Engine light came on today, RPM went a bit wild on my way home

itstommy

Member
 Stirling, Scotland
So, my joy was short lived (2005 Z4 2.0)...lol. Was driving to work when the engine light came on, didn't notice anything different in regards of sound or general feeling of the engine so I continued to work and planned to check it at a local BMW service garage after, so after work I started it up, and I actually noticed that the RPM was juggling a little so there was some loss of power, but it went back to normal after a few seconds. When I got 2 miles to the garage though I did notice a big difference at low gears so something was up for sure (More loss of power). Also noticed that the engine was shaking a bit more than usual, but no unusual noises that I could hear.

They are taking it in on Wednesday for a diagnose (114£ holy f**k) just because I wont risk it taking it home. The old hag is worth it. ;P

Ill keep you posted about the diagnose. Im also ordering my own tool to check it later on.
 
£114 to read the code?! Ouch! Have you considered buying your own OBD reader mate? I picked one up for £15 on Amazon and it tells you the code, it also has a little book which tells you what that code means so really useful!
 
Nharris89 said:
£114 to read the code?! Ouch! Have you considered buying your own OBD reader mate? I picked one up for £15 on Amazon and it tells you the code, it also has a little book which tells you what that code means so really useful!

Yea im getting one of those. :D Just didnt want to risk driving it home from there as I felt it was getting worse so. How was the one you got? whats the name of it?
 
itstommy said:
Nharris89 said:
£114 to read the code?! Ouch! Have you considered buying your own OBD reader mate? I picked one up for £15 on Amazon and it tells you the code, it also has a little book which tells you what that code means so really useful!

Yea im getting one of those. :D Just didnt want to risk driving it home from there as I felt it was getting worse so. How was the one you got? whats the name of it?

I have one just like this and it would do you a treat! Never had any issues with it reading or clearing codes - OBDII Code Scanner OBD-2 Scan Tool For Car Engine OBD-II/EOBD Diagnostic Code Scanner LITOON-UK Code Reader https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B072HF3SXN/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_0K1XCbE068JDZ

I upgraded and bought ISTA + and INPA in the end and run the zed off of my laptop just to have a wider scope of information, but just for reading engine codes that will do you just fine :-) fully understand you wouldn't want to drive it home though! Keep us posted on how it all goes!
 
What engine??? The c110+ or c310+ scanners from amazon can also read and reset many of the modules in the car like airbags which the generic obd readers cannot, but for basic diagnostics the cheapest option is as per above.
 
Hi Tommy. Just for your reference, you won't get any helpful replies unless you include information that allows us to have an informed guess as to what is happening. Telling us that the "RPM was juggling a little" and "I did notice a big difference at low gears" really gives us no info at all I'm afraid, and as ph001 said, we don't even know what engine this is. In the future, try to describe the situation; e.g. was it making odd noises, was the tickover higher than usual, was it misfiring, had it lost power etc.
 
ph001 said:
What engine??? The c110+ or c310+ scanners from amazon can also read and reset many of the modules in the car like airbags which the generic obd readers cannot, but for basic diagnostics the cheapest option is as per above.

wonkydonkey said:
Hi Tommy. Just for your reference, you won't get any helpful replies unless you include information that allows us to have an informed guess as to what is happening. Telling us that the "RPM was juggling a little" and "I did notice a big difference at low gears" really gives us no info at all I'm afraid, and as ph001 said, we don't even know what engine this is. In the future, try to describe the situation; e.g. was it making odd noises, was the tickover higher than usual, was it misfiring, had it lost power etc.

Ah sorry guys, Its a 2005 Z4 2.0, not sure what engine type that is. There was no odd noises or ticking that I could hear at least. However now that I think about it I did feel the engine shaking a bit more than normal, no misfire, and it did loose power when I got closer to the garage. Ill also edit the post for others who jump in. :) thanks!
 
Nharris89 said:
itstommy said:
Nharris89 said:
£114 to read the code?! Ouch! Have you considered buying your own OBD reader mate? I picked one up for £15 on Amazon and it tells you the code, it also has a little book which tells you what that code means so really useful!

Yea im getting one of those. :D Just didnt want to risk driving it home from there as I felt it was getting worse so. How was the one you got? whats the name of it?

I have one just like this and it would do you a treat! Never had any issues with it reading or clearing codes - OBDII Code Scanner OBD-2 Scan Tool For Car Engine OBD-II/EOBD Diagnostic Code Scanner LITOON-UK Code Reader https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B072HF3SXN/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_0K1XCbE068JDZ

I upgraded and bought ISTA + and INPA in the end and run the zed off of my laptop just to have a wider scope of information, but just for reading engine codes that will do you just fine :-) fully understand you wouldn't want to drive it home though! Keep us posted on how it all goes!

Ah awesome, thank you! I have a laptop here as well so might go for one that gives more info. Thanks m8!
 
Shaking would suggest a misfire. I hope the garage is able to throw some light on it without it costing you too much! :)
 
I would guess on the 2.0l it will be an emissions / lambda related fault code, probably P1170 or 29F4 . I would also guess the garage won’t be able to fix it, but ask them to check for cracks in exhaust manifold (the cats are integrated into it).

I suppose it could be a coil pack / sparkplug issue but that would be a much more obvious misfire.
 
ph001 said:
I would guess on the 2.0l it will be an emissions / lambda related fault code, probably P1170 or 29F4 . I would also guess the garage won’t be able to fix it, but ask them to check for cracks in exhaust manifold (the cats are integrated into it).

I suppose it could be a coil pack / sparkplug issue but that would be a much more obvious misfire.

You are right. It was a cracked exhaust manifold. They quoted it to 1300... :cry:
 
Any tips where I can find this part and buy myself and maybe go to an independent? What do you guys think?
 
itstommy said:
You are right. It was a cracked exhaust manifold. They quoted it to 1300...

Dead common on the 2.0l unfortunately. Just make sure any used one you get is crack free before buying!
 
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