m60 engine pinging

[ejhiggins]

Hi guys i'm new to this site and i have two questions regarding the ECU on my 95 540i production date 9/94. The first issue is that the engine is pinging with or without a performance chip installed, premium gas and octane booster in the tank, i took the car to an independant shop and they hooked it up to their computer wich detected the engine pinging but the ECU would not do anything to adjust the timming, they told me that the timming was fine and so were the knock sensors, they said that if the knock sensors were bad they would trigger a fault code, so the only thing they suggested was to replace the ECU , do you think that is the problem? And the second issue that i think may be related to the first one is when i turn the engine on first thing in the morning or whenever the engine is cold as soon as the engine fires i hear a loud high pitched metallic BINGNNN kind of the same sound a bell makes, and it only makes it for a second. What do you think that could be? Thanks a lot for the info

[winfred]

i would do a new set of ngk plugs (BKR6EK) and look for any vacuum leaks, if the fuel filter has over 10k miles id replace it, after checking it over and replacing any parts unplug the computer for a few minutes to let it reset, then see where you stand on the ping, it will take a day or two for the computer to totally adapt to the condition of the motor, another possible thing screwing with it, the pcv valve on the back of the intake manifold can blow and really make it run weird, the intake manifold gaskets can leak during cold running and mess with it too, the gaskets can seal up as the motor warms up and be hard to track down

[winfred]

the ringing sound most likely the starter solonoid is getting slow in retracting and the gear is getting wacked by the flywheel, and the flywheel is making the ringing sound

[ejhiggins]

i just checked the plugs this past weekend and they look fine, my main concern is that while the car was hooked up to the diagnostic computer at the repair shop it detected the engine pinging but the computer wouldn't adjust at all to correct the problem

[ejhiggins]

how do i correct that?

[ejhiggins]

why does it only make that ringing noise when the engine is cold?

[winfred]

id need to hook my own scanner to it to really say, it's not allways right up there in bold print on the scanner what the problem is, it's more knowing how to use the info given to draw your own conclusion, best guess on my part assuming that there is a check engine light condition, the computer is in a "limp mode" due to some problem or bad sensor of somekind and the computer is running from the preset safe injection map, a knock sensor reading out of range will throw a code (the m60 has 4 sensors under the intake)

[winfred]

cold luberacant in the starter?! tighter tolerences in the starter when cold?!


why does it only make that ringing noise when the engine is cold?

[ejhiggins]

i haven't had the engine light on so i doubt there is any bad sensors, im going to repalce the fuel filters since i have never repalced them, some of the plugs had little white dots on them so i'm probably running a little lean. Thanks a lot for your info, let me know how to check the PCV valve and any other vacum leaks i thoght about the intake manifold gasket but the engine only pings when it reaches normal operating temperature.

[632 Regal]

for about an hour, then start the car without touching the throttle for at least 5 minutes, then go give it hell.

Bet that fixes it.

[MBXB]

Jeff,
Would disconnecting the battery and leaving it disconnected overnight do the same thing as touching cables together? Just curious if long term disconnect wil do the same.

[winfred]

just pulling the plug on the computer for a few minutes does the same thing, i've checked out the computers learned memory with my scanner and it's douched after a minute or so, obdII cars may have a longer span but not the e34

[jj7]

Hi guys i'm new to this site and i have two questions regarding the ECU on my 95 540i production date 9/94. The first issue is that the engine is pinging with or without a performance chip installed, premium gas and octane booster in the tank, i took the car to an independant shop and they hooked it up to their computer wich detected the engine pinging but the ECU would not do anything to adjust the timming, they told me that the timming was fine and so were the knock sensors, they said that if the knock sensors were bad they would trigger a fault code, so the only thing they suggested was to replace the ECU , do you think that is the problem? And the second issue that i think may be related to the first one is when i turn the engine on first thing in the morning or whenever the engine is cold as soon as the engine fires i hear a loud high pitched metallic BINGNNN kind of the same sound a bell makes, and it only makes it for a second. What do you think that could be? Thanks a lot for the info
have you tried to see if there is any carbon build up in the combustion chambers,and the intake valves? one major cause for pinging is this carbon. I would advise you not to start buying parts before you take a look inside the chambers through the spark plug holes.Then you can do some wire testing to make sure that with an ohmeter to verify that the wires are in good shape. I had a bad pinging situation which was eliminated (almost) by cleaning the chambers and replacing ignition wires on cylinders 2 & 6.My best of advice is doing tests before any decision of buying,to avoid the mistake i made with my car`s pinging..

[Bill R.]

emissions? specifically nox failure. If not then yours may be running too lean due to deposits on the o2 sensors making the engine run leaner than what the o2 sensors state. There was an eeprom update to correct this. If its this lean then you may have pinging problems.








Hi guys i'm new to this site and i have two questions regarding the ECU on my 95 540i production date 9/94. The first issue is that the engine is pinging with or without a performance chip installed, premium gas and octane booster in the tank, i took the car to an independant shop and they hooked it up to their computer wich detected the engine pinging but the ECU would not do anything to adjust the timming, they told me that the timming was fine and so were the knock sensors, they said that if the knock sensors were bad they would trigger a fault code, so the only thing they suggested was to replace the ECU , do you think that is the problem? And the second issue that i think may be related to the first one is when i turn the engine on first thing in the morning or whenever the engine is cold as soon as the engine fires i hear a loud high pitched metallic BINGNNN kind of the same sound a bell makes, and it only makes it for a second. What do you think that could be? Thanks a lot for the info

[632 Regal]

is that something else?

[ejhiggins]

the engine actually pings a lot more with the performance chip(bav autosport) than with the stock one

[ejhiggins]

i have seen some carbon on to of the pistons when i removed the plugs, i usually run ventil sauber after every oil change. Is there a better way to get rid of carbon deposits on the M60?

[Bill R.]

to fail emissions nox, which means it would be running leaner, which means it could ping... A jc chip or any other chip would still get the false reading from the sensors and run it too lean. Bmw's eeprom update must allow for the false reading and richen it up enough to compensate so that the nox levels won't be too high. Its bulletin number 12 18 99000 if you want to look it up in your tis.







is that something else?

[ejhiggins]

there is an orange sticker on the ecu cover i think it says something about an update or recall i dont remember. How can i tell if the upgrade was done?

[Bill R.]

indicator that you have carbon deposits, you'll always see some deposits on top of the piston. The ventil sauber should be used on the tank of gas before your oil change not after... The solvent used in the ventil sauber can and will get past the rings and some of it ends up in the crankcase diluting your oil, thats why they state to use it on the last tank of gas before you change your oil..





i have seen some carbon on to of the pistons when i removed the plugs, i usually run ventil sauber after every oil change. Is there a better way to get rid of carbon deposits on the M60?

[Bill R.]

http://www.bimmernut.com/%7Ebillr/images/am60emissions.jpg






there is an orange sticker on the ecu cover i think it says something about an update or recall i dont remember. How can i tell if the upgrade was done?

[ejhiggins]

good to know that, but is there any other way to check for carbon deposits?

[ejhiggins]

my car doesn't have that sticker,how do i go about getting the recall done

[Bill R.]

they just reprogram your existing module. The campaign number is on that picture a couple posts below. Its a voluntary recall not a mandatory one so they may not do it as a freebie.





my car doesn't have that sticker,how do i go about getting the recall done