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Old 12-20-2012, 07:35 PM
opienor opienor is offline
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Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Norway
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So unfortunately Iīm back to revive this thread on my 2006 E53 X5. This cold start issue reoccured last winter but didnīt cause too much problems as temperatures were fairly high.
Now winter is back, and so are the problems. Same thing: cranks just fine, but total diesel starvation as the electric feeder pump doesnīt start when engaging the ignition.
Took the car to the mechanics and history repeats itself: car starts like a charm every time (around freezing), glowing works fine, fuel nozzles are fine, battery is fine, no associated error codes. They change the fuel pump relay as itīs a cheap part and could be the issue.
Got the car back yesterday. Today outside temp is -12C and the car doesnīt start. Electric feeder pump kicks in about 1/20 ignition attempts.
So I set out on a little trial and error quest of my own. Suspecting cold/humidity build up in electronic components I use a hairdryer to heat the electronics compartment under the hood up to room temperature. I also give all connections and relays a good "shake" in case there are any bad connections.
After that a new start attempt, but no luck. No feeder pump kicks in.

So I place an electric car heater on top of the engine, close the hood and let the compartment heat up slightly for about 20mins. Still no luck on starting.
As a last resort I move the car heater to the left side of the car (as seen facing forward), blowing hot air downward.
Voila: after a couple minutes the feeder pump now starts up on every ignition attempt. The engine starts at once on several consecutive start attempts.
I donīt know what exact components are located down there on the left, but most noticeable is a square one with five thin metal pipes exiting it forward.

It seems now I may be onto something, but absolutely without knowing exactly what Not believing my findings I let the engine cool way down again for a couple of hours before repeating this last procedure. Same thing as above: everything works flawlessly after heating the left side for a few minutes.

Any idea what this could be?
This car is now giving me a headache all over again. As much as I love it Iīm also getting really frustrated with this issue. It has already this winter ruined one long weekend and several appointments I never got to.
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