[Kathyr]

Hello all!

First and foremost, thank you to anyone who contributes to this diagnostic. I appreciate any and all ideas. Secondly, I drive my cars hard and intend to push them to their limits. This is a new purchase for me and my first German car. I am not a technician, but I am comfortable working on my cars.

This afternoon, I was playing around in my work's parking lot. A coworker and I did a few donuts, parked our cars to let them cool down, and then headed inside to finish our work.

Three hours later, I started my car, and it began running roughly, throwing a P0304 code. I figured it was time for a coil and plug swap, so I did so.

After replacing the plugs and coils, the car will now not start. I re-ran my scanner, and the car now throws P0344 and P0369, in addition to the original P0304. I intend to perform a compression test, but I’d appreciate any ideas to help narrow down the problem.

Thank you for your time,
-Kathyr

[ctuna]

after a single coil swap or after swapping them all ?
Best to do them one at a time and then test .
When you do something and it reacts badly it's best to back
out of it.

[Kathyr]

Originally Posted by ctuna

after a single coil swap or after swapping them all ?
Best to do them one at a time and them test .
When you do something and it reacts badly it's best to back
out of it.

Heya!


Yes, I swapped all 6 coils and plugs at the same time. Later when I get home, I’ll swap back all of the original coils and see what happens, if the car runs, I’ll replace cyl 4 with a new coil and plug and update here

Thanks
-Kathyr

[gbalthrop]

Originally Posted by Kathyr

... After replacing the plugs and coils, the car will now not start. I re-ran my scanner, and the car now throws P0344 and P0369, in addition to the original P0304...

PO344 & P0369 indicate your Cam Sensor Signals are INTERMITTENT. If the Freeze Frame data for those codes shows the mileage NOW on your odometer, then you changed something in the wiring/connectors between the Cam Sensors & the dme. The engine will NOT fire if NO Cam Sensor Signals to dme during Starter Cranking, as it can't TIME the Ignition Spark or Injector Pulse.

If you need ISTA wiring & Connector info, please provide Last-7 Characters of VIN.
George

[lookalikehuuh]

I would strongly suggest you get a BMW specific scan tool because the generic "P" codes aren't going to be a lot of help for you here.

Essentially BMW's have a way more advanced diagnostic system than what a generic OBDII code reader can read and its highly likely there are a ton of codes that your code reader can't access.

When you say you swapped the coils do you mean you replaced them with new ones or swapped them around with the existing ones to see if the misfire moved? If you replaced them where did you source the parts? If they are new PLEASE don't tell me you got them from your local parts store because that could put you into a world of hurt. These cars are really finicky with parts quality and have extremely tight tolerences for parts that in my experience local autozone/oreilly/napa parts simply don't meet the majority of the time.

[Kathyr]

Originally Posted by lookalikehuuh

I would strongly suggest you get a BMW specific scan tool because the generic "P" codes aren't going to be a lot of help for you here.

Essentially BMW's have a way more advanced diagnostic system than what a generic OBDII code reader can read and its highly likely there are a ton of codes that your code reader can't access.

When you say you swapped the coils do you mean you replaced them with new ones or swapped them around with the existing ones to see if the misfire moved? If you replaced them where did you source the parts? If they are new PLEASE don't tell me you got them from your local parts store because that could put you into a world of hurt. These cars are really finicky with parts quality and have extremely tight tolerences for parts that in my experience local autozone/oreilly/napa parts simply don't meet the majority of the time.

You are definitely right. I am in a world of hurt, as the car has developed what I think is a knock after replacing all of the original coils and plugs.

[ctuna]

A generic code reader is probably good enough for pointing you at specific cylinder of coil but it's better to have BMW Standard Tools and Ista D.