[2009 128i e88] Lost power while driving/ now wont crank. History of misfire

[lvfb]

Originally Posted by ///Makis

So I was googling the codes you posted and learned A0B4 is a code for "tried to start but failed" or something like that.

I've been googling the codes and reading posts by others and haven't found anything definitive. You said when you push the start you hear a click but the engine doesn't turn over but the lights dim. So the solenoid is activating but not cranking.

I read one post about someone having an immobilizer problem that caused the car not to start, but if he removed the battery for a few hours the car would reset and he could start the car again but if he turned it off and tried to turn it on again the car would not start. I don't think this is the case for you because your starter solenoid does click but it's free to try.

https://www.bimmerfest.com/threads/e...-over.1317705/


I take it your car isn't manual and you can't push/roll start the car right?

I've searched through the rest of the codes and nothing jumps out as to why the car would 1. Die when driving 2. Not turn over.

I had read something about a small cable that needed to be plugged into the starter of an e9x otherwise the car wouldn't start but that wouldn't explain why your car died unless the alternator failed the same time as the starter.

It might be worth trying the starter next if no one else chimes in with something else to try

damn dude thank you for puttin in some work! you are the man! that being said car is an automatic, engine ground cables are what i imagine to be perfect condition to work properly,

i just tried to turn the motor manually with my wrench and its locked up so i guess i now know whats going on....

[MightyMouseTech]

Originally Posted by lvfb

damn dude thank you for puttin in some work! you are the man! that being said car is an automatic, engine ground cables are what i imagine to be perfect condition to work properly,

i just tried to turn the motor manually with my wrench and its locked up so i guess i now know whats going on....

Crap.

[lvfb]

Originally Posted by MightyMouseTech

Crap.

ya

[///Makis]

Originally Posted by lvfb

damn dude thank you for puttin in some work! you are the man! that being said car is an automatic, engine ground cables are what i imagine to be perfect condition to work properly,

i just tried to turn the motor manually with my wrench and its locked up so i guess i now know whats going on....

That sounds like BMW may have screwed something up when working on your car, it's a bit inconceivable that the car would die after just coming out of a dealer that serviced a lot of parts.

We're you using a breaker bar to turn the engine over ? I'd imagine it takes more than a regular 3/8s to turn it over but I don't know as I've never done it.

I think Mighty Mouse who posted in here before works at bmw or used to and maybe he could chime in.

When your engine died did you hear anything unusual like clanks or bangs coming from under the hood or did it just sputter and die off?

Also no need to thank me, thank the others on this forum who are ridiculously knowledgeable and have shared so much info and time.

[lvfb]

Originally Posted by ///Makis

That sounds like BMW may have screwed something up when working on your car, it's a bit inconceivable that the car would die after just coming out of a dealer that serviced a lot of parts.

We're you using a breaker bar to turn the engine over ? I'd imagine it takes more than a regular 3/8s to turn it over but I don't know as I've never done it.

I think Mighty Mouse who posted in here before works at bmw or used to and maybe he could chime in.

When your engine died did you hear anything unusual like clanks or bangs coming from under the hood or did it just sputter and die off?

Also no need to thank me, thank the others on this forum who are ridiculously knowledgeable and have shared so much info and time.

Thats what i thought. i have a second 128i (that runs fine) that i was able to turn with a socket with little effort. i tried a breaker bar on the locked up engine and that thing is solid and not moving. i figured a valve job done by an indy shop 7 months ago wouldnt destroy and engine with only 94k miles

[///Makis]

Originally Posted by lvfb

Thats what i thought. i have a second 128i (that runs fine) that i was able to turn with a socket with little effort. i tried a breaker bar on the locked up engine and that thing is solid and not moving. i figured a valve job done by an indy shop 7 months ago wouldnt destroy and engine with only 94k miles

Well if that's the case then I think you're right. That really sucks, but I would definitely talk with the bmw dealer that just did all that previous work and see if what they did was related to the current problem (I'm guessing it's not)

I reread the pics you posted about the work done, and the last page said discovered that previous shop had found an internal fault caused by outside influence. New engine replacement quote was provided. Or something along those lines. That went from 0-100 really quick, I'm guessing the Indy knew the engine was on its way out and there was a serious problem if they're providing a quote for a new one.

If you have the time and care to, why not contact the Indy shop and see if they can tell you what was catastrophically wrong with the current engine.

Luckily there's plenty of used n52 and n51 engines and they're fairly cheap so if you need a new one and you have the tools and know how, you can swap one in for maybe 1500$. I think there will be some obstacles if using an n52 donner though.


What'd you get the car for If you don't mind me asking?

[lvfb]

Originally Posted by ///Makis

Well if that's the case then I think you're right. That really sucks, but I would definitely talk with the bmw dealer that just did all that previous work and see if what they did was related to the current problem (I'm guessing it's not)

I reread the pics you posted about the work done, and the last page said discovered that previous shop had found an internal fault caused by outside influence. New engine replacement quote was provided. Or something along those lines. That went from 0-100 really quick, I'm guessing the Indy knew the engine was on its way out and there was a serious problem if they're providing a quote for a new one.

If you have the time and care to, why not contact the Indy shop and see if they can tell you what was catastrophically wrong with the current engine.

Luckily there's plenty of used n52 and n51 engines and they're fairly cheap so if you need a new one and you have the tools and know how, you can swap one in for maybe 1500$. I think there will be some obstacles if using an n52 donner though.


What'd you get the car for If you don't mind me asking?

so the story was the person i bought it from bought it from an auction house in cali. he saw a leak or something and took it to indy shop which said he needed valve cover. buys oem from online and has indy shop put it on. gets it back from indy shop and check engine light is on. i bought it in hopes of having sulev fix it for free and i was going to put it on the rental app TURO as the car would pay for it self in about 5 months in the las vegas market since you can comfortably drive around with the top down until mid jan.

[lvfb]

i also unscrewed all 6 spark plugs and its still locked up

[///Makis]

Originally Posted by lvfb

i also unscrewed all 6 spark plugs and its still locked up

Do you have a borescope to see inside the cylinders?


I'm not sure if you could even see anything since you can't turn the motor over but you never know.

I think you can get a decent / cheap one on Amazon that connects to your phone

Can you remove the oil filter to see if there's excessive amounts of metal bits? Or lift the car and drain the oil?

I don't how much it will help with diagnosing the problem but if you can't turn the engine over at all, something may have catastrophically failed.

[lvfb]

Originally Posted by ///Makis

Do you have a borescope to see inside the cylinders?


I'm not sure if you could even see anything since you can't turn the motor over but you never know.

I think you can get a decent / cheap one on Amazon that connects to your phone

Can you remove the oil filter to see if there's excessive amounts of metal bits? Or lift the car and drain the oil?

I don't how much it will help with diagnosing the problem but if you can't turn the engine over at all, something may have catastrophically failed.

i assume that the misfires the car has had are the reason it locked up. the valve cover job was done in feb so for the engine to decline this fast def means im taking this to court and trying to get someone to pay.

[///Makis]

Originally Posted by lvfb

i assume that the misfires the car has had are the reason it locked up. the valve cover job was done in feb so for the engine to decline this fast def means im taking this to court and trying to get someone to pay.

I don't think that's the case. It's possible the indy shop changed only the valve cover gasket and did not change the sparkplug tube gaskets and they were filling up with oil which caused the misfire. The report you posted said the spark plugs needed replacement but the misfires only stopped after the timing chain guide was found faulty and replaced.

I googled timing chain guide and n52 just out of curiosity because I've never read any posts about it for our cars, apparently on the n5x cars there are very few issues.

I would think maybe a botched timing chain guide replacement is the reason before the VC, but I don't know.

How many miles are on your car?

Also when the engine died did you hear any noises from the engine area? Or it just shut off?

[lvfb]

Originally Posted by ///Makis

I don't think that's the case. It's possible the indy shop changed only the valve cover gasket and did not change the sparkplug tube gaskets and they were filling up with oil which caused the misfire. The report you posted said the spark plugs needed replacement but the misfires only stopped after the timing chain guide was found faulty and replaced.

I googled timing chain guide and n52 just out of curiosity because I've never read any posts about it for our cars, apparently on the n5x cars there are very few issues.

I would think maybe a botched timing chain guide replacement is the reason before the VC, but I don't know.

How many miles are on your car?

Also when the engine died did you hear any noises from the engine area? Or it just shut off?

aprox 93k. no noises just "depowered". before the valve cover was installed there was no check engine light and after the valve cover was installed check engine light came on.

they reported metal shaving in the oil which i wasnt able to check because i bought the car and instantly took it to bmw to get sulev work

[08SlowE82]

Does your oil filter housing have a leak? Either the engine was starved of oil and seized or it's a timing issue and you have major piston to valve contact. Would recommend draining oil or dropping the oil pan look for metal bits or shiny gold bearing material

[lvfb]

Originally Posted by 08SlowE82

Does your oil filter housing have a leak? Either the engine was starved of oil and seized or it's a timing issue and you have major piston to valve contact. Would recommend draining oil or dropping the oil pan look for metal bits or shiny gold bearing material

when the dealership had the car they said they found metal shavings in the oil. i will drain the oil later today and see how bad it is

[///Makis]

Originally Posted by 08SlowE82

Does your oil filter housing have a leak? Either the engine was starved of oil and seized or it's a timing issue and you have major piston to valve contact. Would recommend draining oil or dropping the oil pan look for metal bits or shiny gold bearing material

Op did say there was a timing issue that was checked by bmw and "fixed". If you see the second or third post the photo shows that there was a timing issue due to outside influence I think.

The service report shows it was fixed, is it possible there could be valve on piston contact and you wouldn't hear it in the cabin?

I don't trust the oil level sensor very much but haven't seen or read much about them failing. If it is oil starved, and the sensor had failed, would sensors not go off about the engine over heating?

Or you wouldn't know until it's too late? Sincere question as I really have no idea.

[lvfb]

Originally Posted by ///Makis

Op did say there was a timing issue that was checked by bmw and "fixed". If you see the second or third post the photo shows that there was a timing issue due to outside influence I think.

The service report shows it was fixed, is it possible there could be valve on piston contact and you wouldn't hear it in the cabin?

I don't trust the oil level sensor very much but haven't seen or read much about them failing. If it is oil starved, and the sensor had failed, would sensors not go off about the engine over heating?

Or you wouldn't know until it's too late? Sincere question as I really have no idea.

ya i FUCKING HATEEEEE that there isnt a dipstick and that i have to run my car for 20 min before i can know if im low on oil or not....

when i bought the car it was misfiring and i was still too new to inpa and didnt have ista so i only knew it was misfiring. i guess the owner before me had an indy shop put a valve cover on the car. when i drove the car i never heard anything or concern. def wish these had a temp gauge on them