MOT failure

Right, I've been quiet because I've got nowhere until now. My mechanic has had a few 'family' problems and as a consequence has been unable to stay late after work. The manifold is bolted down but the loom, some pipes and injectors aren't connected. I looked under the bonnet yesterday in the hope I might just see a couple of bolts need screwing down and a few plugs which are easily recognisable. I found nothing of the sort! the sight gave me no confidence of being able to put it back together as it's hard to tell what goes where because I have only ever seen it together.

The good news bit is me and the afore-mentioned chap are going in on Saturday (both our days off) and between us we are going to finish the entire job; manifold back on and everything connected, front calipers cleaned up and pads replaced, brake fluid change, n/s/ front spring replaced and a new fan belt. Luckily the guy is also an MOT tester so as he would have done the failures, he can then pass it on those items just leaving the emissions test for which I'll be crossing all my fingers and toes. As we'll have about 5 hours and a ramp, a huge box of tools and 2 men on the job, I see no reason why I won't have an MOT by Saturday lunchtime and my car purring.....no, ROARING home! unless by some cruel twist of fate my hunch on the PCV valve not being at fault as thought then I may still not get through the emissions but I'm not even going to think of that until such a time it becomes a reality.

I am therefore hoping to be bringing you good news either Saturday or more likely Sunday as Sat is my sons birthday.

ttfn

Mike

I'm up at 7am tomorrow, being picked up by the mechanic. He cleared a ramp in the workshop for tomorrow so we can go straight in and get to work. Then after all that I've got to cook the food and set up the hall for the party, do the party games then clear it all away again! I think I'm going to be knackered by tomorrow evening!

Cheers for the kind words Eric.

Mike

Ok, the good news is all the failures have been done but still have the misfire. Tester managed to squeeze her through by 'tweaking' the machine (which was playing up anyway) and it took about 30 minutes of testing, adjusting, re-calibrating the machine etc before she finally went through and I mean by 0.01% literally!

When the coils are disconnected one by one, all 8 make the engine misfire much worse so it's not a cylinder totally out, just an intermittent miss. Mechanic is fairly sure it's more likley to be an ignition problem rather than fuel. Is there a way of testing the coils i.e. with an ohms meter? if so, does anyone have the correct values?

Good news on the whole then, brakes feel a bit spongey but need bedding in so it's to be expected. I didn't get around to doing the fluid change or the belt but she's back on the road and that's what counts. I have some time now to sort the other issue of the misfire out. I'm determined it's not going to beat me! The annoying thing is, it's probably been there for over 2 years now and has never got any better or worse. Bit wierd really.

Anyway, see where we go from here.

Mike

Right, well according to the Bentley manual you can test the resistance between the outer pins (should only be three pins in total) and each coil should read 0.4-0.8 ohms.

Now without sounding stupid, have you actually had the codes read yet by a proper BMW machine? I know the dealers will charge for it, but their computers would surely pick up something as bad as a misfire and to me that would be worth £40 alone, just knowing what it is!! Then again, there is an independant specialist very near me who has a diagnosis machine (same one as dealers) and they don't charge for it - they said they would give my car a check up for free. So you might be lucky at a specialist somewhere....?

Anyway, check the coils and post back the results and above all CONGRATS on getting her back on the road! Bet you're happier now!

Edited by Crispy-d

Mike I've had that message when my battery was on the way out, and I think it can also come up when the fusible link is cracked.  Given that it's been off the road for a bit maybe it could be that?  Or else you're right and you've disturbed some plug or other.

On the misfire front if you still have the cam sensor fault (whatever is causing it) then tracing that might trace your misfire.  If you still think it could be a coil one answer could be to splash out on a new coil and keep swapping it to see if you cure the misfire.

Glad she's back on the road anyway!

Mike,
Cam position sensor error (be it sensor or wiring) will cause misfire/failure to rev. and you should get that sorted (as JSW said).
Your brake pressur error may have been if you did not pump the pressure accumulator down before filling.
General unplugging may have upset things on the electrical front, so don't worry if the messages have stopped.

 Hi Mike,

              I am glad that your car is nearly fixed. Well done. How did the party go. I hope you all had a good time. Once again well done.

              ERIC