E63 630i Running lumpy

[Waynester]

So just popped out in the car into town, all fine. Started the car to come home and it’s like it’s not running on all 6 cylinders..really lumpy, low power. I just about got it home feathering the throttle, and the engine management light then came on.

Took the valve cover off to look for anything obvious, popped the coils out and put back in.. I don’t know?
I let it cool down and restarted, but it’s still the same, revs like it’s missing a cylinder..

Managed to get it booked in with a local garage Tuesday

Any thoughts from you knowledgeable guys.. Coils?

Oh & it’s a 2006 N52

Unfortunately I don’t have a code reader

[d_a_n1979]

Deffo time to get the car plugged into see what it says

But yup; coils or plugs. Could be air intake / MAF related also...

It's times like this that something like the Creator C310 comes in really handy and at only £50, it's worth buying & then keeping in the car!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Creator-C310-System-Engin...

[Waynester]

d_a_n1979 said:

Deffo time to get the car plugged into see what it says

But yup; coils or plugs. Could be air intake / MAF related also...

It's times like this that something like the Creator C310 comes in really handy and at only £50, it's worth buying & then keeping in the car!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Creator-C310-System-Engin...

That’s a useful bit of kit, think I’ll have to get myself one, thanks.

I’m hoping it’s a duff coil. It’s just typical as I have literally just replaced the PCV and had a full service..

Edit: Code reader ordered

Edited by Waynester on Thursday 28th April 17:28

[naturalaspiration]

Most likely a coil. Let it (lumpily) idle and disconnect one coil at a time. Observe the engine idle, if it gets even worse, that coil is OK - reconnect. If not that's your suspect. Check all 6. Go back to the suspect coil and swap it with the coil of the adjacent cylinder. If you unplug the coil (now being moved to another cylinder) and again there is no difference in engine idle you need a new coil.

[Waynester]

naturalaspiration said:

Most likely a coil. Let it (lumpily) idle and disconnect one coil at a time. Observe the engine idle, if it gets even worse, that coil is OK - reconnect. If not that's your suspect. Check all 6. Go back to the suspect coil and swap it with the coil of the adjacent cylinder. If you unplug the coil (now being moved to another cylinder) and again there is no difference in engine idle you need a new coil.

Yep, had the same thoughts about swapping them around. If it’s a dodgy coil I’ll probably change all 6 as I’m assuming they’re all the same age & the rest will probably follow suit soon after. What are the recommendations on replacement, Bosch?

Thanks

Edited by Waynester on Thursday 28th April 17:30

[d_a_n1979]

Waynester said:

naturalaspiration said:

Most likely a coil. Let it (lumpily) idle and disconnect one coil at a time. Observe the engine idle, if it gets even worse, that coil is OK - reconnect. If not that's your suspect. Check all 6. Go back to the suspect coil and swap it with the coil of the adjacent cylinder. If you unplug the coil (now being moved to another cylinder) and again there is no difference in engine idle you need a new coil.

Yep, had the same thoughts about swapping them around. If it’s a dodgy coil I’ll probably change all 6 as I’m assuming they’re all the same age & the rest will probably follow suit soon after. What are the recommendations on replacement, Bosch?

Thanks

Edited by Waynester on Thursday 28th April 17:30

I would personally. Remove one and see which it is; if it's the original it should have the date of manufacturer on too IIRC

[naturalaspiration]

They can last a very very long time. Don't replace what isn't broken. I still have original ones (11 out 12) on two cars with N52 engine. And 10 out of 12 (old M52TU and M54) I bought Hella as a cheaper alternative to OEM Bosch. Do note that BMW has made a dog's dinner out of the coil connectors. They changed the design at some point - some cars have the original design, and some had it changed as a part of regular servicing. Mine did not fit, bought a wrong one, but it was easily adapted by removing a plastic notch inside the connector - forgot what Inused, was ot stanley knife or a sharp chisel... If you want to make sure you buy the right one, take yours with you and compare the connectors before buying, or if online check the connector photos if provided.

All good ever since. I paid less then £20 last summer with Autodocs rolling daily discounts.

[Waynester]

naturalaspiration said:

They can last a very very long time. Don't replace what isn't broken. I still have original ones (11 out 12) on two cars with N52 engine. And 10 out of 12 (old M52TU and M54) I bought Hella as a cheaper alternative to OEM Bosch. Do note that BMW has made a dog's dinner out of the coil connectors. They changed the design at some point - some cars have the original design, and some had it changed as a part of regular servicing. Mine did not fit, bought a wrong one, but it was easily adapted by removing a plastic notch inside the connector - forgot what Inused, was ot stanley knife or a sharp chisel... If you want to make sure you buy the right one, take yours with you and compare the connectors before buying, or if online check the connector photos if provided.

All good ever since. I paid less then £20 last summer with Autodocs rolling daily discounts.

This is true.. the car is booked in at my local garage Tuesday. If it is just a single coil I may just have that replaced for now. I’ll pull a coil tomorrow and see what they are, and how old they are. It’s just typical that something else fails so soon after sorting the PCV & a full service. At least I wasn’t miles from home when it failed!

[naturalaspiration]

They are really easy to diagnose and replace and you are not left stranded when one fails courtesy of the I6 engine (5 left). Do your bit for the environment and your wallet by replacing only what needs to be replaced. My mantra :-)

[Waynester]

naturalaspiration said:

They are really easy to diagnose and replace and you are not left stranded when one fails courtesy of the I6 engine (5 left). Do your bit for the environment and your wallet by replacing only what needs to be replaced. My mantra :-)

Maybe, but I was only just able to crawl home 1/4 of a mile with very gentle throttle use before it chucked an engine light. Not sure it would have coped if it was a motorway.

Yep, environment & wallet

[Lee630i]

Yea put money on a coil, had the same with mine last month. It's a cheap repair, think mine was about £40 and job done until the next one! I only replaced the faulty one, no need to them all

[g3org3y]

+ on the coil. Had the same on my (N52) 630i.

I ultimately ended up swapping all for new ones as I found the cheap online (eBay) - Bosch.

[Waynester]

I have just ordered a coil from Euro car parts, I collect it tomorrow so will swap them around. Hopefully I’ll find the culprit.

[g3org3y]

Waynester said:

I have just ordered a coil from Euro car parts, I collect it tomorrow so will swap them around. Hopefully I’ll find the culprit.

Get yourself the Creator C310 as mentioned above. Has been invaluable for me in problem solving various issues in all my BMWs.

[d_a_n1979]

g3org3y said:

Waynester said:

I have just ordered a coil from Euro car parts, I collect it tomorrow so will swap them around. Hopefully I’ll find the culprit.

Get yourself the Creator C310 as mentioned above. Has been invaluable for me in problem solving various issues in all my BMWs.

Yup; it's a super little device andf works well. And you can register your battery with it too!

That & Bimmercode on my iPhone have been superb; a good code reader and a good app to code things to the car

[Waynester]

d_a_n1979 said:

g3org3y said:

Waynester said:

I have just ordered a coil from Euro car parts, I collect it tomorrow so will swap them around. Hopefully I’ll find the culprit.

Get yourself the Creator C310 as mentioned above. Has been invaluable for me in problem solving various issues in all my BMWs.

Yup; it's a super little device andf works well. And you can register your battery with it too!

That & Bimmercode on my iPhone have been superb; a good code reader and a good app to code things to the car

Sorted, it was a duff coil… she’s purring perfect again. Thanks for all the help guys, much appreciated.

I have ordered the Creator C310, it will certainly help with (no doubt) future issues.

[g3org3y]

d_a_n1979 said:

g3org3y said:

Waynester said:

I have just ordered a coil from Euro car parts, I collect it tomorrow so will swap them around. Hopefully I’ll find the culprit.

Get yourself the Creator C310 as mentioned above. Has been invaluable for me in problem solving various issues in all my BMWs.

Yup; it's a super little device andf works well. And you can register your battery with it too!

That & Bimmercode on my iPhone have been superb; a good code reader and a good app to code things to the car

Oh really? I was under the impression it wasn't an option on the Creator (and I'd need CARLY or equivalent)?

Waynester said:

d_a_n1979 said:

g3org3y said:

Waynester said:

I have just ordered a coil from Euro car parts, I collect it tomorrow so will swap them around. Hopefully I’ll find the culprit.

Get yourself the Creator C310 as mentioned above. Has been invaluable for me in problem solving various issues in all my BMWs.

Yup; it's a super little device andf works well. And you can register your battery with it too!

That & Bimmercode on my iPhone have been superb; a good code reader and a good app to code things to the car

Sorted, it was a duff coil… she’s purring perfect again. Thanks for all the help guys, much appreciated.

I have ordered the Creator C310, it will certainly help with (no doubt) future issues.

Glad to hear it.

[naturalaspiration]

How old are your spark plugs? If not changed for a very long, have them checked. With time the gap widens due to material wear,thus creating undue resistance for the spark to jump - this requires higher voltage in the coil, which ultimately leads to insulator failure. Me being stingy I have readjusted the gap on mine, as being driven on LPG you need a much narrower gap (LPG is a much higher dielectric than vapourised petrol).

[Waynester]

naturalaspiration said:

How old are your spark plugs? If not changed for a very long, have them checked. With time the gap widens due to material wear,thus creating undue resistance for the spark to jump - this requires higher voltage in the coil, which ultimately leads to insulator failure. Me being stingy I have readjusted the gap on mine, as being driven on LPG you need a much narrower gap (LPG is a much higher dielectric than vapourised petrol).

They have just been replaced when I had it serviced a couple of weeks ago, so hopefully they’re ok.

[d_a_n1979]

g3org3y said:

d_a_n1979 said:

g3org3y said:

Waynester said:

I have just ordered a coil from Euro car parts, I collect it tomorrow so will swap them around. Hopefully I’ll find the culprit.

Get yourself the Creator C310 as mentioned above. Has been invaluable for me in problem solving various issues in all my BMWs.

Yup; it's a super little device andf works well. And you can register your battery with it too!

That & Bimmercode on my iPhone have been superb; a good code reader and a good app to code things to the car

Oh really? I was under the impression it wasn't an option on the Creator (and I'd need CARLY or equivalent)?

Waynester said:

d_a_n1979 said:

g3org3y said:

Waynester said:

I have just ordered a coil from Euro car parts, I collect it tomorrow so will swap them around. Hopefully I’ll find the culprit.

Get yourself the Creator C310 as mentioned above. Has been invaluable for me in problem solving various issues in all my BMWs.

Yup; it's a super little device andf works well. And you can register your battery with it too!

That & Bimmercode on my iPhone have been superb; a good code reader and a good app to code things to the car

Sorted, it was a duff coil… she’s purring perfect again. Thanks for all the help guys, much appreciated.

I have ordered the Creator C310, it will certainly help with (no doubt) future issues.

Glad to hear it.

IIRC you can register, so like for like; but you can't change the specs...

I may be wrong; I'll check next time I remember