EDIT: issue sorted (cyl 6 coil pack) EML dash light on, engine 'grumbling'

[archieuk84]

Hi all

Havent posted an awful lot on here since buying my E85 2.5si early this year (off a forum member).

I have loved every minute of ownership with zero issues and a clean bill of health from the MOT in July.

No issue with the roof, everything running super smooth on both short and long runs. All i have done is top up the oil a couple of times (total of 2 litres). I have covered 4,000 ish miles thus far taking total mileage to 67,500 and inspection 2 still a few thousand miles away.

However, i got in this morning for the first time in a couple of weeks having been away and the EML warning light is on and the engine making a worrying 'grumbling' sound pretty much through the rev range - i didn't dare get over 4k RPM. I had a mix of town a motorway driving and had no option but to use the car and it got me around fine albeit clearly a struggle and i am concerned as to the issue.

The car is garaged when not in use and whilst it has been chilly, nothing cold enough to make me thing there was an issue there - fuel tank pretty near to full and no change of fuel or other obvious causes of a problem i can fathom.

I have done the usual searches on here and i suspect it could be a VANOS related issue but i am not mechanically minded at all so would be guessing. I do not have a diagnostic tool but am certainly now looking to get one.

So, a few pointers would be great:

1) The best diagnostic tool i can get (do not have a laptop but Mrs has a Macbook)?
2) Best to take to a main dealer or decent independent - service history a mix of both from previous owners? Main dealer very handily located but not sure if they are going to smell blood and rip me off.
3) Any ideas as to what the underlying issue may be?

It's hard to describe the noise, just sounds like the engine is not firing on all cylinders and acceleration definitely sluggish and in very low revs quite difficult to keep it moving!

All help appreciated as ever.

Cheers,
Arthur

 

[stupot67]

Hi Arthur,

It could be any number of things tbh, but the chances of it being vanos related and starting out of the blue are slim.

Coil packs can and often do fail with no notice, that would give you the symptoms your describing. But you really need to get the codes read (Hopefully it will be a miss fire code)

Maybe worth asking help from any forum members local to you who have a code reader you could borrow - FWIW if it is a coil pack they are changeable with out the use of tools and are very straightforward to replace, certainly no need to pay an indy or main agent.

Stu.

 

[archieuk84]

Thanks Stu very helpful.

Yes its an odd one because it is totally out of the blue.

I'll just get myself a code reader - any tips?

 

[GuidoK]

To troubleshoot engine codes like broken coils a very cheap bluetooth codereader like this is enough:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mini-ELM327-V2-1-OBD2-II-Bluetooth-Diagnostic-Car-Auto-Interface-Scanner-NEW-/262645173157
You can use it with the free app 'torque' on every android phone, so for under 3 quid you can diagnose your problem.

For advanced coding go for an inpa interface like this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-INPA-K-DCAN-USB-Interface-OBD2-OBDII-16-Pin-Car-Diagnostic-Tool-Cable-/191837580674
But the learning curve for such software is quite steep.

 

[Chris_D]

To troubleshoot engine codes like broken coils a very cheap bluetooth codereader like this is enough:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mini-ELM327-V2-1-OBD2-II-Bluetooth-Diagnostic-Car-Auto-Interface-Scanner-NEW-/262645173157
You can use it with the free app 'torque' on every android phone, so for under 3 quid you can diagnose your problem.

For advanced coding go for an inpa interface like this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-INPA-K-DCAN-USB-Interface-OBD2-OBDII-16-Pin-Car-Diagnostic-Tool-Cable-/191837580674
But the learning curve for such software is quite steep.

+1
I went for Carly for the iphone. Great for diagnostics as it gives bmw code-based fault descriptions helping you to make a diagnosis easily. As an added bonus it also does live parameters as well as coding.
Mycarly.com
Good luck and keep us posted re developments.

Edit. Link fixed

 

[archieuk84]

To troubleshoot engine codes like broken coils a very cheap bluetooth codereader like this is enough:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mini-ELM327-V2-1-OBD2-II-Bluetooth-Diagnostic-Car-Auto-Interface-Scanner-NEW-/262645173157
You can use it with the free app 'torque' on every android phone, so for under 3 quid you can diagnose your problem.

For advanced coding go for an inpa interface like this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-INPA-K-DCAN-USB-Interface-OBD2-OBDII-16-Pin-Car-Diagnostic-Tool-Cable-/191837580674
But the learning curve for such software is quite steep.

+1
I went for Carly for the iphone. Great for diagnostics as it gives bmw code-based fault descriptions helping you to make a diagnosis easily. As an added bonus it also does live parameters as well as coding.
Mycarly.com
Good luck and keep us posted re developments.

Edit. Link fixed

Cheers guys

 

[archieuk84]

To troubleshoot engine codes like broken coils a very cheap bluetooth codereader like this is enough:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mini-ELM327-V2-1-OBD2-II-Bluetooth-Diagnostic-Car-Auto-Interface-Scanner-NEW-/262645173157
You can use it with the free app 'torque' on every android phone, so for under 3 quid you can diagnose your problem.

For advanced coding go for an inpa interface like this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-INPA-K-DCAN-USB-Interface-OBD2-OBDII-16-Pin-Car-Diagnostic-Tool-Cable-/191837580674
But the learning curve for such software is quite steep.

+1
I went for Carly for the iphone. Great for diagnostics as it gives bmw code-based fault descriptions helping you to make a diagnosis easily. As an added bonus it also does live parameters as well as coding.
Mycarly.com
Good luck and keep us posted re developments.

Edit. Link fixed

Chris - did you get the Carly app as well as their code reader device or the cheaper one as linked above?

Cheers

 

[Chris_D]

To troubleshoot engine codes like broken coils a very cheap bluetooth codereader like this is enough:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mini-ELM327-V2-1-OBD2-II-Bluetooth-Diagnostic-Car-Auto-Interface-Scanner-NEW-/262645173157
You can use it with the free app 'torque' on every android phone, so for under 3 quid you can diagnose your problem.

For advanced coding go for an inpa interface like this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-INPA-K-DCAN-USB-Interface-OBD2-OBDII-16-Pin-Car-Diagnostic-Tool-Cable-/191837580674
But the learning curve for such software is quite steep.

+1
I went for Carly for the iphone. Great for diagnostics as it gives bmw code-based fault descriptions helping you to make a diagnosis easily. As an added bonus it also does live parameters as well as coding.
Mycarly.com
Good luck and keep us posted re developments.

Edit. Link fixed

Chris - did you get the Carly app as well as their code reader device or the cheaper one as linked above?

Cheers

I bought the wifi dongle from a forum member but i had already tested the software (pirate copy via jailbreak, sssh) so i was convinced enough to buy the full pro app.
Works a treat and was well worth the investment.
Have coded a few things like being able to raise/lower the roof while on the move, alarm signals, lights etc.

 

[archieuk84]

+1
I went for Carly for the iphone. Great for diagnostics as it gives bmw code-based fault descriptions helping you to make a diagnosis easily. As an added bonus it also does live parameters as well as coding.
Mycarly.com
Good luck and keep us posted re developments.

Edit. Link fixed

Chris - did you get the Carly app as well as their code reader device or the cheaper one as linked above?

Cheers

I bought the wifi dongle from a forum member but i had already tested the software (pirate copy via jailbreak, sssh) so i was convinced enough to buy the full pro app.
Works a treat and was well worth the investment.
Have coded a few things like being able to raise/lower the roof while on the move, alarm signals, lights etc.

Ok that's me sold! So just get the cheap dongle and pro version of the app?

 

[Chris_D]

Chris - did you get the Carly app as well as their code reader device or the cheaper one as linked above?

Cheers

I bought the wifi dongle from a forum member but i had already tested the software (pirate copy via jailbreak, sssh) so i was convinced enough to buy the full pro app.
Works a treat and was well worth the investment.
Have coded a few things like being able to raise/lower the roof while on the move, alarm signals, lights etc.

Ok that's me sold! So just get the cheap dongle and pro version of the app?

Welllll, they claim their own dongle will give full functionality and i dont know if thats absolutely true or not. I couldnt get to the coding section but i used a cheap bt dongle with pirate version before i got their dongle and paidfor app and all works fine now.

 

[archieuk84]

I bought the wifi dongle from a forum member but i had already tested the software (pirate copy via jailbreak, sssh) so i was convinced enough to buy the full pro app.
Works a treat and was well worth the investment.
Have coded a few things like being able to raise/lower the roof while on the move, alarm signals, lights etc.

Ok that's me sold! So just get the cheap dongle and pro version of the app?

Welllll, they claim their own dongle will give full functionality and i dont know if thats absolutely true or not. I couldnt get to the coding section but i used a cheap bt dongle with pirate version before i got their dongle and paidfor app and all works fine now.

Right so the Carly website wants €55 for the dongle which seems pretty steep but don't want to get something that won't work?

 

[Chris_D]

Ok that's me sold! So just get the cheap dongle and pro version of the app?

Welllll, they claim their own dongle will give full functionality and i dont know if thats absolutely true or not. I couldnt get to the coding section but i used a cheap bt dongle with pirate version before i got their dongle and paidfor app and all works fine now.

Right so the Carly website wants €55 for the dongle which seems pretty steep but don't want to get something that won't work?

The pukka carly dongle and pro app, which i have now, both work fine.
Admittedly, there are cheaper alternatives, 'dash command' 'torque' etc are all good apps and i use those too but i just find carly easier to use. Has helped me diagnose a throttlebody and airbag light problem as well as being able to see live engine parameters and coding stuff.
But do your research, watch some youtube vids too to give you an idea on what each system/app is capable of etc.

 

[archieuk84]

Welllll, they claim their own dongle will give full functionality and i dont know if thats absolutely true or not. I couldnt get to the coding section but i used a cheap bt dongle with pirate version before i got their dongle and paidfor app and all works fine now.

Right so the Carly website wants €55 for the dongle which seems pretty steep but don't want to get something that won't work?

The pukka carly dongle and pro app, which i have now, both work fine.
Admittedly, there are cheaper alternatives, 'dash command' 'torque' etc are all good apps and i use those too but i just find carly easier to use. Has helped me diagnose a throttlebody and airbag light problem as well as being able to see live engine parameters and coding stuff.
But do your research, watch some youtube vids too to give you an idea on what each system/app is capable of etc.

Will do - thanks for the help.

 

[Marius]

Get obd cable and inpa, miles better than any other crap on the market Inc carly.

 

[Chris_D]

Get obd cable and inpa, miles better than any other crap on the market Inc carly.

A bit judgemental and presumptious.
What works for you might not work for everyone and you clearly failed to notice that the op does not have a laptop.
Tardy response.

 

[Marius]

Get obd cable and inpa, miles better than any other crap on the market Inc carly.

A bit judgemental and presumptious.
What works for you might not work for everyone and you clearly failed to notice that the op does not have a laptop.
Tardy response.

Clearly says that he has Macbook. And before you say something stupid again, you can run in inpa on it too.

 

[Chris_D]

Get obd cable and inpa, miles better than any other crap on the market Inc carly.

A bit judgemental and presumptious.
What works for you might not work for everyone and you clearly failed to notice that the op does not have a laptop.
Tardy response.

Clearly says that he has Macbook. And before you say something stupid again, you can run in inpa on it too.

I would suggest that before YOU say something stupid again that you consider that the OP is obviously not as tech-savvy as you perhaps and is possibly looking for the simplest solution.
It seems a bit idiotic that you would insist that he uses INPA in favour of all the 'other crap' as you describe it as you (may) fullwell know how difficult it is using INPA for a novice as well as trying to install it on a macbook and then actually running it and making it communicate successfully with the car.

I would suggest therefore in favour of actually giving the OP a useful suggestion, instead of berating others that you actually describe in minute detail (for the benefit of the OP) exactly how he should install and successfully run INPA on a macbook if you are so convinced that this is what he should be using....?
Maybe also some photos of yourself using INPA on a macbook, for proof that it works.
No? didn't think so.

 

[archieuk84]

Update:

Thanks for the comments and ideas. I have not yet got myself a decoding tool / device but i looked into the ignition coil failure issue a bit more and found some very helpful stuff on youtube.

I recommend a short video from "BM Trouble U" (sp?) lasting about 3/4 minutes on the topic.

So, i whipped off the plastic engine cover to reveal the coil plastic covers and started the zed. A bit unnerving if you have not spent much time (in my case zero time) under the bonnet with the engine grumbling away!

I unplugged each coil one by one per the advice on the video listening for a dip in rpm and it was very noticeable for each coil until i got to number 6 (nearest the windscreen). So, what this tells me is that coil number 6 is where the issue is and which needs replacing.

Ill need to get a decoding device to confirm this 100% (and presumably reset the EML) but i'm now pretty sure that is the issue.

Plenty of threads on here advising on which part to get etc so thanks again to the z4 community for what is hopefully a relatively easy fix to my issue.

I would be interested to hear views on whether or not people would recommend replacing all 6 (as well as spark plugs?) or wait until inspection 2 in a few thousand miles?

Cheers all

 

[Chris_D]

Good move archie. I know how disconcerting it can be pulling ur engine to bits for the first time and ive also gleaned most of my knowledge from youtube how-to's.
Good that you id'd the 6th coilpack but did you actually swap it for a good one to confirm its actually the coil and not the sparkplug or cable?

 

[archieuk84]

Good move archie. I know how disconcerting it can be pulling ur engine to bits for the first time and ive also gleaned most of my knowledge from youtube how-to's.
Good that you id'd the 6th coilpack but did you actually swap it for a good one to confirm its actually the coil and not the sparkplug or cable?

No, not yet replaced it as i don't have a spare and as i said i will get a dignostic tool to confirm before i order parts...but based on what i have read its highly likely to be the issue.

Cheers