[DanMZe90]

Last year I was getting delayed starts on my 2005 E90 330D (200k on the clock). On this forum I queried the glow plug controller/plugs longevity as I had replaced all of these components back in 2016 along with both thermostats, but I was getting error codes on all plugs implying the controller was at fault again.

I kind of ignored the fault as the car has been running fine since, even in winter. However, for the past couple of weeks the power delivery has been suppressed i.e. not accelerating as quick as it should do. I hooked Carly up to it yesterday and it came up with an error on only one of the plugs (not all 6 like it was reporting last year) but also 00480A Particulate filter system and 004D00 Exhaust back pressure sensor. I've cleared/ran it again a couple of times and am getting these codes consistently.

Thinking of the possible (non) DPF regeneration issues that may result with glow plus errors I ran the DPF check which shows me a 52g soot mass and 21.94g ash mass. Carly fails to send the regeneration request but, from what I've read, that's normal for the amount of soot it is holding i.e. it simply won't do it at that level.

Having gone for a spirited drive, I checked the engine temp and that is coming out at 81.95 C.

The temp looks a little low to me (shouldn't it be at least 90?) so my initial thoughts are:

- bite the bullet and change the glow plugs
- change the stats again/clean EGR like I did in 2016/90k miles ago

However, I wonder if the soot mass is too high and it is clogged where the above still won't regenerate? Also, I have an MOT soon. I don't have any dash lights on at the moment but wondering, with a potentially clogged DPF, might it fail?

Any advice other than what I plan to do?

Thanks

Dan

[Silver Streek]

I've just been through this issue, and had your fault codes. Carley can not start a regeneration request while these fault codes are present.

What I did was make sure you had at least half a tank of diesel and make sure the coolant temp is over 75 degs C. Then with a helper find a road you can cruise down at 60mph constantly in 5 th gear. I used the A1 in the evening when there was no traffic. This seems to give the best speed and rev range to burn the soot off. While you hold this speed and in 5th gear have your helper request a regen through Carley then keep clearing the codes, I found after about 10 to 15 mins the regen started and it cleared all the soot out. It will go back up to around 20g though very quickly bit will stabalise at that level so don't be alarmed when you see the soot level shoot up after the regen this is normal.
The code for exhaust back pressure will stay off for a while as long as you don't boot it to increase the exhaust pressures so driving at a steady 60mph will help stop this code from constantly tripping and stopping the regen process, if it is doing the regen and the code is activated it will stop the regen from happening and you will have to clear the codes again. Then you may need to request the regen again.

Mines a 6 cylinder too and I have a glow plug error but with these 6 cylinders having 1 or 2 glow plugs out won't stop a regen. A glow plug controller failure code may stop prevent the regen tho, so best sort that to prevent future issues. Your temp is a bit low at 81 degs but not low enough to stop a regen. Change both your stats as preventative maintenance.

I'm surprised you don't have the yellow DPF warning I. Your dash with 52g of soot, a few more Gramma and it will activate.

Anyway try the above, it worked a treat for mine. The cause of mine was running my tank constantly below a quarter of a tank of diesel, to regen it needs a minimum amount of fuel in the tank, so I try and keep it above 1/4 of a tank now.

Hope this helps.

[SRLA]

I don't have much experience with this engine but I would be very surprised if the plugs and controller didn't last longer than that. The first thing I'd try is cleaning the EGR as that won't cost anything more than some elbow grease if you're up for some DIY. Next I'd change the thermostat, 82 sounds low after "spirited driving" and if the engine isn't getting warm enough it won't regenerate.

[DanMZe90]

Thanks guys, it seems to be a bit of a moot point regarding glow plug errors and the ability to regenerate but Silver Streek's methodolgy is worth a try whilst I get the time to do the diy for the stats and EGR clean. I too was wondering why the dash light hasn't come on yet but I reckon I can't be far off and I would guess that is an MOT failure. I was also wondering if the DPF cleaner stuff you put in the tank might in some way help.

Dan

[Silver Streek]

You could put some Forte DPF cleaner in the tank, it will lowert the temp required to burn off the soot.

I think mine reached about 56g of soot then the yellow dash light came on. That's an MOT fail.

The main thing is to get the DPF to regenerate to burn the soot off. As mentioned about 82 degs is a bit too low but is hot enough for a regeneration, the ECU requires a min temp of 75degs.

Don't worry about the error on one glow plug mine has the same and regens fine.

Try doing what I described above then get your stats changed - the main and EGR stat then you will sit between 88 and 90degs. Mines never at 90 unless booting it, it will mostly sit at 88 which is normal.

[DanMZe90]

Thanks Silver Streek. I'm going to do that next weekend after I've done the easy and quick stuff of cleaning the EGR, changing the EGR stat and bung in some DPF cleaner. I'll see how things stand after that, if temps are better than I might not have to change the main stat as that is bit more involved from what I remember.

Going back to your fault on the one glow plug, yours is definitely regening automatically when the other conditions are met? I figure mine must have been regening for the past year, until now, whilst I've had (and also cleared) multiple faults on the glow plugs otherwise I think I would have got to this point a lot sooner and especially the mileage I do over the year!

[Silver Streek]

My glow plug has been out since I bought the car in 2017 with 34k miles on the clock. It's now on around 96k , in the last two years my milage has been low due to working from home. This is the first time I've had a DFP issue which has been due to running round with less than 1/4 of a tank so there wasn't enough fuel in the tank for the ECU to allow a regen. Most of my journeys have been 1 to 3 miles or so with the odd 30 mile trip now and then into the office.

I can see from Carley it has been automatically regenerating as it should. The 6 cylinder engines don't need all 6 glow plugs to be working for the ECU to trigger a regen, so if you only have one out that's no problem. Its the glow plug module error that will prevent the ECU triggering a regen.

The basics requirements for a regen are:
Approx 1/4 tank or diesel or 10 litres minimum.
Coolant temp minimum 75 degs
Glow plug controller must be ok
At least 4 glow plugs must be working (for 6 cylinder cars)
No DPF error codes
No back pressure error codes.
EGR working ok

If you can say that you meet the above criteria your car should regen ok.

Good luck with it, and please let us know how you got on getting it to regen.

[DanMZe90]

Thanks for this.

I'm not sure if the car had a kind of regen today.

Before I set off on my normal morning journey I plugged Carly in and searched for error codes. I then set off and, as I reached my nearest main junction, I managed to hit the button to clear the codes. When I arrived at work 30 mins (20 miles) later I first did a DPF check which showed the soot mass 9g lower at 43g and then checked the temp at 83 degrees. This is without (or not being able to on my own!) forcing a regen.

Going home this evening I managed to (carefully) search and reset codes a few times as there are a couple more safer places to do so. Unfortunately, when I got back the soot mass has gone back up to 53g.

I plan to do it properly over the weekend i.e. with a passenger who can search/reset and then request a regen. I did find the result this morning peculiar though, to lose 9g of soot mass to then put it back on half an hour journeying later...

[Silver Streek]

It may have been because you passively burned some soot off (this is when it burns off without doing a regen) which will happen of you drive steadily for a length of time.

More likely that is just the sensor giving a different pressure reading leading the ECU to calculate the soot mass to be lower. The car can't measure the weight of the soot or ash, it is calculated it based on the pressure sensor readings, miles driven etc.

See how you go at the weekend, once you've done a regen you'll be ok and it will go back to normal. Sounds like you are sorting any issues out the car may have.

[DanMZe90]

Interesting.

This weekend I changed the air filter (last done 2016), cleaned the EGR and replaced the EGR thermostat. Today I bunged some of that £6 STP DPF cleaner in too before I set off with my other half driving.

Whilst driving I noticed that the soot mass started out as being in the late 40s which kind of matches what I get when I pug Carly in after the drive to work. On my driveway it measures in its early 50s which is what brought me to the forum in this instance. Either way, it is the first reading I've had whilst driving.

The drive took about an hour one way. After searching/clearing codes multiple times to the point there were no codes of concern, it failed every single regen attempt via Carly when crusing at above 50 with the temp above 75 (mid eighties). I must have tried it circa ten times. However, watching the live data I saw the soot mass fall to thirties, then teens and then zero about half an hour into the drive whilst failing to get it to regen. My other half was driving so I couldn't tell if it just decided to regen itself or perhaps the work of the additive, although doesn't that require a successful regen to actually do its job? It's risen to about late twenties now and has been driving 'normal' since I've been clearing codes all week.

I'll keep an eye on it now but it is at least not in the danger zone.

I notice the cruising coolant temp is around 83/84 and gets to the dizzy heights of 87 if I give it some welly. Obviously that's above 75 but not quite the late eighties I think are expected...so should I now look to replace the main thermostat even though it is not as urgent now?

Dan

[Silver Streek]

Looks like the ecu must have performed a regen which is good. It's normal to go back to early 20's quite quickly but it will stay there and gradually increase over time untill it regens again.

I had the same thing when trying to request a regen with Carley, you just have to request it then keep clearing the codes, eventually the regen will just kick in, which is what you saw through the live data. The regen doesn't start straight away when you request it with Carley, there is a delay, I assume till the conditions are right and the ECU kicks off the regen.

Now it's done the regen hopefully you won't get the build up of soot and the fault codes it causes which is what will stop another regen from happening. Make sure you have no other issues that could prevent the regen from happening and you should be OK.

Definitely change your stats, the car should sit between 88 and 90. Mine sits at 88 most of the time. I put BMW stats in when I swapped them. Don't bother with after market ones they are not much cheaper but tend to fail quickl make sure you don't run your car around all the time with less than a quarter of a tank of diesel, that's what caused mine to soot up. Now I don't let it stay undr a quarter of a tank it regens fine, even with predominantly short journeys.

[DanMZe90]

Well I reckon I've only got a few more years of ownership left so it will be the last change. Not sure if the 6 years I've had out of the genuine EGR stat and main stat is considered normal either but hey ho. I'm also a bit annoyed as, looking at the instructions for the main stat change, you have to remove the EGR stat to get to it so I could have planned it better! I'll get it through the MOT and look to replace in the next couple of months. Thanks for all your help. Dan

[DanMZe90]

OK, I am resurrecting my thread as I need some advice as to what to do next.

My DPF is still overly regenerating, I've just been 'managing' it for the past year. However, almost exactly a year later I'm back with the '0047B2 motor oil, oil viscosity critical' error so I will need to change the oil again after one full year and about 12k of mileage.

I've been watching the live data from Carly almost daily. It regularly gets up to 40 odd grammes of ash and then I see the regen action of '6' and it gets it down to single numbers. It's given the odd error of 'too many regens' however the regeneration distance since travelled is 358891552 meters which is pretty much the mileage of the car i.e. Carly is saying it has never done a full regen which is a lie!

I did take it to the BMW indie earlier this year who didn't seem that interested in troubleshooting this ongoing problem. They had checked for vacuum leaks (none allegedly) and the only suggestion was sending the DPF away to be cleaned or a new DPF.

As it is nearing 230k and now my job has changed, it will probably only be doing about 6 k mileage a year, I could keep it going 'as is'. I would expect I'd get nearer 2 years before having to forcefully change the oil (myself) because of the viscocity.

However, I'm wondering if there's more I can do easily, short of replacing the DPF. I'm thinking of the sensors, for example, to see if that does anything.

Any advice please?

Thanks

Dan

[Tambohamilton]

I've always wondered about getting my dpf cleaned professionally - seems like a sensible choice, but still major surgery. If everything seems to be working properly, but just the dpf regenerating a lot, I'd look towards getting it cleaned. Does Carly tell you the ash mass?