[woo102]

I'm new to the BMW world. I have a 2011 x3 3.5i with a lot of miles.....about 270k. The car ran great one day, parked it for the night, tried to start it up the next morning, and it cranks but won't start. It 'put-puts' a little like one cylinder tries to fire, but that's it.
I tried to check fuel presser only to discover there's no schrader valve. Then I dove a little deeper and found out there's SW called INPA that will allow me to turn on the LPFP and read the fuel pressure.
I bought a K+Dcan cable from Bimmer Geeks and downloaded their version of INPA.
I got everything installed and tried to connect to the car. I got some sort of error from INPA in german.....put it into google translator and saw it was complaining about the version.
The INPA version is v5.0.6.
I read a little bit about which version on INPA was compatible with the f025.....I didn't find anything conclusive.
Rather than struggle with this further, I figured it was time to reach out to someone in the community who has been through this troubleshooting before.
Is INPA the best (free) thing to use?
If so, which version do I need for a 2011 x3?
If not, what do I need?

Part of me is doing this because I'm interested in the possibility of being able to perform in depth troubleshooting......the other part of me just wants to get the thing running.

In between messing with the SW, I also checked to make sure the LPFP is turning on.....it is.
....and I pulled a coil, put a plug in it to check for spark....and it has spark.
I've read that the HPFP can cause symptoms like this (no start), but I don't know how to pinpoint the no start condition to the HPFP.

Any recommendations on SW or further troubleshooting of the no start condition would be appreciated.

This x3 is a blast to drive when it runs.....just want to get it running again.

[pungo]

You need ista+ (replacement for inpa) with a Ethernet OBD II cable. Very powerful diagnostic dealer s/w. Check here

[cestolworthy31]

Originally Posted by woo102

I'm new to the BMW world. I have a 2011 x3 3.5i with a lot of miles.....about 270k. The car ran great one day, parked it for the night, tried to start it up the next morning, and it cranks but won't start. It 'put-puts' a little like one cylinder tries to fire, but that's it.
I tried to check fuel presser only to discover there's no schrader valve. Then I dove a little deeper and found out there's SW called INPA that will allow me to turn on the LPFP and read the fuel pressure.
I bought a K+Dcan cable from Bimmer Geeks and downloaded their version of INPA.
I got everything installed and tried to connect to the car. I got some sort of error from INPA in german.....put it into google translator and saw it was complaining about the version.
The INPA version is v5.0.6.
I read a little bit about which version on INPA was compatible with the f025.....I didn't find anything conclusive.
Rather than struggle with this further, I figured it was time to reach out to someone in the community who has been through this troubleshooting before.
Is INPA the best (free) thing to use?
If so, which version do I need for a 2011 x3?
If not, what do I need?

Part of me is doing this because I'm interested in the possibility of being able to perform in depth troubleshooting......the other part of me just wants to get the thing running.

In between messing with the SW, I also checked to make sure the LPFP is turning on.....it is.
....and I pulled a coil, put a plug in it to check for spark....and it has spark.
I've read that the HPFP can cause symptoms like this (no start), but I don't know how to pinpoint the no start condition to the HPFP.

Any recommendations on SW or further troubleshooting of the no start condition would be appreciated.

This x3 is a blast to drive when it runs.....just want to get it running again.

Following

[woo102]

I brought the cable....now just waiting on SW

[isuzudave]

Have you checked it for codes? I would try that first. A bad crank position sensor will give a crank, not start.

[marc x]

Come on everyone knows you start with the STARTING FLUID. Spray it into the airbox and if the engine runs then it is for sure the fuel pump that has failed.

Oh and make sure you have fuel in the tank

[woo102]

It's been a while, but I made some progress....maybe.
I was able to successfully install ista and get it communicating with the car.
There were multiple codes, but that was after multiple attempts at starting the car.
To start fresh, I cleared the codes and tried to start the car. The car didn't start and the only codes set were:
-420662 Shift paddle: Analogue input, short circuit to B+
-C90D60 AUC sensor: internal sensor fault

These codes are not the cause of the no start condition.
My special, 'very thin' wall 14mm 12 point spark plug socket came in the mail. I pulled the plugs and found they were fouled/the engine was flooded.
I also found the coils for the rear 2 cylinder were underwater.
I was told that someone had 'cleaned' the engine about 6-8 months ago.
(remember this is my girlfriends car....so some of the car's 'history' was from before my time

I got all the water off the top of the engine and out of the spark plug tubes and pulled the final 2 plugs. They were fouled as well.

I spun the engine (with the starter) with the plugs removed to clear out any residual fuel. I squirted a little bit of WD-40 in the cylinders and spun the engine again just to give it a bit of lubrication.

I put a new set of bosh plugs and a new set of Delphi coils in.
I was able to start the car.....so the 'no start' condition was due to the engine flooding and fouling the plugs.
It ran rough and sputtered a bit. After a few minutes of keeping the engine running, it was finally able to idle. It still revved slow (like the timing was very retarded) and would still intermittently miss.

I decided to take it out for an 'Italian tune up' thinking all this might clear up if I got the engine up to full operating temp and got through a couple WOT runs.

The car moved down my lane but was bucking significantly.
Eventually it seemed to develop hard misses on multiple cylinders.
I turned around (I had only made it about 1/8 mile from home) and got the car into my garage. By the time I parked it, it seemed like it was running on 3 cylinders.

[woo102]

I pulled the plugs and saw they were all wet with fuel and looked fouled again.
I hooked up ista again and pulled the following codes:

My old friends were still there:
-420662 Shift paddle: Analogue input, short circuit to B+
-C90D60 AUC sensor: internal sensor fault

Now they had some new friends:
- Misfires
140001 Misfire, several cylinders: Fuel injection is switched off
140004 Misfire, several cylinders: damaging exhaust gas
140010 Combustion misfires, several cylinders: detected
140104 Misfire, cylinder 1: damaging exhaust gas
140110 Combustion misfires, cylinder 1: detected
140301 Misfire, cylinder 3: Fuel injection is switched off
140310 Combustion misfires, cylinder 3: detected
140401 Misfire, cylinder 4: Fuel injection is switched off
140410 Combustion misfires, cylinder 4: detected

- Valvetronic servomotor
135808 Valvetronic servomotor, position sensors, electrical: Malfunction
135B11 Valvetronic servomotor, activation, volt phase: Line disconnection

Also, in ista, there is a group of 'Suspected' items.
I'm guessing this group aren't really codes but they are a troubleshooting hint/guide provided by ista? Can anyone confirm that?
Here's the list of 'Suspected' items:
- ABL Supply, Digital Motor Electronics (DME)
- ABL Voltage supply, transmission control (EGS)
- ABL EGS: Communication problem 8HP

I'm wondering where to go next with my troubleshooting.
I'm starting to think I'm entering the 'guess and check' phase of troubleshooting.....but that can get really expensive with a BMW.
My thought was to replace the MAF, camshaft position sensors, and the crank sensor.
I realize there are no codes directly related to those items, but those items are all critical fuel management inputs.....and if they are sending bad signals, you can have widespread misfires.

I'm leaning away from a HPFP simply because I had good pressure at start/cranking rpm.
....but I have no experience troubleshooting these HPFPs....so I am very open to help from the group.

[woo102]

One more note: My girlfriend did tell me the car has had vanos codes codes in the past, so I suspect the "Valvetronic servomotor" group of codes are not new.

[MichiganMike]

https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...simple-methods

Have you checked the fuel injectors?

[Bdavi011]

Looks like the valvetronic shift actuator is bad too. It sits on top of the valve cover and it's possible some of the water got into the connection?

[Polo08816]

At your mileage I would replace all:
- Fuel injectors
- HPFP
- Valvetronic servomotor

[woo102]

When the problem originally occurred, the car ran fine when it was parked at night.....the next morning it ran crappy.
I really don’t think all 6 injectors would have went bad on me overnight.

As far as the HFPF goes, I had around 1,000 psi (I don’t remember the specific number but it was something around there) at cranking RPM.

Can a HFPF have that much pressure at cranking rpm and still be bad?

The car can’t make it more than 1/2 mile without fouling all the plugs.
I feel like I should be able to find some sort of smoking gun with a problem that significant.

[woo102]

And just to be clear, I’m not dismissing anyone’s recommendations/help.
I’m thankful for any help offered.

[BMWfan73]

Hmmm... Injectors dumping fuel? Don't know if that's it, but it's the first thing that came to mind when you mentioned plugs are excessively wet/fouled. Might want to change them out. Mind you, I'm not a BMW Master Tech, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express once.

[najnad]

I am taking my 2011 X3 35i into the shop to replace the HPFP (and do walnut blasting while they have it open). Note that the early F25 N55 engines have the N54 style HPFP, it didnt change until partway through MY2012 or MY2013.

I would start with the known faults, specifically Vanos Solenoids and plugs and see how it goes from there.

[pungo]

Originally Posted by Polo08816

At your mileage I would replace:
- Fuel injectors

Originally Posted by BMWfan73

Hmmm... Injectors dumping fuel? Don't know if that's it, but it's the first thing that came to mind when you mentioned plugs are excessively wet/fouled. Might want to change them out.

Originally Posted by woo102

When the problem originally occurred, the car ran fine when it was parked at night.....the next morning it ran crappy.
I really don’t think all 6 injectors would have went bad on me overnight.

I agree with woo102, all 6 injectors are not going to fail overnight. There is probably something else telling them to dump excessive fuel. Start with diagnosing the Valvetronic Servomotor errors.

[383vett]

Are these the original coils?

[woo102]

Replaced all coils, with Delphi coils, when I replaced the plugs.

[woo102]

Recent troubleshooting steps:
- Cleared the codes.
- Got a new set of plugs.
- Unplugged the MAF, MAP, and intake air temp sensor.
- Started it up and it idled a little bit rough but I could keep it at 2-3k rpm and it ran smooth.
- I didn't let it run for more than a minute or two and didn't drive it since I don't really want to drive a turbo car with all those sensors unplugged.
- Checked codes afterwards and the only ones I saw were from the sensors I unplugged. I realize I won't get much since I didn't let it run long enough to go into closed loop.
- Checked a couple plugs and they were rich but nothing fouled.

So what did I learn from that?
Well, it ran smoother than it did with all the sensors plugged in.
Throttle response was good when it was very poor with all the sensors plugged in. There were no valvetronic codes like I saw before. I'm guessing I turned the ignition on while the valvetronic connector was disconnected, and that set the code.

In my opinion, an errant MAF or MAP can cause mixture problems for all cylinders and could cause the ECU/injectors to dump lots of fuel in the cylinders and foul plugs.

With that in mind, I just ordered a new MAP and MAF. Once they arrive, I'll put it all back together and see if that fixes it.
Yea, this is 'guess and check' troubleshooting, but at least it's 'somewhat educated' guess and check.

[woo102]

Well.....swing and a miss.
I replaced the MAF and MAP (I have a relatively fresh set of plugs), buttoned it up and took it for a test drive......same severe bucking and missing.
The only codes I get are the misfire codes across most of the cylinders.
I was able to keep it running by reving the engine a few time to about 3-4K rpm using WOT.
If I would let it return to idle or try to hold it steady, it would misfire and gradually get worse.
Via ISTA, Fuel pressure was between 1,000 and 1,400 psi and Engine speed looked correct.
I'm out of ideas at the moment.

[pungo]

Originally Posted by woo102

flooded.
I also found the coils for the rear 2 cylinder were underwater.
I was told that someone had 'cleaned' the engine about 6-8 months ago.
(remember this is my girlfriends car....so some of the car's 'history' was from before my time

I got all the water off the top of the engine and out of the spark plug tubes and pulled the final 2 plugs. They were fouled as well.

Having water sit on/in the engine electronics/wiring/connectors for 6-8 months can't be good for it. I'd check that the water didn't damage/corrode anything. The water could have made its way into the wiring causing high resistance if was underwater/wet that long