay|Relay| )

But it does not seem to change anything..

 

[zaleonardz]

EPK module, sits behind the right hand side rear seat.

I am not totally sure on the E46, but I know thats where it sits on the E90.

 

[Wolverine]

Who did the motor transplant.

Did they recalibrate it..

And this folks, is why I hate the N42, there are such an amount of variables, and no real way to test them.

If you have an N42, the VVT ECU is seperate device, its not even coded, you can swap one directly out of another car.

Spoke to a mate of mine, and they had another wierd incident with an N42 also behaving oddly. The swapped out the DME, and the fault has not occured again.

I for one am not about to swap out a 10k at the hope of it being the problem....

---

ok, after breaking my head the entire day, I found the fault. noticed that sometime when I turned the key on, the fuel pump didn't prime up. thought the fuel pump was faulty, so took off the back seat and put direct power to the pump and it primed up...car started. no power was going to the pump. changed the fuel pump relay, cost R 45 and bam, the car starts on the turn! guys, before changing the valvetronic, turn on the ignition and listen if the pump primes up....if it doesnt, no pressure is being created and the car will never start!

---

Where is the fuel pump relay situated? Because except for the vvt not being lekker, ive also sometimes had trouble where I could hear the fuel does not switch on.
Ive swapped relays behind the dash. I assumed after looking on RealOeM that it was the second one from the right. (there are 4 slots with 3 relays: |Relay|Empty|Relay|Relay| )

But it does not seem to change anything..

---

---

the relay is under the hood. if u open te bonnet sand stand in front of the car is on ur right hand side top corner. has a black cover with about 5 Allen keys on it. open that out and look for a blue relay. thats the one for the fuel pump. there's also a little black box in there...the top slides open and there a 20 amp fuse in there as well, also relates to the fuel pump.

if u dont hear your pump priming up and your car doesnt start, you can prime it up manually and see what happens. do you know how to do this?

 

[Wolverine]

Sorry bro,

You were right, the fuel pump relay is under the glove compartment.
The blue relay is the one under the hood.

The primary circuit within the relay control
unit carries a very small amount of voltage
and amperage, which runs through a small
coil. This secondary
current is then used to switch on the fuel
pump.
The DME relay is a small cube of about 1
inch that may be located under the hood in
the engine compartment, inside the fuse and
relay box under the driver's seat or inside a
fuse box, hidden under the dashboard. The
relay itself may be marked with the legend
DME-relais on top.
Problems starting your car, the engine dying while driving down the road (but able to start
after it has cooled down) are common
problems associated with the DME relay,
which may be reaching the end of its life.
This may be due to breaking solder joints
inside the unit--the most common cause--or
an internal diode failure.
What Is a DME Relay?
The Digital Motor
Electronics
(DME) relay unit
is used on many
Porsche and
some BMW
models. This is
actually a double
-relay-in-one
component. The
main relay is
used to fire the
DME control unit
(computer), while the secondary relay gives power to the
fuel pump and heater element inside the oxygen sensor.
Failure in the injection system is usually related to the
DME relay, but some technicians seem to have found a
solution for it.

 

[tai88]

:bravo:raise:

Couple of smart chaps on this forum!

So if my car doesn't switch off by itself then my "DME relay" is still good?

Would you advise changing it anyway considering 260000km ?