Check battery voltage. These systems will often light up everything normally but fail to start when the battery is down. I've got a sneaking suspicion that one of the electrical things that was disconnected may have been so because it was draining the battery.
Well, the good news is the car started. The bad news is, I have no idea why.
I went out with the electrical troubleshooting equipment I thought I'd need and decided to try turning the key. The car started... (it started again this morning for work). Normally I love "self fixes", this one has me a bit nervous.
I did forget to check to see if there was any draw on the battery. Voltage was good (brain fart)
good times.
Still starting!
Another thread on this forum made me do this:
https://youtu.be/vni_6TS-CHI
https://youtu.be/2h5BTmAbHYk
good times
Well, the engine developed a bit of a misfire yesterday on the way home. It's a bit intermittent and it almost seems like modulating the throttle causes it and cures it. To me it screamed "vacuum leak" but the fault list only listed "#1 engine misfire, fuel cut" (P1343).
When I got home I swapped #1 and #2 ignition coils and drove it around for a while. When I checked again, I'm getting multiple misfire codes so there goes that idea. Tonight I'll do a smoke test with our air mattress pump and a cigar.
Pictures offered as proof of work accomplished 
On the subject of those ignition coils: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6b0ftfKFEJg
Good times
Man, you aint ballin until you buy blunts for your bimmer...
No leaks found, but the boot on the back side of the MAF was super loose (like I forgot to tighten the clamp the last time I was in there). I tightened it up and checked all the adjacent clamps just to be sure, but today the misfire seemed to still be there (could be placebo effect, but it didn't seem as bad today). I'm going to shoot the MAF with some alcohol at lunch today and see how the drive home goes.
and today of all days, I left the scanner in Mrs. Hungary's merc...
Looks like the air pump check valve has a fitting for a vac hose, but there is no hose. Round thing at the front of the engine, exhaust side.
Yeah, PO had that disconnected and the air pump removed before i got it (the wires to the air pump were melted pretty good too). I keep meaning to order a blank off plate to clean things up but I keep forgetting. I dont think it's the cause of the misfire though.
I hit the MAF with some alcohol and the misfire persisted so I figured an italian tune-up on the way home home was in order. I laid into her pretty good during the trip, but by the time i got home my "intermittent misfire" was now in effect full time (win!)
With the misfire now constant, I threw the code reader on her and got "misfire, fuel cut cyl 1" and "misfire, fuel cut cyl 5". I hit both runners and injector seals with brake clean while idling but the engine didnt change its tune. Next time I'm under I'll swap #1 and #2 injectors to isolate that first. I think #5's fault might just be a fluke, so I'm going to focus on the repeat fault first. If 5 persists, I'll repeat the fault tree for it afterward.
Good times.
Well, it's nice to know my automotive sense of direction is spot on...
With the engine running I unplugged the #1 coil and the engine got all sorts of cattywampus. I plugged it back in and unplugged the #5 coil (you know, the one I just called a "fluke") and there was no change in the misfire. Swapped #4 and #5 coil and the fault followed.
Going to buy a new coil for #5 on my way home today.
Good times.
(photo offered as proof of #5 coil unplugging)
At this point it may be worth just buying all six and calling it a day. Get plugs if you haven't already and new rubber connectors too. That's what I'd do.
Curse you and your wisdom and good advice! I still haven't been able to clear funds for what I'm calling "cooling system, stage 1" yet ($200-ish).
Had I known the coil was just going to come with the top half, I would have most certainly bought the bottom half as well. Also, this guy only had a brand I've never heard of for coil options so maybe I'll be making that order through Pelican (or similar) so I can have that warm fuzzy about the quality of parts I'm using.
so six coils and boots, go on the list. Some day I'll get to the bottom of it and I'll be ordering parts I want instead of parts I need... (Full disclosure: I could be at that point now, but we got a pup. He needed about $600 in vet bills right away and so there went my "parts needed" funds)
Good times. (picture of pup submitted as evidence)
I FINALLY got around to giving the INPA software a serious "go". My last attempt set up the cable driver, but I didn't go much beyond that.
My crap-top runs 32x Windows 7 which should work "in theory" but no matter what I did, I couldnt get 50skid's instructions to work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yswbiySn9T8
(even with VM ware's workstation...)
Breaking my "dont read the comments" rule, I found a link to mike's easy BMW tools in the first post: https://mega.nz/#!kAASwa7I!AJLVnnEBwLgzDPzBeQ4uQo60p1lbU2BsZofE-TBYGmk
So far it seems to be working 
Good times.
So the 19th of august began a week long holiday where I was certain I would get things done. Day 1, I jumped right in, and took the intake elbow off, along with the air box and associated hoses/sensors. The goal was to get underneath and see what really needs replacing (since the budget is a lot more limited than previously thought). And to finally get that 02Pilot mod done (I picked up the necessary hose on my last visit to the states as it was surprisingly hard to find out here)
So day 1 looked something like this:
aaaaaaaaaaand then it sat.
projects around the house, a quick family trip out to a nearby island, whatever the case the car fell to the back burner and didn't get touched until the very last day of the holiday stay.
I did get a good look at the cooling hoses and vacuum hoses while I was in there though. From what I can see, it looks like everything that is easily accessible has already been replaced (upper and lower radiator hoses, easy to reach vacuum hoses, etc). The heater hoses (the ones going to the heater core, valve, and the one going to the expansion tank) are all super soft and need to be replaced. The thermostat is sending a fault code, so that's on order too. And I'll be darned if I'm not getting something "fun" out of this, so I bought a water pump with a metal impeller (yeah, that's what constitutes as fun these days).
I also got a chance to check my DISA valve for operation, it worked but I decided to play it safe with the budget approval committee and not push for the DISA bulletproof kit this time (still lots to buy). That goes on the same list as the coils and rubber boots, and whatnot
So yeah, that's that.
With the 02Pilot mod done, I'm still getting some eye burning fumes in the cockpit it seems... I don't see a leak anywhere, but I think I hear an exhaust leak. I might try to track that down (sounds like it might be the front exhaust manifold to head gasket) and see if things dont improve. It's not enough to bother me on my daily commute, but if I drive any longer than 30 minutes or so then it gets pretty noticeable. (turning the AC on recirculation seems to help)
So yeah, good times.
War droppings:
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