Murphy Strikes! Multiple misfires

[KevsZ4]

So mt friend Murphy came visit today. He said it had been too long since he saw me last. And he brought a present. Misfires.

Started the car today, engine was rough at idle. drove i approx 2 miles to walgreens, seemed fine. When I got our of the store and started it up, it as rough again, and the SES light came on.

Short trip to Oreilly, read the codes with a Bosch. Said it was multiple misfires. cyl 3, 5, 4, 1, etc. 11 total.

Now before this, no probs. We have a couple of gas stations here that are notorious for bad gas. Could that be the culprit?

If not, what are your experiences? New plugs and coils?

Car seems to run fine at higher rpm, but seems like its missing some power.

Has 82 K miles,and since I just bought it recently, I dont really know the service history, but prior to today, the engine was running so smooth, not even the occasional twitch.

Any guidance is appreciated.

[fdagen]

Someone mentioned in another thread if you torque the spark plugs incorrectly you could possibly crack the ceramic causing misfires. Did you recently change the spark plugs? Or are you asking if you should change them?

[inTgr8r]

At 82k miles and an uncertain service record, I would definitely start by changing coil packs and plugs.

[XMetal]

Originally Posted by fdagen

Someone mentioned in another thread if you torque the spark plugs incorrectly you could possibly crack the ceramic causing misfires. Did you recently change the spark plugs? Or are you asking if you should change them?

That was for direct injection engines. Being the OP's Z is a 2003 (M54), this doesn't applies.

While plugs and coil packs are a possibility, it's unlikely for multiple misfires. But it's not a bad idea to change them at this mileage with unknown history.

[fdagen]

Thanks for correcting my bro science!

[KevsZ4]

Originally Posted by fdagen

Someone mentioned in another thread if you torque the spark plugs incorrectly you could possibly crack the ceramic causing misfires. Did you recently change the spark plugs? Or are you asking if you should change them?

No I have not changed them. Just trying to find out who else might have experienced this same type of issue, what spark plugs to use (the Bosch plugs are available locally) and if bad gas could be causing it.

The weird thing is that it happened instantly. I cant imagine that multiple plugs and coil packs just decided to go bad all at the same time.I want to believe its the gas. So im thinking maybe I should just go buy siphon, and replace the gas.

But then again, this is my first BMW, and im starting to understand why they have such a famous/infamous reputation. Jeez, this thing is like a wife. love her so much, but can be so much hassle too!

[fdagen]

I hear you M cars are a tough one. Everyone wants one and a lot of the time they are ridden hard and put away wet. Even when you think you did your research your constantly finding issues. On my first oil change I found that the previous owner had stripped the oil pan threads. Every time I take something apart I find something else to fix. (I want it to be as close to perfect as I can make it). But I also love the tinkering....most of the time.

[KevsZ4]

So what about the plugs? I think im gonna change them anyways, as they probably havent been changed before. Anyone have experience with the Bosch+4's ?

[XMetal]

My X5 with the M54 engine (same as your 3.0i) came with the Bosch+4 from the factory. I swapped them out with NGK Laser Platinum Spark Plug (BKR6EQUP) at 60K and didn't noticed any difference (I'm at 114K right now). You should be fine with the Bosch+4 as both Bosch and NGK are OE plugs - pick which ever brand you like best.

I also had a really rough idle with my X5 a couple of weeks ago after letting it sit for a week. It was running really rough for about 10 seconds or so, but then went away when I start driving it. Never came back since and it didn't threw any codes

[onthe3rdday]

Pull the plugs, inspect them. Use the two cylinders not reporting misfires to help you troubleshoot...start moving plugs and coils around to see if the problem moves to the known good cylinder. Check all air boots for leaks. Those are good starting points that you can tackle in the garage.

--Kyle

[KevsZ4]

So I got a print out of the error codes, 11 misfires, across all 6 cylinders, coded as a "P030's"
P0305 - Cyl 5 misfire detected
P0303 - Cyl 3 misfire detected
P0302 - Cyl 2 ""
P0300 - Multiple misfire detected
P0304 ""
P0301 ""
03 ""
02 ""
00 ""
04 ""
and finally P0306 - cyl 6 misfire detected.

That was it. Seems like it was an isolated incident, as no more misfires have occurred. But it still is idling rough.

So I changed the plugs. The Bosch +4's were in stock local, and they probably needed it anyways. Nobody had the coilpacks in stock local(other than stealership). Added some stabil, as recommended by a longtime BMW enthusiast, seems like it may have made a slight difference, but its hard to tell. Bottom line, its still got a idle shake that it didnt have less than 48 hours ago.

Another guy said maybe its a leaking head gasket, but since All cylinders were affected, I cant imagine a leak was hitting them all. Plus i checked the oil and cap- didnt see any telltale milky stuff at all.

So all I have left is to drain/ run out the fuel, or replace the coilpacks. Considering a tank of gas is 30 bucks and the the coilpacks are close to 200, i'm gonna run this gas out somehow.

Anyone know how to siphon our Z4's?

[XMetal]

It may be your DISA valve. See this => http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=342081

At 82K, that would most likely be your culprit. The DISA valve on my X5 went bad at around the 80K range also, if I recalled correctly.

[pokeybritches]

With the engine warm, turn off the car and unplug your MAF sensor. Restart and see if the issues are still present.

A failing MAF sensor can cause the symptoms you describe. While there are MAF-specific codes, they don't always appear when a sensor has failed.

[dc_wright]

The probability of having all of your plugs or coil packs go bad overnight is virtually nil. Gas with water in it can be an overnight issue as the water is dispersed during the pumping into the tank, but settles and concentrates at the bottom of the tank after the car sits for a while.
The other thing I'd be suspecting is a failed ping sensor or be looking at the connection under the intake where the ping sensor plugs into the engine compartment harness. The ping sensor allows the DME to monitor for the acoustic signature from both an in sequence (correct firing) and out of sequence firing of each cylinder (mis-fire). When the ping sensor goes bad it sends false detonation (ping) signals to the DME and the DME tries to adjust the timing and fuel to eliminate the ping. The result is significantly retarded ignition timing and unpredictable fuel mixtures, causing the engine to run like crap, and of course you get bunches of misfire codes.

[Westersund]

Reading this I think it's down to bad gas. If the spark plugs are changed there's no way that many coil packs goes bad at the same time. I filled up my 740i/6 with some ethanol before the yearly inspection and it started to run bad after a while. Filled up with 98 octane and it started to run perfect again. No more ethanol in that car.

[XMetal]

Originally Posted by Westersund

Reading this I think it's down to bad gas. If the spark plugs are changed there's no way that many coil packs goes bad at the same time. I filled up my 740i/6 with some ethanol before the yearly inspection and it started to run bad after a while. Filled up with 98 octane and it started to run perfect again. No more ethanol in that car.

The problem is that we don't really have a choice in the states. Our gas can contain up to 10% ethanol and it may go up by next year

[pokeybritches]

Some places sell non-ethanol gas, and there's a bill in "progress" that will cap ethanol content at 9.4%.

[Westersund]

Originally Posted by XMetal

The problem is that we don't really have a choice in the states. Our gas can contain up to 10% ethanol and it may go up by next year

That sucks, out 95 octane contains up to 15% ethanol I believe. I only fill up with 98 octane in my car even if they don't need it. Feels better that way.

[KevsZ4]

Originally Posted by XMetal

It may be your DISA valve. See this => http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=342081

At 82K, that would most likely be your culprit. The DISA valve on my X5 went bad at around the 80K range also, if I recalled correctly.

Thanks XMETAL. That looks like it may be the problem. Pulled it out and the shaft was completely broken. I was lucky that the pin was still in and the flapper was not dislodged all the way.

I just ordered the GAS repair kit, so hopefully that will do the trick. While I was at it, I went ahead and pulled the ICV and cleaned it. It was stuck from carbon buildup. a Quick few shots of carb cleaner and it freed right up.

My only concern is this - little bits of the broken plastic shaft were no where to be found, leading me to believe that they got sucked into the intake manifold and down into the valves and cylinder. Pretty sure that happened. so assuming my valves arent bent, and the peices made their way into the cylinders, the crap burned to nothing.
Also Spark plugs looked good when I pulled those, just dry fouled- pretty normal in my experience

So the part is on order, hope to have it back together next week.

Cheers!

[KevsZ4]

Very glad to report that Zelda is running smooth again. It was one of 2 things, or both. DISA and ICV.

First, the DISA valve was trashed. I rebuilt it with the kit from G.A.S. Very easy to do, and quite enjoyable to work on. since its a small part, I did it at my desk, and it took me back to the days of building models as a kid.

And since I already had most of the intake removed, I went a step farther and pulled the ICV, just under the DISA. It was jammed open with carbon buildup, so a few quick shots with carb cleaner, and a small nylon brush, and I had it working like new again.

Put everything back in, and she started up perfect. No misfires, and perfectly smooth idle, and power seems to be restored across the whole powerband.

One other note regarding the Service Engine Soon light- As some others mentioned in previous posts, the computers in these e85's (atleast mine) will constantly monitor fuel/air balance. After a certain number of successful ignition cycles, the SES light turned off. I didnt notice it immediately, but randomly just looked at the gauge cluster, and saw it has turned itself off. Might have been about 5-6 ignition cycles, and I had driven about 30 miles at that point.

Bottom line, If anyone is experiencing a really rough idle or poor performance, this really is a great place to start. The work isnt really hard at all, and the cost savings are significant vs taking to Stealership or Indy. New DISA's are in ths multiple hundreds. My rebuild kit was 80, and you can get a lesser version on ebay for like 30 bucks.

Cheers!

[SaltyNC]

Glad you got it sorted out, Kevs.

Salty

[inTgr8r]

Excellent. Nicely done!
It's always so satisfying when you get to the bottom of an issue yourself.