02-01-2019, 09:58 AM | #1 |
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Engine cranks but won't start
Hi,
I have an 2015 X35i with 66k miles. I wanted to see if anyone else has experienced a similar issue in the cold weather this week. Here in Wisconsin the temperatures for the past couple of days have been in the -15 to -20 deg F range. The car has started up fine each morning (it's garaged at home) and after sitting at work during the day. However, twice the car wouldn't start after sitting for only 15-20 minutes while I made a quick stop on the way home after work. The car was warmed up in both cases, so I was surprised it gave me a problem when it did. The car would crank, but then would either fire up and immediately die, or not fire up at all. This was followed by a "Drivetrain Malfunction" error. The first time it happened, I powered down the car and let it sit for a couple of minutes. The car then started fine, and there were no errors shown. The second time (next day) I had to let the car sit for an hour after a number of attempts to start it. I was resigned to calling for a tow but thought I'd try one more time. What do you know, the car started right up and I drove home with no issue. The check control showed all systems OK, but the check engine light is illuminated on the dash. Has anyone else experienced this problem in the extreme cold? I'm wondering if this is just a transient problem that will go away now that the temperatures are coming up, or if there is a real problem somewhere in the system. Could a weak battery cause this, even though the starter was cranking fine? From reading here, it sounds like the most common cause of these symptoms is an issue with the fuel pump, or one of the sensors or relays related to fuel delivery. |
02-01-2019, 10:12 AM | #3 |
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Have you ever changed your battery ? Do you have a battery tender ? If you have a tender put it on over night and see if that helps
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02-01-2019, 10:45 AM | #5 | |
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any water in the fuel at those temps could cause some crazy issues, who knows. Could have pumped just enough into the filter to freeze a bit while it sat |
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02-01-2019, 11:45 AM | #6 |
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Sounds like perhaps a fuel issue. I'd read the code first. You could stop by an auto zone, O'Reilly, or advance auto to get your code read, if you don't have a reader.
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02-01-2019, 02:21 PM | #7 |
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Thanks for the suggestions. I think I will put a battery tender on it tonight, just to make sure it has a full charge, then get the codes read out as soon as I can. I drove the car for a couple of hours yesterday, so I would have thought the battery was topped up. Of course, I was running the seat and steering wheel heaters the entire time, and it is still on the original battery.
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02-02-2019, 11:02 AM | #8 | |
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02-17-2019, 11:13 AM | #9 | |
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EXACTLY!
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When it warmed up- i washed the car good to get and deposits from driveline sensors. Hasn't re-occurred. Next time it does this- hit the bluetooth after only a few tries- let me know what happens. People told me battery voltage (I was using seat heats, steering wheel heat and the d-frogger... but it had plenty of current capacity to keep trying 20 or more times. We just had that dry snow before the cold snap, right? I'm in NW Chicago burbs- you are probably just to the north of me (where do you hail from- I did jr/sr high in Wisconsin west of Oshkosh) This makes me feel better- that it may be a kind of glitch rather than an individual problem. But definitely activate the Bluetooth and try starting if you have the same issue. I'm a polymath- senior tech & engineer- the statistics of this very odd occurrence (bluetooth use overriding the false error) twice, it too rare to be random. And you just confirmed it- I swear i thought I might have drunk-blogged or something reading your description. There were a good twenty OBDC codes too- seems they went away. No solution, talked to the BMW tech at Patrick, he sounded dubious, but thought that if reset itself it would be okay. I am more worried about being stranded. This bugs me. I want to re-create the event to troubleshoot... Other than that- zero issues. Awesome car in the snow and cold, and I just have Dueler run flats. I'll switch next time and get a spare. Thanks for reaching out! Last edited by jelt110; 02-17-2019 at 11:19 AM.. |
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02-17-2019, 12:49 PM | #10 | ||
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Was IMHO worth it to wrote them down - they might have been the answer to your issue. |
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02-17-2019, 02:03 PM | #11 | |
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But as I said- this points to ECU gremlins. My conjecture stands, and it stands with a fully independent conformation, another thread from a guy in Wisconsin (we share the weather usually,,) |
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02-21-2019, 12:03 AM | #12 | |
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Sensors: Hey, it was -20 and i was not going to get the the ground and look! :-) I've had the x5 for about 4 months. I was going by what I had heard in general and some guesses- but i stand by my decades long hypothesis- clean equipment functions better than dirty equipment (yes, I know a few exceptions... you are welcome to dissertate them. :-) ) Yes, i should have- but i was pressed for time, and found the repeat incident to be very umm... 'special' so I lost my good sense. There were so many unrelated (seemingly) errors, I was a bit dubious as to which would be accurate. Next time it gets -20 i'll probably have an late model 40 and it'll be stolen. Actually, I would not mind a 2016 or 2017 5.0 with factory M-sport. (as long as they don't add extra driveline sensors... |
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02-21-2019, 11:27 AM | #13 |
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I was able to borrow a scanner from a friend, and pulled the following codes:
----Confirmed Trouble Codes Scan Report---- 9 Confirmed Trouble Codes Trouble Codes: 1. P15D9 Check report for description. 2. P2088 "A" Camshaft Position Actuator Control Circuit Low Bank 1 3. P2090 "B" Camshaft Position Actuator Control Circuit Low Bank 1 4. P15F8 Check report for description. 5. P15ED Check report for description. 6. P0031 HO2S Heater Control Circuit Low Bank 1 Sensor 1 7. P0343 Camshaft Position Sensor "A" Circuit High Bank 1 or Single Sensor 8. P0037 HO2S Heater Control Circuit Low Bank 1 Sensor 2 9. P0368 Camshaft Position Sensor "B" Circuit High Bank 1 These all appear to be electrical in nature. I cleared the codes and put the battery on a tender overnight. For what it's worth, I have not had any issues with the car for the past three weeks, and the codes have not returned. Of course, it has not been nearly as cold either. I'm not sure what else I can do at this point. I could replace the battery proactively, but given the cost of battery replacement, I'd want to know that the battery is at the root of the problem. Or, I could decide not to drive the X5 if the temperature is below -15 F. I thought that I was taking my newest, most reliable car, but perhaps the electrical systems are just too delicate in these rolling computers. |
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02-21-2019, 04:12 PM | #14 | |
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I'm in the burbs west of Milwaukee. Yeah, this winter has been pretty interesting so far. When the X5 starts, it has been fantastic. Although, I must admit that I've lost a little confidence in it. |
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02-21-2019, 04:18 PM | #15 | |
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Bluetooth can prolong "on" state for dash and iDrive screen during phone calls - when car is shut off, but iDrive and some systems still work just because you are speaking on the phone. So given that speakers are "on" - that means amplifier is on too, central head unit is powered on too. So it's possible I guess that something gets "rectified" lol or some circuit gets power and car starts. Do you guys have 2nd battery in the trunk or not? I'm just thinking maybe secondary battery activates during bluetooth calls to provide power when car is shut off and maybe that extra juice was enough to increase low voltage and car can start? Last edited by DuSh; 02-21-2019 at 04:27 PM.. |
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02-23-2019, 01:46 AM | #16 | |
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That's why I started playing with everything- not sure what might have been tied together. I've had enough 'weird fixes' in my life to be ready to go for this kind of thing. It'll be warmer this weekend, maybe I'll pull off a few covers while washing the beast down. |
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02-23-2019, 02:06 AM | #17 | |
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I too lost some confidence- but I am heartened by it happening to someone else- in that this is probably not a singular event. I troubleshoot problems for a living- industrial and medical equipment- I'm exceptionally good at it- this would be fun if it was not what we rely on for transport. Did a lot of field service and field engineering up there- went to high school west of Oshkosh. I've certified dynos for HD, safety checked stuff for American Superconductor, I used to fly out of Wilmot- but the club moved to Kenosha. Waited out a heck of front line once at Timmerman, not sure if I stopped at Waukesha... Bicycled through there from Omro-Eureka to Chicago a number of times in the early 80s. Thanks for your input- let's stay in touch if that is okay with you- my nephew has a pizza place in Columbus- we go there every few months for a fix. |
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