Glow plug controller - N57 engine

[XP3NNY]

First of all congratulations on making successful claim with warranty company

I still haven't done my one as the replacement controller only arrived this Monday - if weather permits I will do it this Saturday. I'm hoping that my hand will fit the space and I won't need to take the intake manifold off - from the initial looks it should be doable.

[AdamsX5]

Been dropped off at dealers Friday. Hope to collect Monday or Tuesday am.
Also all tyres are star marked finally to avoid transfer case issues. Only driven less than 500 miles on budget rear tyres.
Will see if it now regens properly.

[pvr]

When I had this issue on my E53, the manifold had to be taken off. That is what caused me to not take out a third party warranty anymore as they did the following:

- Diagnostics not covered.
- Removal of manifold not covered.

So they paid for the control box to be replaced but nothing else around it, plus the 60% or so deduction due to the car being 5 years old, + mileage deduction as the car was over 60k so it ended up being paid peanuts for the job.

[marti]

When I had this issue on my E53, the manifold had to be taken off. That is what caused me to not take out a third party warranty anymore as they did the following:

- Diagnostics not covered.
- Removal of manifold not covered.

So they paid for the control box to be replaced but nothing else around it, plus the 60% or so deduction due to the car being 5 years old, + mileage deduction as the car was over 60k so it ended up being paid peanuts for the job.

That is strange on my e53 it was in the E-Box as per instructions...20 minutes done...:

https://workshop-manuals.com/bmw/x_seri ... /page_634/

[pvr]

Interesting, long ago now but that is what the dealer told me at the time. Not surprising though that take take half the car apart to get the additional revenue.

[AdamsX5]

When I had this issue on my E53, the manifold had to be taken off. That is what caused me to not take out a third party warranty anymore as they did the following:

- Diagnostics not covered.
- Removal of manifold not covered.

So they paid for the control box to be replaced but nothing else around it, plus the 60% or so deduction due to the car being 5 years old, + mileage deduction as the car was over 60k so it ended up being paid peanuts for the job.

They did expect me to contribute 30% parts and £250 excess but did cover diagnostics and intake had to come off.

[AdamsX5]

Dealer gave me bad news.
No the controller or wiring.
Could b something else.
Have to pay 2hrs labour and diagnostics myself with no repair as warranty company will only authorise repair.
My option is to take it back to seller and get them to sort.
Not sure how much I will need to pay dealer now as without repair I will have to pay all costs.

[marti]

Looking back through the posts how did you come to the conclusion your controller wanted changing??....diagnostics??...Carly?....these beasts WONT regen even if one glow plug has gone or even any one of the four exhaust sensors has gone...I've just had the same problem...started with new controller then glow plugs then it bunged up post cat/dpf temp sensor did that ...then it regenerated

[AdamsX5]

I noticed it wasn’t regenerate on carly and tried to force it on Foxwell. They didn’t work like it always does on the F10. So I assumed with the code the glow plug controller must be faulty. So to sort it it meant changing.
However the ISTA method requires you to test each LINBUS unit separate to see where the fault is. They couldn’t disconnect the GP controller without taking manifold off but did it without removing the manifold by just gettting wires and vacuum lines out of the way.
So the GP controller works fine so does glow plugs.
The problem is in the comms. So could be wiring if any of the Bus units . Ur alternator , oil level sensor or the IBS
Unit. So wiring for each needs to be checked to see where the fault is. If wiring is ok then the ecu needs replacing and reprogramming which is a very expensive job.
So for me this would be extensive diagnostics costs with no guarantee that warranty would pay if it was wiring.
They would pay for ECU as a worse case I’m assuming.
So armed with this info I’m deciding whether to take it to seller to get them to sort it.
Other option is to just run it and see if any codes come up as the dealer has just confirmed that it did regenerate about 90 km ago that’s when the fault would already be in car. I’ve driven it about 400 miles.

I’m going to try ISTA on it to force a regeneration. Tried it with Foxwell but no luck. Need to see regeneration enable and not active and then drive for 20 mins with it plugged in and it changes to active once the temps are within range.

[AdamsX5]

What the dealer did say that
Because they is not comms btw the GP controller and ecu then codes aren’t being thrown up which means that regens would still happen.
Worse case the car wouldn’t start if any glow plugs were faulty.

[AdamsX5]

Some files from ISTA+

[AdamsX5]

Any luck with the controller change??

[XP3NNY]

Apologies for late replay - was off the grid for last two weeks.

I did have a go myself, but after some hard trying it was impossible to change without taking the manifold off so I took it to my friends garage and they changed it for me (3 hours job). I don't have the error code anymore, but now I have different one relating to glow plugs - 00494A Glow plug.

After the glow plug controller change I didn't notice any positive change, only negative. Sometimes when I put my foot down hard I feel slight kicking from the car - it's almost like it can't handle the torque or it wants to change the gear, but it doesn't. The actual gear changes are fine ...

[Digidick]

Sounds like something not right when the manifolds gone back on.

[Digidick]

I’ve also had issues in the past with other BMW diesels where it’s needed a new fuel filter as the fuel demand when driving hard couldn’t be fulfilled by the old and dirty fuel filter. Also had it on a Volvo S60 D5. The car would stutter and seem like it cuts out for a split second, does that sound familiar? Prob not