X5 starting problem

[Stevedanlynn]

My old ( 2003, E53) 3.0 Diesel X5 has served me well over the years and has a full service record. I had it serviced and MOT'd etc. about a month ago an asked for the starting problem to be resolved. The car was difficult to start at any time ie first thing in the morning or even if I stopped the engine at a garage only to fill it up with fuel. A squirt of 'easy start' into the air intake always did the trick and got it started. The battery has lots of power and the starter motor is giving plenty of torque.
The BMW service manager said he renewed the fuel filter in the service and the starting did improve for a while. The problem has now returned ,well maybe 50% of the time, but its a bit reluctant to catch 100% of the time. Has anyone resolved a similar fault? My next guess is a fuel injector or the injector pump, but it runs fine once its going, I presume its got to be something that happens only on the initial start up.

Any guidance is much appreciated.
Regards
Steve

[helix402]

Pre supply pump is a common cause of the fault you describe.

[Stevedanlynn]

hi, could it be the fuel pump relay? can I test the relay somehow or bridge it ? I don't want to buy a new pre supply fuel pump without checking that it is faulty
cheers

[Stevedanlynn]

Hello again
My 2003 BMW X5 E53 3.0 Diesel is very reluctant to start
I have just put in a new fuel pump relay ( light green) but this did not solve the problem. The engine cranks very well , but will not start,hot or cold 90% of the time. A squirt of 'easy start' has always done the trick, and once going the engine doesn't miss a beat. Does this rule out the fuel pump? Why is it called a PRE fuel pump? is there another mechanical pump that takes over when the engine is running? Its odd that this problem is only present when starting the car. Any thoughts?

[roofer]

Glow plugs/relay?

[Stevedanlynn]

Hi, would faulty glow plugs or glow plug relay make it reluctant to start even when the engine is hot? I could drive for 100 miles ,stop for fuel and it will not start again when I get back in. (unless I use 'easy start')I thought the engine block would heat the diesel sufficient for it to spontaneously ignite when it is compressed, the glow plugs only needed when everything is cold.

[Fas1975]

Do you have an OBD reader to see if any codes are being thrown up?

I've got a petrol BMW but it showed similar symptoms to what you described and it was a cam position sensor, but that will store a code that an OBD reader will pickup . worth checking

[Stevedanlynn]

cheers! ,I have a 'chinese' OBD reader I bought on ebay for £20 a few years back so I will give it a try.

[SebringMan]

Stevedanlynn said:

cheers! ,I have a 'chinese' OBD reader I bought on ebay for £20 a few years back so I will give it a try.

If it is the same as my cheapo reader (a U380) it will be useless.

IMHO you want to get it onto INPA or ISTA. If you are in Warwick I can scan the car with the former.

Here is the issue I have with the el cheapo reader on mine. To be fair it wasn't necessary but it saved me quite a bit of time with diagnosing the car.

SebringMan said:

It seems that despite me cleaning the car quite often and pampering it where I can it demanded more attention! It is fair to say it has not been the best of months for now, but maybe it was partly my fault. The niggle list is certainly alot smaller and after Xmas I'll be dealing with the very few that are now left.

Firstly the car decided it would throw a bit of a tantrum after I left work. The fuel tank was close to empty when I left work ; I planned to brim it on the way back, but I did not bank on the traffic being absolutely horrific! At this point a misfire joined the party with the car losing quite a bit of power. Sure enough, the EML light wanted to make an appearance too. With a misfiring car and the damage that can happen to the cats I dumped the car back at work and picked it up later on when the roads were quieter and nursed the car back home.

Plugging my generic code reader into the car was futile ; it claimed the car had no errors at all (For the record, that was with a U380 code reader).



Clearly, that was codswallop - It would have been nice if the car was running right, but running like a 3 legged dog, that was not going to wash with me! It was time to plug the car into the well-known INPA system that quite a few BMW owners talk about! It was fair to say the codes were just a little more comprehensive!

These were the errors that greeted me:

210 Misfire, cyl.6, without cylinder cutout
149 Error if tank is empty
201 Misfire, cyl.6, with cylinder cutout

Normally I'd order the part online and wait. But time was of the essence. I needed the car for the next two days for a change and I had access to no other car bar a hire one! Something had to be done, fast.

Usually, I'd switch coils around to ensure the coil is at fault but given it was cold and dark outside I simply bought another coil and thought I would see if it would fix it, as well as buying a spare for the future should another coil decide to fail. Sure enough, the coil was dead! The old coil could have looked better mind you!:

[helix402]

The Pre supply pump is called the pre supply pump as it supplies fuel to the engine when the ignition is turned on. Without being rude several posts back I suggested your fault was due to the pre supply pump being faulty. Might it be worth you taking your car to someone who can check if the pre supply pump is working?
There are two more fuel pumps on your car, high pressure on the engine and lift pump in the tank.

[Stevedanlynn]

Thanks Helix 402
Yes, thanks for your earlier post hence me changing the relay as that was relatively easy and only a few pounds. Where is the pre supply pump? The main electric fuel pump is a pain to get at if its the one in the fuel tank, access under the back seat and I don't have a gizmo to take the seal off anyway. My local agents want £135/hr plus £70 to run the diagnosis plus parts and all plus the dreaded VAT. so I estimate in the region of £800 for a new pump. The car is only worth about £4k so I would like to have a go at resolving it myself.
My Chinese Maxiscan OBDII reader cant talk to my BMW for some reason, though it works fine on other cars. But then windows going down on their own and then not going up is another story about X5 electrics.

[helix402]

Pre supply pump is under the floor:




Used one:



New one:

[helix402]

This may help too:

[Stevedanlynn]

Hi Please excuse my ignorance,. but " its under the floor" is a bit vague for me . Do you mean I gain access to remove the pump from under the car, is there an external floor pan I have to remove to see it or can I lift carpets inside and is there is a cover plate to remove. I can find a youtube vid for the removal of the pump in the tank but not a pre supply pump. I cant hear anything like a pump start inside the car or at the fuel filler cap, when I turn on the engine, so I think your diagnosis is correct as I understand it should run and hum for about 5 seconds. Looking at your photograph its an inline pump with a rubber collar so if you can point me where to look.
Thanks

[helix402]

The pump is accessed under the car by removing plastic trims. My training notes in my last post show that on the M57 E46 the pump runs with ign on for 1 minute, I imagine the E53 should be the same.

[Stevedanlynn]

Thanks everyone, I will pull it off and test it tomorrow, something about Mothers day today!!

[Ten]

Hi Steve, Helix

I have exactly the same starting problem with my BMW X5 3.0d E56 2004.
My local BMW mechanic quoted me AUD 1,000 - 1,200 to have it replaced.
After seeing your post, I have decided to do it myself.

I have bought the pre supply pump from eBay and am ready to replace it myself today.
I was under the car just now and I have managed to find the fuel filter, but not sure where the pre supply pump is.

Steve/Helix, any tips?

Regards
Tony

[Ten]

Hi Everyone

Re: BMW X5 E53 3.0d Intermittent Starting Problem

Basically, when I turn on the ignition, the engine cranks but doesn't start.

I would then repeat the process until more than 10 - 20 times but the engine wouldn't start.

But when I turn on the ignition and I can heard a humming noise coming from under the car, the engine would start.
If I were to it turn off and on again, the engine would start again.

However, when the car is left turned off for more than a couple of minutes, the problem would start again.

I have progressively replaced the following parts by to no avail:
1. the pump relay;
2. the glow plug control unit;
3. the pre supply pump;

Would appreciate any help from the forum.
Any ideas anyone?

Regards
Tony

[helix402]

I would suggest looking at live data whilst cranking, something must be amiss. If you look at my pics of a good engine this will help with baseline figs. Once you can see what’s missing/wrong you can go from there.

[Ten]

Thanks Helix, will do that with my Carly for BMW app.