[gclions]

Guys,

Working through a multitude of issues with my car. I've had spurious misfires for some time now, that only got worse with the installation of the Stage 2 upgrade for my N63 (10/10 build date). I don't need any advice as of yet, but I wanted to give a brief run down of my problems in the event some of you have similar symptoms.

With Stage 2 on default settings I was getting random misfires on cylinders 1 and 3. Since I had replaced the spark plugs somewhat recently, those were out. I had the car in to the dealer four times over the past year for what I believed to be faulty injectors in bank 1 (bank 2 was replaced previously), each time they checked out fine, so those were largely out. My next thought was ignition coils. I had cleared the most recent fault codes for misfires and driven it for a week or so with Stage 2 installed with little to no problems, so I wasn't overly concerned.

On a short drive though, I got on it hard at a stop light and the car went immediately into limp mode, rough idle, drivetrain malfunction, etc. I tried pulling over and restarting the car, but no luck still the same. Limped it home and pulled the codes, and it was misfiring on cylinders 1 and 3 again. So, the coils were in my mind the culprit. I picked up two from a local parts dealer (Bosch replacements to keep them matching) and went about replacing them.

While I had the car apart, I noticed that two of three wires to coil 1 were cut with a razor knife. Thinking back, when I had my car dyno'd over 1.5 years ago, the shop technician used a razor knife to cut the sheathing to peel it back so he could get a good connection for torque. Little did I know that mistake would cause me over a year's worth of problems with my car. It hasn't ran quite right since then (stumbles at idle, etc.), but I never thought to check the wire insulation. I actually caught it by accident, saw a glimmer of copper while looking at something else. So, now I've replaced the coils on 1 and 3, and tried heatshrinking the cut wires on the coil plug. Still the same, hard start and immediate misfires. So, naturally I decided to replace the ignition harness, which isn't too terrible. It took 2.5 hours beginning to end, but as luck would have it, still the same misfires.

Needless to say I was perplexed. A guy on the 3 series forum had the exact same thing happen and the two cut wires managed to touch and burn up a portion of his DME. What I didn't know, though I don't have a hard bulletin to share with you, is that the MSD85 DMEs in our cars are covered for 8 years and 80K miles. My SA said it would be covered under warranty, but mentioned 880, so I naturally thought my portion would be $880. This is consistent with the MSD80 DMEs used on other models.

Great news for me if the DME is in fact the problem/one of the problems, but the initial diagnosis by my dealer is the passenger side (bank 1) high pressure fuel pump failed. Drivers side is 116 bar, and the passenger side is 8 bar (should be 116). These HPFPs are building a reputation for failures, and my first thought is the Stage 2 harness broke an already weak HPFP. So, the car is still dead at the dealer. The HPFP is expensive, but is largely being covered with good will (95% covered). It needs a battery apparently as it won't hold a charge now, so there's another expense. But the DME if needed should be covered, which saves a ton.

These cars are fun, but man the costs associated with owning it just keep climbing.

[UA_civ_eng]

Originally Posted by gclions

Guys,

Working through a multitude of issues with my car. I've had spurious misfires for some time now, that only got worse with the installation of the Stage 2 upgrade for my N63 (10/10 build date). I don't need any advice as of yet, but I wanted to give a brief run down of my problems in the event some of you have similar symptoms.

With Stage 2 on default settings I was getting random misfires on cylinders 1 and 3. Since I had replaced the spark plugs somewhat recently, those were out. I had the car in to the dealer four times over the past year for what I believed to be faulty injectors in bank 1 (bank 2 was replaced previously), each time they checked out fine, so those were largely out. My next thought was ignition coils. I had cleared the most recent fault codes for misfires and driven it for a week or so with Stage 2 installed with little to no problems, so I wasn't overly concerned.

On a short drive though, I got on it hard at a stop light and the car went immediately into limp mode, rough idle, drivetrain malfunction, etc. I tried pulling over and restarting the car, but no luck still the same. Limped it home and pulled the codes, and it was misfiring on cylinders 1 and 3 again. So, the coils were in my mind the culprit. I picked up two from a local parts dealer (Bosch replacements to keep them matching) and went about replacing them.

While I had the car apart, I noticed that two of three wires to coil 1 were cut with a razor knife. Thinking back, when I had my car dyno'd over 1.5 years ago, the shop technician used a razor knife to cut the sheathing to peel it back so he could get a good connection for torque. Little did I know that mistake would cause me over a year's worth of problems with my car. It hasn't ran quite right since then (stumbles at idle, etc.), but I never thought to check the wire insulation. I actually caught it by accident, saw a glimmer of copper while looking at something else. So, now I've replaced the coils on 1 and 3, and tried heatshrinking the cut wires on the coil plug. Still the same, hard start and immediate misfires. So, naturally I decided to replace the ignition harness, which isn't too terrible. It took 2.5 hours beginning to end, but as luck would have it, still the same misfires.

Needless to say I was perplexed. A guy on the 3 series forum had the exact same thing happen and the two cut wires managed to touch and burn up a portion of his DME. What I didn't know, though I don't have a hard bulletin to share with you, is that the MSD85 DMEs in our cars are covered for 8 years and 80K miles. My SA said it would be covered under warranty, but mentioned 880, so I naturally thought my portion would be $880. This is consistent with the MSD80 DMEs used on other models.

Great news for me if the DME is in fact the problem/one of the problems, but the initial diagnosis by my dealer is the passenger side (bank 1) high pressure fuel pump failed. Drivers side is 116 bar, and the passenger side is 8 bar (should be 116). These HPFPs are building a reputation for failures, and my first thought is the Stage 2 harness broke an already weak HPFP. So, the car is still dead at the dealer. The HPFP is expensive, but is largely being covered with good will (95% covered). It needs a battery apparently as it won't hold a charge now, so there's another expense. But the DME if needed should be covered, which saves a ton.

These cars are fun, but man the costs associated with owning it just keep climbing.

That last sentence basically sums it up for how I've been feeling lately. My fuel pump failed three consecutive times in one week, but only threw a DTM code for two of the times. I had it towed to the nearest dealer, 65 miles away, and the dealer tells me that since they can't get it to fail at the dealership, that they can't replace it under warranty yet despite the stored codes. So basically they sent me packing knowing that the pump is close to being toast; lovely when I frequently make 7 hour trips through the middle of absolute nowhere.

Short battery life and lots of potential for break downs are already making me look at other vehicles. Even if lots of parts on these cars are covered under extended warranties, it is still a pain in the a** to have to constantly deal with it.

[gclions]

Same here. The multiple trips for "injectors" were troublesome, though if the problem goes away after replacing the harness then it isn't a manufacturer problem. Instead it's poor craftsmanship, and ultimately will make me put more weight on who works on my car. Unfortunately, there are only so many shops with a dyno near me, and this one being up the road was more convenient than anything else.

Between the customer care package, failed injectors, a failed transmission, failed coils, spark plug replacements, an ignition harness, etc. I am looking elsewhere as well. It will be tough to replace the torque and horsepower with the Stage 2 harness installed, at least for the budget I'm maintaining. For now, my hope is with all the parts thrown at the car recently it is running like a top when I get it back.

[SLVSRFR]

From my understanding, nothing about default Stage 2 will break anything. It's the users who can conflict the damage, i.e. running ridiculous settings (10.0 boost fail safe without the proper octane). However, It does expose the weak components of your N63 engine.

When I first installed stage 2 I was getting drivetrain malfunctions on WOT around 4th and 5th gear but when I changed to map 0 (replicates stock configuration) the car wouldn't throw the drivetrain malfunction no matter how hard I drove. One dealer couldn't fix it, so I brought it to a more reputable dealer. Turned out to be my coils on bank 2 which hadn't been replaced under CCP. Once they took care of that, I haven't had any issues for the past 20k miles. I run my car at 3.3 boost failsafe, aggressive mode (wastegate position 1 instead of default 2), and run 91-93 octane of fuel. These are aggressive settings according to Terry at BMS and I daily with it, no issues.

[gclions]

New fuel pump seems to have done the trick. The Stage 2 upgrade doesn't break components, but like you said it sure helps identify the weak ones.

Tomorrow I'll see how it does. I've only had the upgrade for a short time, and due to crap breaking I haven't been able to enjoy it. Honestly I've had buyer's remorse because I can't tell a difference between Stage 1 and 2. My hope is now that the car is running good I can actually get on it hard without a CEL.

[FSociety]

Damn, this is not just particular to the 550 it seems to be happening to more cars N20, N55 engines as well

[gclions]

I didn't even mention having it at the dealership five times for the rear door seals leaking, filling up my rear floorboards with water each time.

I know it doesn't seem like it, but I love the car. I love working on it. I'm actually quite proficient at everything on the top of the engine. It's just the sheer number of times it has been in the shop for stuff I didn't expect.

Fingers are crossed that it's running strong in the morning.

[UA_civ_eng]

Originally Posted by gclions

I didn't even mention having it at the dealership five times for the rear door seals leaking, filling up my rear floorboards with water each time.

I know it doesn't seem like it, but I love the car. I love working on it. I'm actually quite proficient at everything on the top of the engine. It's just the sheer number of times it has been in the shop for stuff I didn't expect.

Fingers are crossed that it's running strong in the morning.

I found my battery pit filled with an inch of water yesterday! Not a sign of water anywhere else in the trunk. No idea how it got in there. I guess these cars have thing for collecting water

[UA_civ_eng]

Originally Posted by gclions

I didn't even mention having it at the dealership five times for the rear door seals leaking, filling up my rear floorboards with water each time.

I know it doesn't seem like it, but I love the car. I love working on it. I'm actually quite proficient at everything on the top of the engine. It's just the sheer number of times it has been in the shop for stuff I didn't expect.

Fingers are crossed that it's running strong in the morning.

Do you mind me asking how the hell you can sanely own a 550i in the state of Virginia? 15 mph over the speed limit or anything over 80 is considered reckless driving, right? AND radar detectors are illegal!

[gclions]

Honestly, I have no idea. I typically maintain a high rate of speed, but I've had worse luck passing through NC. Yes, radar detectors are illegal, though my passport goes on the window when I hit the border.

For your trunk, I would check the channels around the trunk lid for blockages. It is odd it's just the battery well, vice the floor also. I don't know the drainage paths well enough to know which is your likely culprit.