What's new

"Hate BMWs".... Deep Deep sigh.

matty

Border raider.
Joined
Feb 8, 2022
Member Number
139
Posts
627
Location
England Scotish border
Ok I admit i am in the mire deep or deeper than i wanted to be lets put it that way.

I bought a non running 2010 Diesel MINI, Yes Mini... Why? I hear you shout. Three reasons it was there and it is a diesel and i was being silly AGAIN!.
The Story.
A woman bought car from main dealer 2013 with 45K miles on it .
It ran great just sevicing tyres and brakes belts etc, the friday night before christmass she drives home parks car on driveway. christmas happened and new year Husband goes to work 4th january and in under 1 hour is back home, no work until february . So He immediately booked 10 days in Spain.
Back home Ice covered Mini and she jumps in It wont start nearly started but just did not manage it.
Husband Tries Jumping it off with Range rover and still no start.
they ring my mate who has a car trailer. He charged then £20 to transport the Mini to a Local repair shop Thinking its Just a battery or something simple.
Two weeks went by , My mate gets a phone call from a rather irate Mini owning woman, " Do you Buy scrap cars" Yes They agree a Price £400, and she tells him its his call around pick up the documents and pay her. This done he goes next morning collects the Mini from the garage, discovers there is £180 to pay for Four hours diagnostic time. . Mate rings the woman she Said she would Be there in a moment.
Mate loads the mini, woman turns up, and sets about the Proprietor Wanting details of what he had done in the four hours. He apparently was vague to say n the least and in the end waved the diagnostic bill and beckoned her off the premises never to return. This she whole heatedly agreed to and my mate jumped in his truck left them arguing.
My mini purchase.
That same morning I saw the car parked at my mates house and asked the details and how much would buy it? I got the above story . Jumped in tried it and it was indeed so close to starting i decided to have a gamble and agreed £500, delivered that day. 1 hour latter its back at the farm.
The Car, the gory details so far.
Next morning bright and early i set too looking round this mini, red tidy bodywork no dents or rust just slight lacquer peel(roof) but only minor, interior mint no tears holes never been smoked it clean car.
Good tyres about a 3rd worn , Tried again to start it listening for the Lift pump in the tank and i swear i heard it pump even click out under the hood. Clutch down press button its annoyingly near to running but Basically NO show.
Battery got low put it on charge, wile i started looking under the bonnet and took engine covers off and removed injector wires checked each injector and all without exception showed 0.5 ohms so all four electrically at least should be ok. Checked the fuel pressure regulator it again was showing as good and same with the Crank sensor and Can sensor. Looked good to me without the proper details from a workshop manual, i was fairly happy with my basic multimeeter test so far.
Went back in workshop a few hours later Battery showing 13.1 volts Good , jumped in car key in pushed it home and AHH! Could hear no pump in tank , Thinking i must have upset something i went over what i had done again No all good.
Back in turned it on again it ran but then stopped. Before it built low pressure side up to cut off point.
I have No Power to Pump wiring but fuel gauge terninals have power, so not sure if its intermitant wiring issue or the pump itself blown a fuse/ relay faulty etc.

High pressure pump fuse ok, But relay in diesel injector fuse panel no power . so i thought ECU or possible immobilizer issue.
Took ECU to another friend who maps and puts tunes VWs/ skoda diesels, he did what he termed a basic function test it looked ok but said he could check that ecu no further with his gear (no idea why) and he stripped the back off for a vissual, said it was dry no obviously blown components and sealed it back up and charged me nothing, said you brought me enough work over the years good luck with it i think its fine.
That was this morning, and i just came in from doing what i should have done earlier thats Scanned for codes. Guess WHAT? Nothing. No codes.:lol2
So its time to rethink gather my thoughts and attack it from a different angle.
Mechanical. OK i got the power to tank pump issue to solve so Check each and every fuse in the whole car, Then its anoying. . Minds working overtime is it a high presure pump long term falliure been grinding mettal particles into the uinjection rail back into tank clogging injectors and siezing the electric tank pump into the deal.
Is it The ubiquitous problematic N47 BMW diesel engines timing chain tensioner lost its oil/ tension over the long cold christmass break and she jumps in spins it over and it jumped a tooth on the chain?
If your still reading this nightmare i might need prayers for sure certainly moral support and please please please offer any insight you might have to help a silly old git who bought a BMW diesel engined MINI and really shuda known better. Its not like i was born yesterday, but i sure as hell act like it at times. :lol2
 
Last edited:
The last diesels I worked on was a Detroit 671 and a Peugeot 304 diesel both back in the 80'... :gerg
Your diagnosis is as good as it gets, Start with all the basics such as timing, valves and fuel pump etc. Plugged fuel filters is another option too...
Good luck and lets us know how you make out !
 
Ok I admit i am in the mire deep or deeper than i wanted to be lets put it that way...

I've looked at the mystical interwebs, and it does indeed look like your car has an immobilizer feature, and the problem you describe sounds exactly like the product of it's function

Go forth into the interwebs, find the many different forum discussions regarding this problem, and exercise the 'usual' remedies specific to the problem

Your keys/fobs/batteries/etc will all be part of your path forward to either solve the problem, or to rule out this issue, or just to frustrate you further

Once you have made your way through the process, remove the ECU from the car and send it out for the service of deleting the immobilizer feature from the car's brain
 
I just bought a BMW!:lol3
IMG_7864-XL.jpg
 
Its Looking Like the Intermitant .. sort of.. Now you are audible now your Not in tank pump(Lift Pump to suit your flavour) Is Getting Power after a Fuse Check found one blown in the Under bonnet ( The Hood In USA talk) (Little fuse Box, Not sure what it was no details on lid i saw or in basic manual. but it has seemingly restored the power to the pump loom / Pump terminal connector. found some slight discoloration on contact pin in this connector, i don't think its preventing a connection for one moment, but i cleaned it up anyway just for the sake of common sense .
Had Two hours on it this morning after last nights Fuse campaign. Mate Steve came around brought a Old Vag com I think its bassed on OBD2 Lead and a Laptop , this software shows live data better than the Delphi / autodata tooling i Borrowed. On cranking the mini over he was of the opinion the timing chain had not jumped a tooth looking at the waves and arrived at his his opinion and i could see where he was drawing his conclusion.
Like he said "Its not full proof but a bit more than an educated guess based on listening.
Put it this way i am not stripping timing covers etc fooling about with mirrors / lights looking for marks or feeling for TDC down an injector port at this point anyway.
Took The injectors out, the garage said they took them out. I dont like calling people liars but put it this way, numbers 1and three from timing chain end (not sure how BMW number them official ) Came out relatively beasy but two and four were not siezed but vigour had to be employed if you get me, so ill let you decide if they had really removed them or not:lol2
Stripped the injectors on the bench no metal fragments in any of them cleaned them up back together .
Dropping them in at work when i am in tonight,CAT Fitter will test them for a bottle of wine to have with his Sunday lunch. I got the injector seals out and put them with the injectors so he can match me up exactly new ones.
Bear with me nearly finished . Cleaned out injector ports and wile they were out decided i wanted to at least attempt to free off any potentialy carboned up piston rings, so i diveded up a bottle of injector cleaner into four and poured it down each injector hole. Thinking being strong cleaner might do something, and as i am changing the oil fillter etc could not see any harm in it other than me probably wasting a bottle of injector cleaner.
:lol2
 
Fob and/or key batteries - and connections - can cause immobilizer issues

Immobilizer issues should be easy to work through on that vehicle - and the proper path forward in ownership of the vehicle involves deleting of the immobilizer feature
 
I'm not familiar with how an Immobilizer functions on that vehicle. Is it that easy to permanently bypass the system?
No its not, the keys can be problamatic too, Well Just about everything is problematic its a BMW N47 engine BMW fragileness on everything else.
Just youtube or google search BMW N47(4 cylinder ) or N47(6 cvlinder) They are a nightmare a bad engine, the Timing chain at the wrong end of thev engine so any maintainance is an engine and box out job . They got valve issues hydraulic Cam chain tentioners are a regular fail Many companies here kind of specilise in repairing these engines its so common. going rate for a cam chain swap. is around £850 Most sujesting a clutch job at the same time as the box haS TO COME OFF.
the high pressure diesel pump is very poorly made from chease or perhaps butter and it wears out relatively quickly and spreads the mettal fragments from the throughout the fuel system blocking injectors and sending particles back via the returns into the fank to be vacumed up :lol2by the low presure lift pump which is distroyed by the particles eventualy but not before it contaminates the inline diesel filter and causes again premature clogging.
The plastic intakeuck manifold gets filled with gunk from the EGR proses and this not only clogs and gums up the swirl flap mechanisum, if that is not bad enough if ran too long with a stuck EGR its common for a melted holed manifold to happen needing replacing. Its a bad engine type The BMW N47 range with lots of problems,
 
Isn't that BMW diesel made by some Italian company? IIRC VM Motori ?? :dunno
No its BMWs very own nightmare creation AFAIK. The VM motori diesels were Fitted to UK / europe spec Jeep XJ cherokees. And vEarlier in range rovers.
A very good engine powerfull an d ecconomical. i returned 38MPG (UK Gallon) on my Manual 1996 Cheroke Limited and it went like stink too .

N47 is a BMW enginee and a well known nightmare down to typical BMW poor quality, the timing chains are very poor well known.
Cut and paste Straight from wikipedia. Our enine is a 94Hp 1.6 (N47 D16)


EngineDisplacementCompression RatioPowerTorqueYears
N47D161.6 L (1,598 cc)16.5:170 kW (94 hp) at 4000 rpm235 N⋅m (173 lb⋅ft) at 1500-2750 rpm2013
85 kW (114 hp) at 4000 rpm260 N⋅m (192 lb⋅ft) at 1500-2750 rpm2012
N47D202.0 L (1,995 cc)16.5:185 kW (114 hp) at 4000 rpm260 N⋅m (192 lb⋅ft) at 1750 rpm09/2009
105 kW (141 hp) at 4000 rpm300 N⋅m (221 lb⋅ft) at 3000 rpm03/2007
120 kW (161 hp) at 4000 rpm340 N⋅m (251 lb⋅ft) at 2000 rpm09/2009
130 kW (174 hp) at 4000 rpm350 N⋅m (258 lb⋅ft) at 3000 rpm03/2007
135 kW (181 hp) at 4000 rpm380 N⋅m (280 lb⋅ft) at 2750 rpm03/2010
16.1:1150 kW (201 hp) at 4400 rpm400 N⋅m (295 lb⋅ft) at 2000 rpm03/2010
16.5:1160 kW (215 hp) at 4400 rpm450 N⋅m (332 lb⋅ft) at 2500 rpm2011

Timing chain problems​

The N47 engine family is prone to excessive timing chain wear and premature failure.[3] Rattling noise from the rear of the engine is indicative of the condition. Timing chain failure may call for engine replacement or a costly repair. The most seriously affected units which require the most extensive repairs were produced from 01.03.2007 to 05.01.2009.[4] However, there have been frequent reports of timing chain failure in 1, 3 and 5 series BMW engines manufactured from as early as 2004 until at least 2011 in diesel versions. At times the failure has resulted in a dangerous cut out of the engine while the vehicle was being driven - sometimes at relatively high speed. A "Quality Enhancement" was issued by BMW for some, but not all vehicles, but has since been discontinued.


Other issues​

The return spring on the turbo's wastegate was not originally lubricated or covered, this frequently resulted in early failure causing the waste-gate to remain partially or fully open. With the subsequent loss in compression, fuel consumption increased by 30–50%. The problem was described by BMW engineers as a "known fault" and was immediately repaired (BMW mobile engineers even carried boxes of an improved spring), however BMW refused to compensate customers for the excessive fuel consumption and denied this fault was their liability.

As the cars equipped with this engine are coming of age, some hoses in the engine bay can start to break down. This is not to be ignored, even though this does not illuminate the CEL, it just sets a code in the ECU. If the vacuum hose supplying the EGR cooler bypass valve gets a hole rubbed in it, or breaks down from old age and oil spray, the EGR cooler won't get bypassed during the engine warmup period. This causes excessive buildup in the cooler matrix, and when the engine warms up these solid chunks of buildup can detach from the EGR cooler and get sucked into the plastic intake tube, melting holes in the intake tube, causing a massive boost leak and in very rare cases an engine fire. BMW has issued a recall to over 1.6 million vehicles in 2018 for the EGR issues.[5]
 
BMW really lost it IMHO, what a nightmare. Haven’t driven a BMW since my dad had a 733i with a manual 5 speed back in the 80’s and 90’s. That car was fantastic and lasted 270K miles till it got t-boned….
 
Time to scrap it?
Its running if i power the tank pump from a recuperate battery, its not powering the pump off the cars wiring, i have not yet found out exactly why, yet( not seeing any obvious fuses or conector problems. add to this the tank pump itself is slow/ sluggish and not keeping up with flow, the filter is a long cylindrical affair in the rear wheel arch under a arch guard panel, it has a heater unit held on the base with a big clip. The Pump is drawing 5.7 Amp which seems a lot so possible more than just restriction in filter and its all the time so think its got some heavy resistance in the pump itself.
Everything built back up today injectors in new seals and wont try it just yet until i check things out in case it is the pump with some metal particles from the high pressure pump possible disintegrating , i want to get a new pump, and wile i got the old one out, i have a nice 9 inch hole easily assecible to dredge the tank with a magnet see if i can find any mettal particles , I might just pump out all the fuel and clean the tank in situation but will try the easy magnet dredge see if it throws anything up.
I wont scrap this car, bought it as a project and i am determined to sort it out fully. It sounds quiet enough on the chains and the 2010s are suposed to have improved chains and kit fitted, so i will just look in oil when i drain it again look for glitter, if i see bits, i am having engine and box out do the chains and the clutch wile i am at it. if i keep it serviced it should do 200K+ in theory. Its a very clean tidy car Diesel and 70 MPG and free road Tax and even cheap to insure.
Its getting put right come hell or high water.
 
Last edited:
Its running if i power the tank pump from a recuperate battery, its not powering the pump off the cars wiring, i have not yet found out exactly why, yet( not seeing any obvious fuses or conector problems. add to this the tank pump itself is slow/ sluggish and not keeping up with flow, the filter is a long cylindrical affair in the rear wheel arch under a arch guard panel, it has a heater unit held on the base with a big clip. The Pump is drawing 5.7 Amp which seems a lot so possible more than just restriction in filter and its all the time so think its got some heavy resistance in the pump itself.
Everything built back up today injectors in new seals and wont try it just yet until i check things out in case it is the pump with some metal particles from the high pressure pump possible disintegrating , i want to get a new pump, and wile i got the old one out, i have a nice 9 inch hole easily assecible to dredge the tank with a magnet see if i can find any mettal particles , I might just pump out all the fuel and clean the tank in situation but will try the easy magnet dredge see if it throws anything up.
I wont scrap this car, bought it as a project and i am determined to sort it out fully. It sounds quiet enough on the chains and the 2010s are suposed to have improved chains and kit fitted, so i will just look in oil when i drain it again look for glitter, if i see bits, i am having engine and box out do the chains and the clutch wile i am at it. if i keep it serviced it should do 200K+ in theory. Its a very clean tidy car Diesel and 70 MPG and free road Tax and even cheap to insure.
Its getting put right come hell or high water.
“you’re a better man than I am, Gunga Din”
 
Wonderful story, thanks for taking us along matty

I enjoy the relative simplicity of my 2003 VW TDI.
 
the TDI especially in basic PD form is a fantastic engine, and is indeed everything this BMW isnt. :lol2
For me, it’s a keeper. Manual transmission, enhanced turbo, chip tune, injectors, clutch… the only gremlin a devilish voltage drop to the ABS/ESP board. Probably the voltage regulator, we’ll see. But such a joy to drive! :ricky
 
For me, it’s a keeper. Manual transmission, enhanced turbo, chip tune, injectors, clutch… the only gremlin a devilish voltage drop to the ABS/ESP board. Probably the voltage regulator, we’ll see. But such a joy to drive! :ricky
I am always impressed how smooth running the VW(VAG) TDIs are, even the 1422cc Triples are super smooth running.
 
Back
Top Bottom