'04 E53 - Puff of blue smoke on startup 3.0d - diesel

[m5james]

I know nothing of the diesel BMW's, but that's a common problem in the V8 gas motors. It's actually a valve on the back of the intake manifold, basically a clogged PCV valve.

[vsx05]

Still getting white smoke at start up. I think it is getting worse. Could it be because of the new exhaust system? Will go away after engine worms up but still smoke a bit at idle thou.

Got car checked out a few days ago and stealership said everything working fine.

Anyone have any ideas?

Cheers

[JoshGM]

Totally ABNORMAL to expect a NORMAL diesel engine not to smoke on cold start!!

[rb0135]

I'm getting the same, sometimes worse than other timeswhen the engine is cold. I noticed that when I get the smoke, the engine seems to run rough, but only for about 20-30 secs. I feel that it is just the ECU giving a rich mixture. It does smell diesel, not Oil or Sweet (antifreeze) smell.

I have read that a clogged/dirty air filter wont help with the cold starts, so I am going to change the air filter in the next few weeks, as mine has done nearly 90000km on the original.

[powers1]

Originally Posted by rb0135

I'm getting the same, sometimes worse than other timeswhen the engine is cold. I noticed that when I get the smoke, the engine seems to run rough, but only for about 20-30 secs. I feel that it is just the ECU giving a rich mixture. It does smell diesel, not Oil or Sweet (antifreeze) smell.

I have read that a clogged/dirty air filter wont help with the cold starts, so I am going to change the air filter in the next few weeks, as mine has done nearly 90000km on the original.

Clogged air filter will just give you black smoke thru rev range and a performance drop.

White smoke smelling of Diesel,is generally related to:-
-Glow plugs.First thing and easiest to check.Try waiting 25 secs before cranking engine.If you find that by this mehod it smokes less on start-up,then you may have a bad plug(s)
-Leaking injector(s).As the car is stationery overnight for example,a leaking injector will leak diesel to chamber and in the morning when you start it up,engine wont be able to burn it and will expel it out of the exhaust.

These are the most common faults on ANY car .May also be sensor related,such as fuel pressure ..but you would have a EML on!
Good luck

[rb0135]

Originally Posted by powers1

Clogged air filter will just give you black smoke thru rev range and a performance drop.

White smoke smelling of Diesel,is generally related to:-
-Glow plugs.First thing and easiest to check.Try waiting 25 secs before cranking engine.If you find that by this mehod it smokes less on start-up,then you may have a bad plug(s)
-Leaking injector(s).As the car is stationery overnight for example,a leaking injector will leak diesel to chamber and in the morning when you start it up,engine wont be able to burn it and will expel it out of the exhaust.

These are the most common faults on ANY car .May also be sensor related,such as fuel pressure ..but you would have a EML on!
Good luck

Thanks for the info. Checked for error codes, none present and no warning lights on.

I ran a few tests and these are the results.

1) I tested by waiting about 5 seconds after the glow plug warming light went out and started the car. No smoke at all.
2) I tested starting the car just before the glow plug warming light went out (still on) and got smoke.

Both tests ran when engine cold, roughly 10 degrees Celcius. When engine warm, didnt get any smoke.

So, for me, it probably turns out to be impatience in starting the car. Since the tests (probably about 10 times), I have always waited 5 secs or so after the glow plug warming light goes out before starting the car, and I havent had the smoke issue, nor the rough running as mentioned after I start it.

[m5james]

I like how it takes one simple turn and the car will crank over until it finally starts vs most cars where we have to hold the key in the turn position till it fires. It seems that BMW would have done something for diesel owners where you could climb into the car, turn the key once and it'd automatically fire up on it's own once the glowplug light went out to prevent people from starting the motor prematurely.

[bigwave2255]

on my late 2005 3.0d i have not seen a glow plug light come on at all, didnt even know i had one , though our temp rarely gets as low as 10 degrees c, it is a little stinky on start up first thing in the morning (diesel smell) but goes away within a second or two of moving (oh its done 75000 km)

Ewen

[rb0135]

Originally Posted by bigwave2255

on my late 2005 3.0d i have not seen a glow plug light come on at all, didnt even know i had one , though our temp rarely gets as low as 10 degrees c, it is a little stinky on start up first thing in the morning (diesel smell) but goes away within a second or two of moving (oh its done 75000 km)

Ewen

Well, I am presuming the little yellow light on the fuel gauge is the Glow Plug light. Am i wrong???? The reason i thought that was the Glow Plug light is if I try to start the engine straight away, it wont start. Waiting for the light to go out (after a few seconds) then cranking the engine starts it first time everytime.

geez, am i being mislead?

Where I live, it barely gets below 7-10C in the mornings as well...

[bigwave2255]

on my car the little yellow light indicates low fuel

Ewen