Same experience here. After sitting outside during work day, (coldest to date around 5 to 10 degF), I've noted a very slight delay, sometime less than a second, with same picture of coiled wire. Once start sequence does begin, start has been instant, very little engine cranking required.

That's because you were in too much of hurry :) Down here in Texas we take our time getting in a vehicle to check for scorpions etc. So by the time we hit the Start button the engine's all warmed up and ready.:D

Seriously, if you are getting a glo plug light, you can test to see if the glo plugs are really triggered by the driver's car door.

FWIW I have verified that the high pitch sound in th engine compartment is triggered by opening the driver's door but it hasn't gotten cold enough here to see if the driver's door trigger's the glo plugs.

Funf Dreisig

p.s. AFAIK BMW doesn't bother to mention the "yellow picture of a coiled wire" in the manual.

Keep foot firmly on the brake, then press button. I had a similar issue and discovered I was pressing the brake firmly enough. All good now.

My 35d starts almost immediately, even in -30c weather!

They mention a "preglowing" indicator on page 60 of the 2010 manual in the "Starting" section, but there is no picture or description of what it looks like.

Thanks. After reading that section I wonder if the 35d only uses "preglowing" when the engine is cold and outside temp is below 32F. Or whether these are the conditions where the time for the glow plugs to preheat the cylinders is long enough to cause a noticeable delay :dunno:

AFAIK all diesels need some sort of preheating to start up a cold engine. For example, my Kubota has a glow plug light that turns on when I switch on the ignition and goes off when the engine is ready to start. This delay can vary between almost instantly when its hot outside, to 5-10 seconds when it's cold. If I forget to wait until the light goes out, the engine still starts but it may take two-three extra strokes and it smokes quite a bit for a few seconds.

Funf Dreisig

I found the following from a 2003 paper titled:

Recent Developments in BMW´s Diesel Technology
Fritz Steinparzer, BMW Motoren, Austria

"Another feature of the reworked engines is the spontaneous preglow system. The new glow plugs are designed for 6 Volt, but for an extremely short preglow time, it is possible to overload them for a limited period, also the mass to be heated has been dramatically reduced.
This new preglow system delivers approximately 150 degrees higher temperature at the glowplug tip and occurs in less than 3 seconds.
The effect for the customer is that in the new engine there is no preglowing
necessary at temperatures above minus 5º Celsius (23º Fahrenheit). The maximum preglow time at minus 25º Celsius (-13º Fahrenheit) is reduced from 9 to 2.5 seconds compared with the predecessor."

Realize some data may now be out of date, but I think the overall idea is the same; a maximum of 2.5 seconds preglowing needed at -13 degF.

FWIW - my real world experience is this: at -30c my X5 started without delay. It was very impressive!

I don't have any delay and I've driven mine in very cold temps this winter and last. If you can get it started, take it to the dealer. You might have a low battery? I keep mine on a battery tender at night in my garage...

Craig

Good find:thumbup:

This would certainly explain why 35ds start right up unless the engine is pretty cold. And even then it only takes a few seconds.

What it doesn't explain is the high pitch whine in the engine compartment and the voltage drop every time the driver's door is opened.:dunno:

Funf Dreisig

Maybe the others are garaged and your is not? Or maybe the others are in a heated garage overnight?