330D Issue

Lewist · 6 Dec 2009 at 22:06

Hi Guys,
I have an e46 330D and in the last week-10 days or so (eg since it has been <5 degress in the mornings) it has been a bit reluctant to fire up from a cold start. Any ideas what could potentially be the cause - my first thought was the battery but i'm not massively clued on on car insides tbh.

I've got a service coming up a week weds at BMW n'ton so hopefully they can shep more light then but i'd like to know what i'm likely to come up against in advance.

Also, when i booked it in i was expecting an inspection 2 but they said this wasn't applicable to my model and that it would just be another inspection 1 - is that right?

jamoor · 6 Dec 2009 at 22:25

glow plugs?

paradigm · 6 Dec 2009 at 22:31

Is it failing to crank, or is it turning over fine but not actually starting?

The former I'd suggest that its battery related (so battery could be ok, but altenator shot), if the latter then as said, change the plugs.

Not sure why they say that a 330d isn't applicable to the Insp II, it should be. Maybe they just meant that it was only due an Insp I at the moment?

Lewist · 6 Dec 2009 at 22:32

Cheers for the reply, I always wait for the coil light to go out when i start the car, this is effectively the glow plug "warming" indicator isn't it?

If this was the case, what would a reasonable cost to sort it out be?

Lewist · 6 Dec 2009 at 22:35

It's turning over but not firing up. So sound like plugs based on what you said paradigm.

As far as servicing goes it has had oil src -> insp 1 -> oil -> now(approx 80k miles), which i thought was inspection 2 territory.

paradigm · 6 Dec 2009 at 22:35

Yep, once it has gone out then in theory the plugs should be warm, but if one or more of the plugs are starting to fail then the light going out might not actually mean the plugs are hot enough.

Try turning the ignition on a few times (three or four cycles) rather than just the once (but still only crank the engine once, the final time). If it then fires without issue, its the plugs.

Never had to replace them on mine so not sure of the cost, but it shouldn't be too much.

Lewist · 6 Dec 2009 at 22:42

Thanks, will try that trick tomorrow morning and see if it works.

[TW]Fox · 6 Dec 2009 at 23:00

Just to confirm - A 330d most definately should have an Inspection 2. At a guideline it normally pops up around 60k miles depending on usage and again at 120kish then again at around 180k.

DanF · 7 Dec 2009 at 09:23

Another check is to put the lights on full and then turn it over, do the lights dim or stay bright? If they stay bright then it could be the starter motor, dim and it's probably the battery. The starter should spin the 330d engine pretty fast, if it sounds a bit slow or slows down after the first second of spinning then it can really effect starting as well.

Django x2 · 7 Dec 2009 at 11:01

paradigm said:
Never had to replace them on mine so not sure of the cost, but it shouldn't be too much.

You're kidding right? The plugs themselves are realtively cheap, but the fact one of the cylinders sits way under the bulkhead = £££££££££££

I would be considering a diesel specialist or BMW Indy.

Unfortunately, diesels not starting or taking longer to crank can be quite heard to diagnose, especially on the x30d and x20d

Here is a list of "possible" causes

Glow Plugs
GP relay
High Pressure Pump
HPP fuel regulator
HPP fuel regulator seal
Crank sensor
Injector
Inkector leak back
ECU
ECU Capacitors

Hopefully, it's the cheapest of all these, the glow plugs