Re: E90 overheating
WhyBMW? said:
Hi all again, I'll elaborate.
Everything was ok until the 3rd or 4th day. The first indication was more cranking needed during starting. In fact on a few occasions, it did not start on the first push of the start button. Only second push , then the engine started. Shortly, it stalled in the middle of the road. But started after a few cranks. When I brought it in the first time, they could not simulate the fault but spend over a week to replace ONE part which they thought will solve the problem. But it did not. Same thing happen.. difficult to start and stalling incidence. But this time got one more symptom... persistent fuel smell. So brought it back again. This time took more than 2 weeks. They supposedly replaced a bunch of stuff on the fuel system... I'll keep you guys posted if they finally solve my problems. But no matter, all the thrill of owning a spanking new BMW is gone already...
But PML really one kind... Most of the people there speak to you as if the money BMW owners have is through inheritance or some kind. They forget most of us have a brain and can hold our ground in our own fields. I mean its so obvious that all the time they are just trying to get you off their backs and tell you really stupid things or just plain white lies. And best of all, they expect to get away with it. Sometimes I really do not know how to react to their nonsense. But I must give them credit for being able to keep a straight face when telling you really really stupid things... Sometimes I just don't want to go down to their level and tell them off... Maybe we can start a thread on the stupid things that service advisors say and all can have a good laugh...
Ok time to hazard a guess as to what is happening. This is part of the reply that i sent to Janson before.
From what you have described, it seems like there is a problem on the 320i production line. The problems that you described sounds suspiciously like an unstable electrical problem. The issue is not solved with grounding cables or stabilisers.
What i recommend to you is to carefully go through your entire car to inspect each ground point. At each point, use a fine file to remove residue paint on the ground post and re-tighten all the bolts. there should be posts at the following areas:
Front left and right corners just behind the headlights
Front suspension towers/firewall for engine and ECU
Front cabin footwells for meters and front doors.
B pillars for rear door power windows
C pillar for demister and antenna power unit and fuel pump
Boot for battery
Behind rear lights
Concentrate on the ECU, fuel pump and engine points.
As far as the stability of the electronics, the logic processes either work or they dun work. Since your car has started before, the logic works. So the funny behaviour comes from a lack of a stable power supply which either comes from a loose 12v wire or a lousy ground point.
To explain the over-heating problem, the car would be alright mechanically and the ECU just has a loose ground point. The ECU sees the engine temp through a sensor in the water jacket. The sensor basically is a resistor that changes its resistance with respect to temps. And the reference point is the ground point. So if the ground point is floating at say 2volts, the sensor will be giving a value of X + 2V the the ECU and thus the ECU reads a different temperature and gives you funny results. A bigger problem may arise when the battery voltage is insufficient to drive the ECU. The injectors go haywire, ignition fires out of sync and relays fail to energise and the fuel pump stops working.
All this, i hope, just gives you a clue. As to a solution to solve your problems, i really dunno if PML will believe this or if some workshop is wiling to help you. If you got any more queries, you know what to do....
Cheers and good luck.
