Interesting Sound...E39 530d...

[Little Nicky]

My father has just bought a 2003 E39 530d Sport and gave me a go in it on Christmas day - which was nice.

Now, I have owned a 1999 E39 540i for a few years, so I thought I knew my stuff when going through all the new necessaries with him, but one thing had me a bit perplexed...

When he used the key fob remote to open the car, there was a wherring noise (like some sort of heater or the like), which came from what seemed like the passenger side front wing area. This went on for a while, and to be honest, I didn't it notice it stop, as we got in and started the car up.

Any deas guys / girls??

Is this something a diesel is supposed to do that my 4.4ltr V8 petrol doesn't.??

Thanks in advance,

Nick

[Dift]

Fuel pump?

[Little Nicky]

It's quite audible outside the car - is this right?

I've never owned a diesel, but I'd be surprised if the diesel fuel pump is meant to be this loud.

But again, this could be normal, hence my question.

Cheers,

Nick

[theboss]

I think you'll find all E39 530d's come with a little Webasto heater (at least mine does) which is in the location you describe and is audible when operating. It is designed to kick in automatically when the outside temp is 11 degrees or lower (again I stand corrected on this) and helps bring the engine up to temp more quickly and consequently the cabin too. Mine doesn't kick in until the car is in drive but there was an option to have it activate by remote - my neighbour has this on his X5 3.0d - perhaps this is what you saw?

ETA here it is in another post http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?f=72&...

I have to say it's a superb bit of kit at this time of year - I have warm air blowing after 3-4 minutes in the car - whereas I can imagine the 3.0d (presumably) iron lump would otherwise take an eternity to warm. The remote option is even better as you can pre-warm the car before you even step outside.

Edited by theboss on Monday 29th December 23:34