Hi all B21playa here from the old land Engine light came on and scanned codes with my launch x431 and got the following: 4b10 - smooth running controller 483d - throttle actuator 4212-52 - glow plugs 4687 - throttle actuator 4501 - exhaust gas revirculation, control deviation Thanks
Sorry was asking for advice, not sure what happened when I wrote the initial post. Car generally runs ok, but sometimes feels down in power
Can't advise on the codes although I'm sure someone will be along who knows diesels @bmwzoom ? Welcome back to the forum.
Welcome "back" ! 4212-52 - glow plugs - don't worry about these. The glow plug controller has probably failed but in the UK it's not a great loss, even in the depths of winter. 4b10 - smooth running controller - this is probably generated as a result of the three codes below. Because the other faults are present the car can't keep the engine running smoothly enough. 483d - throttle actuator 4687 - throttle actuator 4501 - exhaust gas revirculation, control deviation I don't have a look up for the exact codes because my diagnostics usually explain the codes for me so I'm assuming the throttle actuator refers to the throttle valve. The throttle valve and EGR physically are next to each other. First check they're not jammed with soot and carbon. Next I'd be looking at the vacuum system for a broken pipe or a blockage, or perhaps a faulty pressure converter (controls the EGR). Incidentally this lives just under the glow plug controller. The vacuum system controls the EGR. The throttle valve can fail but it's not particularly common. So my instinct - especially in a 535d - is a vacuum hose issue.
beat me to it saves me typing tho to the OP (not Jason) get a C110 scanner as it makes life much easier all for £40
Hi all Car still regen's, so glow plugs don't seem to be affecting this. Egr and throttle valve look clear, but just took engine cover off and tried to turn throttle flap using the spring loaded rod on the side as it didn't turn as smooth as I remember my other ones seemed to. It was like it was getting jammed at very points, Does the throttle valve get coded in if replaced?
That seems to be the internet myth. Nothing in the BMW documentation to confirm this and I know with 100% certainty my car did regen with a failed controller and right now it has one dead glow plug and it's definitely regenerating.
Right bit of an update Put a used egr & throttle valve on today and reset the fault codes, seems to drive better, and engine light didn't come on again in the 30mile drive afterwards. Checked codes and 4B10 smooth running has returned by itself. The only thing I need to sort is the exhaust flexi, but don't know if that would affect it
Smooth running controller is a bit of software to tweak the injectors. If the Launch has a live data section, see if you can see any injector corrections. I believe BMW's tolerance was -4mg/+5mg at idle. If it is above that (gummed up or leaky injector), it'll flag the smooth running controller error. An injector leak off test might also show if there are issues, and something to check before replacing anything is the injector coding. Launch should be able to read the current stored injector coding, and you can see if that matches what is on the car. Diesel engines these days work on tolerances beyond manufacturing capability. To get round this, each injector is flow tested and given a code which describes how far away from ideal it is, and when you tell the ECU, it'll add that into the calcs to square everything up. Not only that, but there's the live correction of -4/+5mg that the ECU can do on top of the coding to account for wear over the years. Live data with INPA shows the smooth running which is the corrected smoothness of the engine. This mode accurately watches the crank speed, and figures out if all cylinders are pulling their weight and if not, it'll adjust them to suit. The other live data display is Selective mass adjustment which is the same but with the auto correction turned off. You'll probably feel the engine go a little lumpy at this point and it'll display the raw uncorrected powers of the cylinders. Note that both of these tests only work at idle, so any touch of the pedal and the data will freeze. That should point you to any injectors that might have issues. If an injector was replaced or swapped without coding, the total of the injector's natural deviation, plus the incorrect coding might mean the total correct falls outside of the -4/+5 band, so coding them correctly might sort it out.
I would sort that exhaust flexi before digging any deeper. The End is spot on with all the injector diagnostics but I suspect an air leak either in the exhaust or on the intake will upset the engine.
For the smooth running fault my money would be on an injector messing around, sometimes they are worse from a cold start especially if the outside temp is also cold although not always. If you can get the smooth running values read out as TheEnd describes that would be a good place to start and monitor those during the warm up phase. Sometimes the injectors can be within the tolerance but a long way from any of the others and still cause the fault. Also the leak off as TheEnd also suggested, if one or two injectors are leaking noticeably more than the rest then that's a sure fire fault.
Thanks for the info Trying to get the car booked in somewhere for the exhaust flexi, the place where I was going to get it done, the engineer is off sick. When I noticed it before I had DIS & INPA installed and checked injector correction values, and all were in spec, between -1.5 & +1.5 It happens at different point, sometimes cold, at times will be when its warm as well.
Got car boomed in for new flexi on Friday morning, will see how it runs after this, Still need to find a copy of dis to install, already have a cable
Flexi replaced but still having problems. happens at random times Ordered new fuel filter, crankcase breather and glow plug controller as these needed doing as well
That's annoying but one thing fixed that needed fixing anyway. You need the codes cleared and read again. If you're installing new software what you really want is Rheingold standalone. It's huge, I can't remember exactly, say 30GB but it's the current BMW diagnostic software.
