All Glow plugs showing faulty in INPA

[kanewesley]

X5 E53 3.0D facelift model 2006.

I keep getting the 4 x 4 triangle and arrow fault light.

When I used INPA I couldn't make headnor tale of it as I am not fluent in German.

One thing I noticed though when reading error codes was that ALL 6 glow plugs were at fault???

It's highly unlikely all 6 hve failed, I was thinking maybe it's something common to all of them like a power module or something.

Am I on the right train of thought?
Can I look into this module with INPA?
Where is it physically o the car?
Is it easy to get to and change?
Can it be tested?

Oh...and does anyone know what this triangle 4x4 means?
I read it's related to a steering angle sensor but it always comes on when I have a low battery or have fuly charged the battery overnight.
Can't see what this has to do with a steering angle sensor.

And why do we need to know the steering angle anyway??


Thanks in advance

[henrym3]

Off the tinder web
The steering angle sensor helps correct the vehicle's alignment during an event of understeering or oversteering. If the vehicle goes into an understeering condition, then the sensor tells the computer to activate the brake module in relation to the rear wheel on the inside of the steering direction.21 Oct 2016

[Leslie]

All glow plugs showing faulty then its very unlikely to be the actual plugs but the controller itself , e70 ones are under the inlet manifold and very hard to access , id check you-tube for the e53 as I'm sure someone has done it

[kanewesley]

I'll have look !

[marti]

The glow plug relay is toast.....location in the E-Box under the scuttle panel...unlike later models under the intake manifold as has been mentioned.

[Horizon]

I would change the battery first if the 4x4 light only comes on when low voltage, or charging.
If it was a SAS fault it would come on no matter what charge was on in the battery.

[marti]

I would change the battery first if the 4x4 light only comes on when low voltage, or charging.
If it was a SAS fault it would come on no matter what charge was on in the battery.

Well said...bad battery is always a cause of many errors on modern cars.

[marinaman]

i had that same problem, went for the controller 1st, still same , changed plugs and all fine.

[X5Sport]

All plugs failed is not unusual if they haven’t been monitored for some time, and their failing will almost certainly take out the controller in short order. Plug faults would only be picked up at service (or an Owner) with the right kit. No fault light is triggered by a glowplug going u/s.

[kanewesley]

Thanks for replies...seems I have one vote for the glo-plug controller (as I think) and 2 votes for ALL 6 PLUGS ! ! so no closer really.

As for the >4x4> light coming on when the battery has a lot drained from it on starting... or even if it newly fully charged....I still can't get my head round why it comes on when that particular fault lamp relates to the steering angle sensor???

I can't make the connection in my thick head ???

[henrym3]

You can’t make the connection because your trying to apply logic. Be sensible, think that 1+1 =2. None of those rules apply. It’s an X5. Experience is everything. Unfortunately I’ve got none on your vehicle so can’t help.

[X5Sport]

You can check whether or not the plugs are truly faulty with an Ohmeter (multimeter). The TI records that at 20°C, the resistance of each glowplug should be between 0.5 and 2.0 Ohms. When faulty they typically go high resistance or dead short (0.0 Ohms). The dead short is what kills the controller module internal electronics.

The TI for changing them is as Newtis(dot)info.

https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/e53- ... low-plugs/

[marti]

Thanks for replies...seems I have one vote for the glo-plug controller (as I think) and 2 votes for ALL 6 PLUGS ! ! so no closer really.

As for the >4x4> light coming on when the battery has a lot drained from it on starting... or even if it newly fully charged....I still can't get my head round why it comes on when that particular fault lamp relates to the steering angle sensor???

I can't make the connection in my thick head ???

Buy a controller, plug it in reset the codes, read codes again if all good your sorted, if not then you know its the plugs....you'll need a new controller whatever, but if it still comes back bad with the new one and your still going to use the car, plug the old one back in until you change the plugs.....