what is $12 module on bmw 325

[donion]

what is a $12 module on test scanner bmw 325ci

[shadowpuck]

what is the code? what's the symptom/issue you are trying to resolve?

[328 Power 04]

12 is generally the internal diag ID of the DME (engine control unit) of your era car.

[shadowpuck]

yes, indeed.

[donion]

either harmonic balancer or coils etc bmw autologic codes 239 240 242 and my generic scanner p1350 p1352 pending on 1352, 2 mechanics say balancer ,only see fine line on edge of balancer and bmw wants to change all coils plugs first etc just for age of car is 16 years 36000 miles car was running perfect until parking att. rode my clutch out and had to get a new one , cant see reason for misfiring right after , parts are too expensive to change on just a guess, at my wits end with mechanics

[328 Power 04]

Crankshaft position is read at the back of crankshaft internally.
Not sure why else you would want to try to replace harmonic balancer.

- - - Updated - - -

I hope they checked to see if coils aren't swimming in oil from leaking valve cover gasket.

[bmwdirtracer]

Autologic uses WORDS. What did the words say? What did touching the arrow to the right of those codes produce? Autologic is a $30,000 computer....it doesn't just spit out a number, and leave you hunting for the meaning. Any mechanic who told you "it's either the harmonic balancer or the coils" is NOT a BMW mechanic. You need to find a real BMW tech.....one who knows that timing is done at the rear of the crankshaft.....sheesh.

Certainly, coils fail, especially if the spark plugs are swimming in oil. Spark plugs need to be NGK BKR6EQUP. And, of course, the coil drivers inside the DME can fail. But you don't have any viable information here; you need a BMW tech, who at least knows how to use Autologic, or ISTA, or other quality BMW specific diag computer.

Never heard of a parking attendant killing a clutch....in what, 1/16th of a mile? That didn't cause misfires either. Bad coils, or spark plugs would though...... And those are maintenance replacement items anyway.

[323i E30]

[bmwdirtracer]

Who would do that? That's just too stupid for words.....

[323i E30]

Absolutely.
It’s the only way to destroy a clutch that quickly though. No idea

[328 Power 04]

either harmonic balancer or coils etc bmw autologic codes 239 240 242 and my generic scanner p1350 p1352 pending on 1352, 2 mechanics say balancer ,only see fine line on edge of balancer and bmw wants to change all coils plugs first etc just for age of car is 16 years 36000 miles car was running perfect until parking att. rode my clutch out and had to get a new one , cant see reason for misfiring right after , parts are too expensive to change on just a guess, at my wits end with mechanics

239 = 0xEF burning fail Cylinder 2
240 = 0xF0 burning fail Cylinder 3
242 = 0xF2 burning fail Cylinder 5

[bmwdirtracer]

Thank you Abel; I do much better with words !

Donion, the most common causes of these misfire codes are failing coils and spark plugs. As Abel pointed out, early in your thread, a very common cause for the coils failing is when the valve cover gasket set leaks, and the spark plug holes fill up with oil.

Really, on your 16 year old E46, these items are just basic maintenance, and I'd recommend just changing them all.

The harmonic balancer on an E46 is absolutely NOT a common failure item: I have never seen one fail, on this engine. Furthermore, IF it did fail, it would cause horrible rubber burning smells, but not misfires, because unlike some other engines, timing is not accomplished via the harmonic balancer on your engine. Therefore, I have to recommend you stay away from the mechanics who said your balancer might be the problem.

Here are the correct quality OEM plugs and coils, in a set, from a reliable supplier, who has a lifetime guarantee:
https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...12137599219kt1

You'll also almost certainly want this gasket set:
https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...-11129070990-1

and 15 grommets:
https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...er-11121437395

Have you ever done work on your own cars? Do you have any tools? This is really an excellent job to begin doing your own work. Over time, doing it yourself will save you incredible amounts of money. This job will be well detailed at Pelican Parts DIY section.

[donion]

so if timing is done at at the rear of crankshaft what would be disturbed at the rear for timing because as soon as the clutch was changed that's when the problem started, old man didn't know how to drive stick rode the clutch to death uphill and downhill seen the throwout bearing, drove half block and it was over, parts got up into starter and would not start no more, that's when misfires started after clutch change . autologic from minhs auto, supposed to be affiliated with bmw got live reaDINGS NO CODES 242 F2 MISFIRE CYL 5 THEN 239 EF MIS CYL 2 THEN FO MIS CYL 3 AND WROTE CYL 1 ON DIFFERENT PAGE, I GOT CEL TO COME ON BY KEEPING RPM AT ITS WORST AT 2000 AND 3000 RPMS AND MY GENERIC TESTER GOT MISFIRE 5&6 MAYBE PENDING #2, CAR WAS RUNNING FINE BEFORE CLUTCH NOW GAS MILAGE CUT IN HALF,CANT SEE ALL PLUGS &COILS GOING BAD AT ONCE CAR ONLY GOT 35000 MILES BUT 2002 WHAT IS IN REAR NEAR CLUYCH FOR TIMING? SO UR SAYING IF VALVE COVER GASKET IS LEAKING IF I TOOK 2 NUTS OFF PLASIC COVER I WOULD SEE OIL ALL OVER COILS AND OUTSIDE PLUGS?

[328 Power 04]

Wow that was a difficult read.

There's no problem with timing, and your clutch job very likely did NOT cause the misfires.

[bmwdirtracer]

+1. Please try to use punctuation, paragraph breaks, etc....

The timing wheel lives inside the engine oil pan. It is not going to be affected by a clutch job....and you do not have timing codes, or crank sensor codes, just misfires.

If it were my own car, I'd throw a set of coils, a set of plugs, and a valve cover gasket set (with grommets) at it. That's just basic maintenance on a 16 year old E46. I'd certainly also do a smoke test of the intake / ccv system, using a professional smoke machine.

Your mileage has tanked because the car's likely in open loop, instead of closed loop. This may be caused by the multiple misfires, or intake leaks, or a failed MAF sensor, or dozens of other possibilities. Now that you've mentioned this fuel mileage problem, I'd likely start with the smoke test....and rescan the codes, see if you're showing any mixture issues. You're going to need more than an OBD2 pocket code reader, by the way. That works on old Chevies, but is pretty much garbage for a BMW.

Just out of curiosity, is there a little orange dot next to the odometer reading on your instrument cluster?

[donion]

I did a live reading with autologic, 242, f2 misfire cylinder5 also 239 ef misfire cyl 2 also fo misfire cylinder 3, then with my generic scan I made cel come on by holding rpm at 2000 and 3000 rpms that came up p1350 cyl 5 misfire during start and pending 1352 cyl 6 during start. no dot next to milage , im the only owner. no oil leak valve cover, as I stated before , car was pefect before clutch change 26 mpg now 11. minhs wants to change all coils and plugs first! a lot of money on a guess, and two garage mechanics say harmonic balancer is bad that these cars are known for that piece going bad because they come in 2 pieces with a rubber inbetween that rots and comes loose, I see a fine line of wear on the edge of balancer but no wobbling. I cant see all coils and plus to go bad at same time so im left paying arm and leg for gas until whatever part totally goes bad because no one can agree and not gonna throw $2000 a shot on a $6000 car. you also stated open loop but it stays in closed loop!

[bmwdirtracer]

I have worked on many hundreds of E46's, and I have never seen a failed balancer on any M54 or M52tu or M56.

On a supercharged 1st generation Mini....you bet. They fail on that car, and on that car, it will cause terrible misfires.....because the supercharger stops turning.

On your M54 or M56 engine, even if the balancer came apart, it wouldn't cause misfires. It WOULD cause a terrible smell of burning rubber, as the joint between the two halves destroyed itself. After a short while, the outer half of the pulley would fall off, and destroy a lot of stuff.....but that's NOT what's wrong with your car. I highly recommend that you stay away from whatever mechanics told you this was your problem. If you're still not convinced, ask them WHY this would cause misfires....because the timing happens at the opposite end of the engine!


Now, you just said your car's showing closed loop operation, with 11 mpg. Okay, lets look at that fact.....there IS a possibility here that hasn't been considered, although it's far fetched. I certainly understand that you don't want to throw a set of coils and plugs at it, although really, that's only $300, not $2000:
https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...12137599219kt1

But back to your closed loop: Do you have a scan tool which will show you the O2 sensor data, or the fuel trims? Because if your car's truly in closed loop, and getting 11 mpg, I'd have to assume you're about to have massive fuel trim codes. To get that sort of mileage, and be in closed loop, I'd guess that your fuel pressure must be astronomical. Certainly, that would cause misfires.

And now we get to a possible reason that this happened "all of a sudden"when your clutch was done....It's possible that someone jacked up the car in the wrong place, and crushed the return line from the fuel filter/regulator......which would likely cause ~ 80-100 psi of fuel pressure.

Again, this is pretty far-fetched, because you should have a bunch of fuel trim codes....and hell, I think that return line might just be plastic, on an E46.......which would not crush without breaking......

Still....you want an explanation for sudden horrible misfires caused by a clutch job, with 11 mpg too.......that's all I've got.

[shadowpuck]

+1. Please try to use punctuation, paragraph breaks, etc....

man, that's hard to read...

chris - was thinking same thing on closed loop and MPG numbers. if both those facts are accurate - it'd have to be setting trim codes anytime now, i'd think?

[donion]

st ftrm1% -.08 lt ftrm% 7.8 st ftrm2% -1.6 lt ftrm2% 7.0 fuel sys 1&2 in closed loop I put select diag mon test $2 and got id:oa sts:says low mod:$12 o2 bank 1 sensor 1 says 0.450 volts for rich lean and lean rich 0 volts for low and hi switch same for switch time same results for bank 2 sensor 1 if you can understand this maybe it will help parts from that site are not genuine ,plugs from japan, they want $80 for 1 coil alone!$25 a plug!

[shadowpuck]

huh? what?

parts from what site aren't genuine? i'm sorry, i'm not following anything you just posted.

[bmwdirtracer]

+1. You need to use punctuation and sentence construction. What you're writing makes no sense. No, I cannot understand what you're saying.

If the O2 sensors say .450 volts, the car is NOT in closed loop. That's the "stuck" value, when the engine's in open loop, and the sensor is not working.

$12 is a nonsense number given by a generic OBD2 tool. All it means is that you need a real scan tool.

As for the plugs and coils, why argue with the link I just gave you? Those are the correct parts for your car. Yes, the plugs are from Japan....they are NGK BKR6 EQUP, which are EXACTLY what BMW specified for your car. The coils are Bremi,and are EXACTLY OEM spec.

If you're just looking for an argument, and want to compare the very experienced BMW racers and techs and longtime aficionados here to the morons that told you your balancer is bad, go buy a fkg balancer, I don't give a damn. You SHOULD note that no one here wants any money from you.

Sure, if you took the car to the shop I work for, you'd pay a whole lot more, for exactly the same coils and plugs. That's how shops survive. But you didn't....and we led you to a top-quality source for OEM parts, cheap.

I'm done here.....go spend $2000 for $300 worth of parts, and good luck.

[MIKYZZ4]

After reading through this thread, and making some assumptions,
I have to repeat what has already been posted,
and in my opinion is your best option:FIND ANOTHER MECHANIC!!

Do some research, ask fellow BMW owners for shop recommendations,
visit several to get an impression of their professionalism,
then decide on one to ask, for a diagnosis and estimate of repairs.

For future reference, and help with repairs,
join your local chapter of BMWCCA.
They can be very helpful, here is their link:
https://www.bmwcca.org/chapterfinder

parts from that site are not genuine ,plugs from japan, they want $80 for 1 coil alone!$25 a plug!

Btw,where did you get that idea? FCPEuro is an awesome source for BMW parts!! Great prices & warranty w/free shipping!!
Here they are :
This Kit Includes

Qty	Part	SKU	Brand	Price
6	Direct Ignition Coil	BMI-11860T	Bremi	$41.99
6	Spark Plug	NGK-3199	NGK	$6.99
1	Dielectric Compound	81150	Permatex	$2.59

[donion]

wow, did I hit a soft spot? FCPEuro gives you the option from buying genuine items to oem to aftermarket names. Even thought they guarantee parts for life I like to try to keep everything original. I have used this site in the past, the only draw back if you pay for a mechanic and they use your parts they wont guarantee work, plus extra labor to take part on and off. the other downside is paying for shipping for a heavy part so that's why I rather try to buy the best from the start. If you cant fix these cars yourself be prepared to spend over $1500 a visit. NIMHS was recommended here on this site and was to be related to the BMW dealer which is where I brought my car to. what a rip off that place is!

[bmwdirtracer]

You were prepared to believe some morons that told you the balancer was the cause, which is absurd.

NGK makes the factory plugs, and the book provided to me by BMW, in my factory training, says these are the correct plugs. Bremi makes BMW factory OE ignition coils for this car, as well as Bosch. Both grind the BMW labels off, when the items are sold as Bremi/Bosch, rather than a white BMW box. Same damned part.

Note please that the people who have answered you at this thread are extremely experienced. We do NOT use crap parts, and we give bloody hell to people who do. No one who has answered you would even THINK of sending you to Autozone, or to some butthole who thinks a harmonic balancer is causing your misfires.

Is that a soft spot? You bet. Garbage in, garbage out.

[donion]

can wiring for the crankshaft sensor cause misfires from taking out the starter and replacing it? starter had pieces of clutch bearing inside it preventing car from starting. I cant figure what this guy did from just putting in clutch! car was purring like a kitten before work was done. hardly nobody can agree that looks at car, including dealer what is wrong! they only suggest throwing different parts. AS A START are the key words they say.