No start. fuel problem, possible ECU failure [NOT!]

F

FelixTheCat

Member
Had an issue with my 2003 3.0i not starting this week. Been used daily and then the problem came out of the blue. Turned over but refused to start. AA guy determined it was a problem with no fuel coming through but after various checks he couldn't tell why, so it was towed to the BMW dealer (little choice as this was 11pm).

BMW now tell me this is possibly the main control unit (ECU) failing (or something within the sealed unit going t1ts-up) and replacement including the part (£650ish), plus programming and VAT, less exchange, is looking to be about £1,000 or more. :|

Anyone else had a problem like this and has this been found to be something less sinister? I never completely believe what the dealer says, as they are often happy to replace expensive parts, just in case, and they acknowledge that they don't have these fail oftern, if ever....

Any experience of this or something similar would be greatefully received,

Cheers.
 
Had a similar issue on my Clubsport, we called the RAC out, they would plug in the diag computer in and leave the ignition on while trying to sort it out. The car would then start, next day same thing would happen, this went on for 4 days. We sussed out that if we left the ignition on for a couple of minutes the car started no problem. As for what it is we still don't really know, this issue only happens if the weather is cold and the engine hasn't been started for a few hours, overnight usually. We've been told the ECU is fried :roll: or its something to do with the immobiliser not recognising the ignition key at first, can't confirm this as I've no spare. I just live with it, I'll sort it out someday or just chop it in for an M :wink:
 
BMW mechanic has put a new control unit in it today, spent all afternoon programming the thing, and surprise surprise, it doesn't work, so it must be something else. :tumbleweed:
As long as they put to original control unit back in and don't try to charge me for the new one as there is probably nothing wrong with it...
They are none the wiser as to the cause of the problem however....
Any ideas anyone?
 
Fuel pump.

It is located internal to the fuel tank, but can be removed/replaced from under the car.

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=BT33&mospid=47798&btnr=16_0541&hg=16&fg=15
 
I had a problem similar to this but it was a long time ago. I think it was a fuel shutoff valve that went bad and failed in the closed position. You can try it...
 
FelixTheCat said:
BMW mechanic has put a new control unit in it today, spent all afternoon programming the thing, and surprise surprise, it doesn't work, so it must be something else. :tumbleweed:
As long as they put to original control unit back in and don't try to charge me for the new one as there is probably nothing wrong with it...
They are none the wiser as to the cause of the problem however....
Any ideas anyone?
Click to expand...

I hope thats the case, although I suspect you may find they'll charge you because they've done the work.

I had an element of the ECU go during warrantly - lost speedo, ABS, power steering and all sorts - they too made a right bog-up of reprogramming, took five hours in the end.

Good luck getting it sorted.
 
:headbang:

Still not sorted and I have lost all faith in my BMW dealer (Dick Lovett, Bristol UK by the way).

They will not do any more work on the car until 'they receive advice from BMW Technical', which has been 6 days in waiting now (car with the dealer nearly 2 weeks in total).

They cannot figure why the control unit they changed over and spent time reprogramming has not solved the non-start problem, and they won't/can't do anything until BMW-T tell them what do do next. This is the control unit that is behind the fuse box, in turn behind the glove box.

I phoned again yesterday to have my daily rant at the useless ****s and they wouldn't put me through to the fitter (sorry, Master Technician - yeah right), instead I had to deal with another Service clerk (4th so far) who has no technical knowledge. He even conceded that they haven't (and won't) even check the fuel pump, immobiliser, fuel shut-off valve, filter or anything else that might be at fault, until they work out why the control unit they switched over hasn't sorted the issue...

Am I missing something? :x :thumbsdown:

(Thanks for suggestions by the way. If I had the car back I would check these out).
 
So:
BMW now report that they have found an 'additional' problem... (more like the only problem...), and are replacing the fuel pump part number 16_4_6_767_718.
They have tried to convince me this failed at EXACTLY the same time as the DME. Tall story. :rofl: Come on, what would be the chances of a (mechanical) pump failing at the same time as the DME, when the car was parked, when the failure of just one part would cause the car not to start....
I have told them to replace the pump, sure, but to also put the original DME back on. This won't need reprogramming. But still they are trying to stick to their story that the DME was faulty? How could it be, it was only reporting a problem to their diagnostic machine, which was ultimately that there was a failure of the pump. The pump failure would not show as a fault code, as this goes via the DME. (It's like my PC reporting a printer jam and then me rushing out to renew my PC...)
Spoken to a highly-regarded BMW independent in Bristol. They get a couple of disgruntled customers a week that have had prior dealings with this dealer who commonly over-diagnose problems and replace parts and charge labour unecessarily....
How frustrating. Happy to pay for fixing what is wrong. I guess BMW will have to prove beyond doubt that the DME was at fault. To date, they haven't convinced me.
Any thoughts?
Cheers
 
http://bmwfans.info/parts/catalog/E85/Roadster/Europe/Z4_3.0i-M54/RHD/N/2003/june/browse/fuel_supply/fuel_filter_pump_fuel_level_sensor/
 
my thoughts - get the fuel pump done, get the original DME back in and if there is still a problem take it to the highly reguarded specialist.

not the first time I have heard about the problems at this $tealer...
 
Hey there FelixTheCat,

I've had a very similar, if not the exact same problem as you, its so frustrating not knowing what's actually wrong.

http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=12971

Try this - if you put the key into the ignition, and turn it to position 2, now wait for ALL the lights on the dash to come on (you might need to be patient, because sometimes not all the lights come on at the same time and you have to wait for two sets of dash lights to come on), you'll also hear a humming noise for 2/3 seconds, which is the fuel pump priming. After all that has happened, turn the ignition to start the car and I bet you it will start!

Sometimes I have to wait a good 20 seconds for the dash lights to come on before I can get the car to start.

Cheapshots
 
Very few garages these days have mechanics (OK.... technicians) with the experience to diagnose problems without the use of a computer. There technical ability is based purely on repair by replacement as this is often the easiest option, yields most reward and workshop through flow. I would Insist that they put the original control unit back with the new fuel pump fitted, then see if the car functions OK and when it does GO INTO BATTLE! They cannot force you to buy a new control unit.
 
The saga continues....
So far:

BMW 'diagnose' that the DME unit is faulty and change it. (£1,000 inc time). It urns out to be ok, but they want to leave the new one on otherwise they won't be able to warrant the work. Nope, put the old one back on. Told.

BMW then decide the fuel pump (I quoted in an earlier post) is dodgy and change that, takes 2.5 hours to fit, plus the part at £150ish. Not the problem either.... the car still won't start.

Now, two-and-a-half weeks later, they have decided it is simply the resistor wiring for the fuel pump and are going about changing that.
(BTW, they advise "it is not worth putting the original pump back on due to the time it will take to do it...."
:headbang:

The frustrating bit is that they are going to try and bill me for their work and mis-diagnosis (yet to have that arguement in full.... :fuelfire:

Worse still, they advise the dodgy wiring was done by BMW dealer as a recall (0016350100), but was done badly, hence the fault..... Has anyone else had this recall work done or know anything more about it (around 2004/5). I still have the Invoice (£0.00) for the recall work fortunately...

HELP!
 
The car is now working and starting correctly :D :driving:

The problem turned out to be something simple... to do with some faulty wiring in the boot to the fuel pump resistor that was done by BMW as part of recall in March 2005, apparently because of an earthing problem: http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=15483

This took my (un)beloved BMW dealer about an hour to fix this morning, so all of the other work that has been done to the car over the past couple weeks was not required, which included them changing the battery too by the way (forgot to mention that before). Strange that they didn't check this resistor wire in the first place, if it is indeed a common fault and they had this on file as work done to my car earlier.

I'm picking it up this afternoon and am yet to agree what the £££ damage is.....
 
ive had problems as above the answer is top up the oil, leave for couple of minutes,then foot hard down on accelerator turn engine over give it a couple goes gaurenteed to start : no cost
 
i wouldn't pay a penny if the recall was carried out incorrectly it's the dealership who cdid it that are liable to the cost of it's repair and the ecu and fuel pump where quite simply unnecesary and incorrectly diagnosed
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom