X5 3.0i Poor Start

[salenks]

Even after long drives battery shows 12.3 to 12.4 volts and i heard it should be closer to 13. I do normally drive very short trips but even after a 500 mile trip I had a problem a day or two later.

[SlickGT1]

Then very well could be. I just drove to a store. 5 miles. Car running at start up at 12.8-13v. During drive 13.8 - 14.0v. 4min into drive, stayed at 14v. 14v all the time after that. In traffic and parking stayed at 14v. My battery is OE BMW, 5 years old. Lol. Yea your battery is strange in comparison.

And yes, I put my car on trickle charger once a month. Or so, mostly if I don't forget.

[salenks]

I had a 2002 325xi (purchased brand new) and never had a problem like this. Sold it after 6 years of ownership with original battery. My guess is the battery but non-original fuel pump can't be good also. I will replace both but i think something else is the actual problem. Poor quality battery is only addition to the actual problem.

[SlickGT1]

Yea, but you have the maf, and swapping it is free. Unplugging it is even cheaper. I would not recommend anything but OE for Maf. Battery is possibly also crapping out. The pump, I don't know, but could be flooding, injectors generally control flow, and not pump, unless the injectors are leaking, due to the greater pressure. It sucks when you have some aftermarket part, and you are not sure if it's screwing up things down hill.

[bastereo]

The fuel pressure regulator is in the fuel filter. So a higher pressure pump should be ok as the regulator returns the extra to the fuel tank.

But seriously just get the correct pump.

No help on the rough start. Mine just started to misfire for the first 10-30 seconds after a cold start, hasn't looked into it yet.

Sent from my SGH-i917 using Board Express

[J-FEEZY]

hey guys what's up.

so how did this problem come about? Did it happen gradually or did it happen over night? Did it happen right after the fuel pump or battery exchange or the spark plugs or another part replaced? what's really going on?

Listen to your car its running like crap. do you like tune ups? these bmw coils are junk after 70,000 miles... ask me how I know and NO they don't always throw a code ask me how I know BUT sounding that bad you would think it would right? (as you can tell I'm still bitter with the problem I had LOL)

12.4V dc standing still car off and 14V dc and some change car running has been normal between me and my very more inclined mechanic friends for years now.


GOOD LUCK and sorry if this reads weird. I just KNOW these coils suck and they don't always throw codes. IMO it is not wasted money to replace these coils as part of a tune up lets say after 60,000 miles. Ya the ones in my Toyota Tacoma are going on 230,000 miles thats why I just couldn't wrap my head around the coils being the problem on my X5 3.0i at the time.

P.S. I am specifically talking about the M54 3.0i engine only.

[salenks]

Thanks for your information. I replaced the spark plugs recently but never replaced the coils. I will take your advice and replace the coils.

The problem started gradually, about 2 months ago. Nothing was changed prior to that. Now it is getting a lot worse. As I mentioned, I installed LPG (tank was placed where spare tire used to be) and had to replace the battery with weaker battery (72Ah/720A) because there is no room in the trunk side compartment for larger one. I left Optima battery to be professionally charged and I will see if it makes a difference, and let you guys know.

I think the car sounds worse on the recording then in reality.

What kind of problem did you have?


Thanks again.

[salenks]

Should I buy these coils if they would improve performance?


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Thanks

[bastereo]

Your voltage is too low, as said it should be closer to 14 volts.

Does the battery quickly start the car every time? That low of a voltage would barely charge the battery.

I would take care of that issue first, then come back to the rough start after fixing the low voltage issue.

Sent from my SGH-i917 using Board Express

[J-FEEZY]

Originally Posted by salenks

Hello,


I have been having issues with the battery where the voltage drops to 12.3 V and from what I've heard, it should be 12.5 or more volts. This is not the original battery but a Exide 72Ah/720A and same happens with another battery which is Optima 50Ah/815A. Could low battery voltage cause this? Or what else could be the problem?


Sasa

Originally Posted by salenks

I will try that. However, voltmeter says battery has 14V when car is running which means it is charging properly. Same deal after longer drive. Batteries are definatelly bad in my opinion. Warranty sucks here in Serbia though.

which is it dude? is it 12.3v when the car is off or the car running? OR is it 14v when the car is running and 12.3v when the car is off? OR is it 14V while the car is running and you had a volt meter on it and saw the voltage drop to 12.3V Whats really going on?

I believe you when you say it sounds worse on the recording than standing next to it. makes sense.

If its me i'd get the "oem genuine bmw" from ecs tunning. they are $3 bucks more each. I like to go oem on that kind of stuff untill something else is "proven" to blow it away. those other ones look OE replacement which you can find on esc tunning for alot less. just sayin

The problem I had was the sound you have but ya you can't really notice right away that your shiz is running like crap. I also had the infamous hesitation in the throttle from a stopped position. There was a guy on here the other day and his explanation of what his symptoms were was exactly Word for Word how I would have explained my issue. He even said he had a misfire on cylinder 3. Some dude comes in and tells him its the torque converter and off he went and made an appointment with a tranny shop... guess what he got.. a new converter! you think that solved his misfire problem too? LOL

disclaimer: I have no idea if coils are going to solve your problem. I can only tell you what happened to me. When I put new coils in my shiz my shiz ran great. The problem in the throttle hesitation was no longer there and the sound of the engine running improved noticeably.