Misfires after Coil/Spark Plug replacement

[faboR6]

Hello all, 2014 X5 sDrive

Been searching and researching for the past 2 weeks and no luck. Got a drivetrain malfunction after a long trip from TX to AZ. OBD reader indicated misfires in Cylinder 1 and 2. Purchased new coils and spark plugs from FCP Euro. Installed everything without a problem. Turn the vehicle on and same problem continues. I rechecked if maybe I had overtightened them and no all good. Finally took it into a shop. My mechanic is saying there is no spark coming out from 1 and 2 spark plugs. Coils were swapped and they all work pass cylinder 3. Seems like cylinders 1 and 2 are deactivated. Could this be a fuse issue or maybe DME issue. I'm lost and need help please. X5 is not tuned. Injectors were also checked and they all seem to be fine. No fuel leaking or any indication they might be bad.

[turboawd]

Did you inspect the wiring harness going to the coils? Something work loose or mice perhaps?

[faboR6]

Originally Posted by turboawd

Did you inspect the wiring harness going to the coils? Something work loose or mice perhaps?

Yes we checked all that. Unsure if for safety those cylinders were shut off and there's some type of reset or something.

[Sophisticated Redneck]

What kind of coils? Exact same thing happened to me when I put in new Bosch coils that were made in Slovenia... Half of them were bad out of the box, replaced them all with Eldor brand coils and had zero issues

[faboR6]

Originally Posted by Sophisticated Redneck

What kind of coils? Exact same thing happened to me when I put in new Bosch coils that were made in Slovenia... Half of them were bad out of the box, replaced them all with Eldor brand coils and had zero issues

It's the pack from FCP Euro. Direct Ignition Coil Delphi and Spark Plug BOS-0242145515 Bosch. The coils work if switch around to Cylinders 3-6. Spark plugs as well. It the actual cylinders 1 and 2 that won't have a spark at all from the sparks. The mechanic lifts the coils while the car is running and you can hear the spark from 3-6 while 1-2 don't work at all.

[pennsiveguy]

Originally Posted by faboR6

It's the pack from FCP Euro. Direct Ignition Coil Delphi and Spark Plug BOS-0242145515 Bosch. The coils work if switch around to Cylinders 3-6. Spark plugs as well. It the actual cylinders 1 and 2 that won't have a spark at all from the sparks. The mechanic lifts the coils while the car is running and you can hear the spark from 3-6 while 1-2 don't work at all.

So if the new coils work in other cylinders and no coils work in cylinders 1 and 2, then it's not the coils or the plugs. Did the control wires for 1 & 2 get damaged somehow? If not, then it pretty much has to be something in the DME. Or maybe those two cylinders share a knock sensor and that sensor's bad and giving non-stop false knock detected signals.

[faboR6]

Originally Posted by pennsiveguy

So if the new coils work in other cylinders and no coils work in cylinders 1 and 2, then it's not the coils or the plugs. Did the control wires for 1 & 2 get damaged somehow? If not, then it pretty much has to be something in the DME. Or maybe those two cylinders share a knock sensor and that sensor's bad and giving non-stop false knock detected signals.

My guess is the DME. The wires that connect to the coils all look normal. The strange thing about reading other post it that at least a code for the DME would pop up. And as of now only misfire in cylinder 1 and 2 come up. Here's screen shots from the update today. The DME was reset today as well and it showed success.

[faboR6]

Originally Posted by faboR6

My guess is the DME. The wires that connect to the coils all look normal. The strange thing about reading other post it that at least a code for the DME would pop up. And as of now only misfire in cylinder 1 and 2 come up. Here's screen shots from the update today. The DME was reset today as well and it showed success.

Where would the knock sensors be located? It appears that something just completely shut down down two cylinders since the first drive train malfunction error came up and the car started shaking and going into limp mode.

[pennsiveguy]

Originally Posted by faboR6

Where would the knock sensors be located? It appears that something just completely shut down down two cylinders since the first drive train malfunction error came up and the car started shaking and going into limp mode.

I'm not sure where they're at, or even how many of them there are. I'd be interested to see if swapping a couple of them around would make one or more different cylinders misfire. That would identify your problem.

I had my F15 go into limp mode when I got on it really hard with some bad gas, so I know that if the knock sensor(s) detect a certain number of knocks in a certain time period, the DME will shut one or more cylinders down.

[pennsiveguy]

Originally Posted by faboR6

Where would the knock sensors be located? It appears that something just completely shut down down two cylinders since the first drive train malfunction error came up and the car started shaking and going into limp mode.

Looks like there's 2 of them, on the side of the block about midway down. It doesn't look like they'd be easy to get at, to swap them.

[faboR6]

Originally Posted by pennsiveguy

Looks like there's 2 of them, on the side of the block about midway down. It doesn't look like they'd be easy to get at, to swap them.

That does look like a hard spot to reach. At this point I hope is more of a DME issue as it's easier to get to and fix.

[pennsiveguy]

Originally Posted by faboR6

That does look like a hard spot to reach. At this point I hope is more of a DME issue as it's easier to get to and fix.

DME might be easier to get at but it's also going to be a lot more expensive if it has to be replaced.

I think I'd test those control wires to cylinders 1 & 2. They could have been knawed-on by some critter while you were on your trip. Always eliminate the cheaper, easier causes first.

When you clear the codes and restart it, does it immediately start misfiring and go into limp mode?

[faboR6]

Originally Posted by pennsiveguy

DME might be easier to get at but it's also going to be a lot more expensive if it has to be replaced.

I think I'd test those control wires to cylinders 1 & 2. They could have been knawed-on by some critter while you were on your trip. Always eliminate the cheaper, easier causes first.

When you clear the codes and restart it, does it immediately start misfiring and go into limp mode?

Yes I will clear the code and turn on the vehicle and immediately the drivetrain malfunction turns on with the CEL as well and car starts to misfire.

[faboR6]

Originally Posted by pennsiveguy

DME might be easier to get at but it's also going to be a lot more expensive if it has to be replaced.

I think I'd test those control wires to cylinders 1 & 2. They could have been knawed-on by some critter while you were on your trip. Always eliminate the cheaper, easier causes first.

When you clear the codes and restart it, does it immediately start misfiring and go into limp mode?

Is this the wiring your talking about ?

[faboR6]

Originally Posted by pennsiveguy

Looks like there's 2 of them, on the side of the block about midway down. It doesn't look like they'd be easy to get at, to swap them.

Wouldn't I be getting some type of DME fault code or maybe knock sensor. The only two codes I get are the misfires for 1 and 2. I'm going back and checking the wires and trace them back hoping it might be that and nothing else.

[pennsiveguy]

Originally Posted by faboR6

Is this the wiring your talking about ?

Yeah, the wires that go into the plugs that plug into the tops of the coils. I would focus on those.

[turboawd]

I'd double check that ground connection. Looks like one ground for 2 coils?

[faboR6]

Originally Posted by pennsiveguy

Yeah, the wires that go into the plugs that plug into the tops of the coils. I would focus on those.

I will check tomorrow, I had gone over it before Installed everything back but wouldn't hurt to go one by one and those two cylinders. Thanks for the advice I'll keep you guys updated see if that works.

[pennsiveguy]

Originally Posted by faboR6

Wouldn't I be getting some type of DME fault code or maybe knock sensor. The only two codes I get are the misfires for 1 and 2. I'm going back and checking the wires and trace them back hoping it might be that and nothing else.

It depends. If the DME gets no signals from one of the sensors or gets a value from the sensor that is out of range, it'd throw a code. If the physical mechanism of the sensor is wonky but the signal it's sending appears normal to the DME, the DME won't be able to figure it out.

[pennsiveguy]

Originally Posted by turboawd

I'd double check that ground connection. Looks like one ground for 2 coils?

Good call. Grounds deteriorate as vehicles age.

[EdgyE36]

FWIW - this sounds somewhat similar to a recent video I watched. It's on an older E36, but cylinder was dead and it wasn't plug or coil. It was coil driver, fixed by replacing a fuse in the DME.

[faboR6]

Originally Posted by EdgyE36

FWIW - this sounds somewhat similar to a recent video I watched. It's on an older E36, but cylinder was dead and it wasn't plug or coil. It was coil driver, fixed by replacing a fuse in the DME.

Thank you this could be another option. My mechanic found one wire leading to cylinder 1s coil with a small split. He fixed it with electrical tape but still doing the same thing. He is still inspecting the rest of the harness as of now.