N54 Ticking... not related to RPM

[Usufruct]

When my N54 engine gets warm, it makes a regular ticking sound. It has no relation to RPM, so I know it's not a sticky lifter or anything. It sounds almost electronic? Should I be worried? It has made this ticking sound off and on for about 10k miles. I only notice it at idle because of lack of noise.

Thoughts?

[Pig Farmer]

Originally Posted by Usufruct

When my N54 engine gets warm, it makes a regular ticking sound. It has no relation to RPM, so I know it's not a sticky lifter or anything. It sounds almost electronic? Should I be worried? It has made this ticking sound off and on for about 10k miles. I only notice it at idle because of lack of noise.

Thoughts?

Probably just the normal ticking that comes from being direct injection.

[e92ben]

Injectors. You'll be fine

[Miko226]

Originally Posted by e92ben

Injectors. You'll be fine

+1

[B6T]

...Except that injectors would be directly related to RPM, and the OP said it is *not* related to RPM.

It's the vent valve solenoid. I asked my brother who is a BMW tech this very same question and that is what he told me.

I noticed this noise mostly while going through drive throughs.

[Southjersey128]

Originally Posted by B6T

...Except that injectors would be directly related to RPM, and the OP said it is *not* related to RPM.

It's the vent valve solenoid. I asked my brother who is a BMW tech this very same question and that is what he told me.

I noticed this noise mostly while going through drive throughs.

B6t is right. All n54's do it. It's just part of the way the evap system works.

[Dackelone]

Make a video and post it for us to listen to it.

[Pig Farmer]

Originally Posted by B6T

I asked my brother who is a BMW tech this very same question and that is what he told me.

So did you ask your brother directly, or do you have to communicate through a service advisor?

[e36addict]

Probably the tank vent valve, part of the evap system as noted above. Normal operation.

[mike@x-ph.com]

As mentioned above, it the sounds of the injectors. Completely normal

[B6T]

^ No... it's not the injectors. We've established that already.

Originally Posted by Pig Farmer

So did you ask your brother directly, or do you have to communicate through a service advisor?

Service Advisor. The same guy I use to plan our family get-togethers and what not.

(I asked him directly)

[mike@x-ph.com]

Originally Posted by B6T

^ No... it's not the injectors. We've established that already.




Service Advisor. The same guy I use to plan our family get-togethers and what not.

(I asked him directly)

We did not establish that. You just made the assumption that it is not the injectors.
Only way to establish that it is not injectors is by having a shop take a look at it.

[B6T]

The only assumption I made is that what the OP is telling us is correct (no relation, to RPM).

For it to be a fuel injector it would have to be synchronized with RPM.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Originally Posted by B6T

The only assumption I made is that what the OP is telling us is correct (no relation, to RPM).

For it to be a fuel injector it would have to be synchronized with RPM.

My car does exactly the same as the OP's car. No problem whatsoever.
Been checked multiple times by 2 different BMW mechanics and they all said it is normal injector noise.

[B6T]

So you're essentially saying that fuel injector frequency does not increase with RPM.

[SamE30]

It's the Evaporative vent valve. It is intermittent because it has specific pre-conditions before it vents to the intake system, one of these being outside temperature. You'll notice it does it less when cold, and vice versa. This is because the tank pressure is lower due to the fuels not creating vapours. It does not change with RPM, and typically lasts around 10 seconds. It actually does it while cruising on the highway, but you don't hear it because of the other noises.

The direct injectors would cause a noise that would be related to RPM when the pulse width changes, noticeable with large changes in RPM. This is common in N54's Piezoelectic injectors, and is less noticeable in the N55 due to the change to solenoid injectors.

It's perfectly normal and you have nothing to worry about.

Originally Posted by mike@x-ph.com

We did not establish that. You just made the assumption that it is not the injectors.
Only way to establish that it is not injectors is by having a shop take a look at it.

Because shops are 100% right all of the time right? Especially independents.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Originally Posted by B6T

So you're essentially saying that fuel injector frequency does not increase with RPM.

Sounds like you have a lot of free time so this would by my last reply before derailing this thread even more.
All i said is that i had the same thing happen with my car as OP and it turned out to be injectors TWICE .
Not saying it is going to be the same for OP but i would go to a shop and let someone check the car.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Originally Posted by SamE30

Because shops are 100% right all of the time right? Especially independents.

No lets just boycott all the shops and stop sending our cars to them.
Instead we will just diagnose cars online

[BRR]

Originally Posted by Usufruct

When my N54 engine gets warm, it makes a regular ticking sound. It has no relation to RPM, so I know it's not a sticky lifter or anything. It sounds almost electronic? Should I be worried? It has made this ticking sound off and on for about 10k miles. I only notice it at idle because of lack of noise.

Thoughts?

Probably turbo wastegate rattle.

[OzJustin]

I don't want to derail this thread from the OP but I have had a similar ticking noise for a good while now.

Mine is not related to the throttle application or rpm but the ticking speeds up as the car speed increases. It is not there at idle. You can hear it constantly when driving with the windows down, especially with barriers, trees etc for the noise to echo off. It seems more related to the wheel area. Any ideas? I'm getting it checked again next week.