Engine turnover

[dvno]

A little history about the car- (2011 DCT N55)

Bought it pre owned with 28k or so (8/2014) and have put on about 13k since then. It's always felt a bit hesitant to start up but having not owned a 135 before, I didn't have anything to compare it to. I had the idle/stall issue forever and eventually decided to pay for the DME update out of pocket (warranty expired before I even knew about the update) when my coolant pump failed since the dealership had the car anyway.

Fast forward a few months and the battery finally gave up the ghost as well, another $~500 and problem solved. I never paid much attention to the engine startup/turnover until about 3 weeks ago I started noticing the engine having more difficulty turning over after a drive and starting it up a few minutes later.

I was thinking it would be the battery again, but, not knowing a damn thing about cars, was wondering if it's likely the starter or maybe the alternator not charging the battery? The SA never mentioned the starter throwing any codes or the alternator.

Anybody with a similar experience with the engine not firing right up? Ever?

[jdlivxx]

I am having the same issue. It just seems to take a little longer to start. Noticeable enough for my wife to ask if it's supposed to be like that.

[ErvGotti]

I'm not sure about the N55, but for me with an N54 it was the injectors going bad. They we're leaking and fouling up the spark plugs which in turn caused long cranks/rough starts, inconsistent idle, and misfires.

I think the N55 does not use the Piezo injectors that the N54 uses that's why you don't see them fail often in the N55, but it might be something to look at.

[Gangplank]

Any other symptoms other than long crank/hard start?

I'm guessing you don't have the BMWhat (aka Carly) app. It allows you to pull the codes from the car using your phone & a wifi or Bluetooth dongle. It was a must have when I owned my E60.

With a new battery you shouldn't be having hard starts I wouldn't think. My 2011 135i n55 fires right up. Really quick like flicking a switch. Push button = vroomm!

[dtla1]

My car usually takes about 5 cranks before it turns on also. I've replaced the battery and its still the same. After the dealership replaced my spark plugs under warranty, still the same. I wonder if its maybe a fuel pump issue. No codes to be seen related to this.

[dvno]

Originally Posted by Gangplank

Any other symptoms other than long crank/hard start?

I'm guessing you don't have the BMWhat (aka Carly) app. It allows you to pull the codes from the car using your phone & a wifi or Bluetooth dongle. It was a must have when I owned my E60.

With a new battery you shouldn't be having hard starts I wouldn't think. My 2011 135i n55 fires right up. Really quick like flicking a switch. Push button = vroomm!

No other symptoms. Acceleration, electronics and everything else seem fine. Just takes 2-3 cranks on a regular basis and sometimes 4-5.

[ignote]

Add me to the list. 2011 DCT. I only have this problem after the car sits for a while, usually over night. I still have the original battery and plugs.

[Gangplank]

I'd recommend pulling the codes. If it's under warranty the you can take it to the dealer, if not then find a good local Indy shop and have them read the fault codes.

You can do it yourself w/ the Carly app (aka BMWhat). You need the app and a obdii dongle. Very useful for reading the fault codes and you can even code features on your car with it. When something is wrong it will usually throw a code of some kind and the app lets you pull and clear codes. If they come back you know what's wrong (before a trip to the dealer).

Hard starts can be caused by a few different things. Basics = Spark/battery, fuel injector pulse and fuel pressure, volume, quality of gas. I found a few threads over on e90 forum where a bad eccentric shaft sensor was the culprit but I wouldn't just replace it without checking codes first. Sounds like quite a job.

[Dackelone]

So are you getting a long crank at startup? Or a slow crank?

Maybe make a video for us(& your shop)!


It could be your HPFP. It could also be another bad battery. Did they code it to your car properly? Maybe look at the battery's build date in the trunk. You can use a simply VOM to check standing battery voltage. It should be at least 12.8 volts IF your battery is good. 13.5 volts with the engine running. Having a way to read the codes, like with BMW Carly would be helpful.

good luck,
Dackel

[08135IFL]

Recently took my e90 in for the longish cranking time described above. They replaced the battery and fuel pump under warranty. Problem solved, starts immediately again. Battery was 4 years old and 42k miles.

[dvno]

Originally Posted by Dackelone

So are you getting a long crank at startup? Or a slow crank?

Maybe make a video for us(& your shop)!


It could be your HPFP. It could also be another bad battery. Did they code it to your car properly? Maybe look at the battery's build date in the trunk. You can use a simply VOM to check standing battery voltage. It should be at least 12.8 volts IF your battery is good. 13.5 volts with the engine running. Having a way to read the codes, like with BMW Carly would be helpful.

good luck,
Dackel

Been away from the car for the holiday but will be back later today. I'll record a video and upload it for the expert ears on the forums! I'll look into the Carly app and obd dongle as well.

Thanks for all the input!

[Silenus]

A battery does NOT cause a long crank (additional compression cycles). I would bet money that your high pressure fuel pump is on its way out. This is not covered by an extended warranty for the N55.

[dvno]

Originally Posted by Silenus

A battery does NOT cause a long crank (additional compression cycles). I would bet money that your high pressure fuel pump is on its way out. This is not covered by an extended warranty for the N55.

I think only the N54 had some extension to cover the HPFP, right?

[gap]

My Bimmers Indy told me that using the starter for a extended time with a low voltage failing battery can damage the starter.
If your fuel pump is going that should show up on a code scan.
Hope it is something simple and inexpensive!

[dvno]

Long overdue update on this.

Took it to my indy shop and they only saw codes for low voltage on the battery. I had the battery replaced at the dealership (warranty) and they noticed that the cable from the "starter to the junction point" was damaged and quoted $1,100 (mostly labor) to replace. My SA mentioned that because the cable shows significant damage (like it had been spliced somehow), it was causing resistance to power needing to get where it needed to.

Needless to say, gonna get a second quote from the indy shop to see how that goes.

[dtla1]

I seem to remember my SA saying a wire similar to this needed to be replaced when my starter was replaced. He said it was the main wire to the starter, and that it, along with the braided grounding wire was frayed and needed to be replaced. It actually did get better, but I can't tell if it was this cable that got replaced or the starter itself.

[dvno]

Problem solved. After a couple of non-starts, I decided to just take it to the dealership for repair. Got a slight discount on labor at the dealership and total came out to $981 (obviously still expensive). Car starts without any issue!