2006 330xi no spark cylinder one, NOT the coil

**PMW1978** · 01-16-2019, 09:34 AM

Hello all, I’m hoping someone can help me out here. I just recently purchased a 2006 330 X I for my wife, with a misfire in cylinder one. So Ive done the obvious- New coil pack, new plugs, etc. It runs pretty rough with the mass airflow sensor in, when I unplug it it does run a little bit better, but there is still no spark going to the first cylinder. I can literally disconnect the coil And there is no change in RPMs, idle or anything else. It is only cylinder one. I have done the swap with the coils, and it is not the plug because I stuck that plug on cylinder two and got plenty of spark. I grabbed a multimeter, and the signals I’m getting for the Wiring harness plugs that clip to the coils are identical between cylinder 1&2. (11.5, 0.4, 0.0). I’m stuck. I guess my question is, is there something that I am missing? Like will something retard the spark for cylinder one, if there is something else that isn’t working properly? Could it be the CPS? Clogged injector? I’m grasping here- Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

Phil

**MarcoZandrini** · 01-16-2019, 10:26 AM

The coils receive 12VDC as long as the ignition switch is in the run or start position. The engine computer (DME in BMWspeak) provides the ground to “fire” the coil. Go to www.newtis.info to find out which wires provide the 12VDC and the ground. The ground will be present for only a few milliseconds.

**328 Power 04** · 01-16-2019, 12:02 PM

Check the wiring as instructed above, if not, I would suspect a component (a coil driver) on the dme.
I can clone this dme (MSV70) into a used one if needed.

**PMW1978** · 01-16-2019, 05:46 PM

Thanks Marco, I’ll look into it. Appreciate the quick response.

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Thanks also 328. If I do need you to clone the computer, or whatever it is that you would clone, what would that entail? Sorry, I don’t have the knowledge that you guys do, I’ve done everything up to and including rebuilding a transmission- but that was a Dodge. Lol

**328 Power 04** · 01-16-2019, 06:07 PM

You'd have to send me the original dme (engine computer), and a used MSV70, or I can source one.
I would clone your engine computer (including the important immobilizer data) to the good used one, and it will be plug and play to your car.

But you should fully check wiring to make sure you don't have another failure somewhere else.

**PMW1978** · 01-16-2019, 06:49 PM

So essentially, my old computer, and a “new used” one.

**bmwdirtracer** · 01-16-2019, 08:18 PM

PMW, I'd just like to tell you that Abel (328 Power 04) is the best. Our forum is gifted, by his presence. He has cloned quite a few DMEs, for me, and the shop for which I work. He's fixed race cars, for fellow instructors, remotely....when the car was at Virginia International Raceway, and Abel was in Texas/

You can trust him absolutely.

If you do the electrical testing to verify that this cylinder is not receiving the coil fire signal, and that said signal is not being sent by the DME: I'd personally advise letting Abel source the DME for you. Send him your DME, and whatever money he requests. He does this to help people.

**PMW1978** · 01-16-2019, 08:50 PM

DirtRacer- I appreciate the input! There was no mistrust in my reply, just asking what I would need to send him, that’s all. But the vote of confidence surely helps. I just want to get this thing going. It’s a surprise for the wife, I thought I could tackle it myself, and that is quickly proving incorrect. I have an 07 328xi, and I love it, however it’s a 6 speed and getting the wife to learn is like trying to make a snowman while it’s 100 degrees out. Not gonna happen. So I bought this AT version. Sweet car, but this has been driving me nuts. I’ll get to testing everything in the next few days. We have a monster storm coming, and I have a Landscape business with plowing- not looking forward to it, but once that’s over I can start messing around with it again.

Thanks again for the feedback, to everyone. I’ve learned more in the past 6 hours than I have in 2 weeks of trying to google shit.

**ross1** · 01-16-2019, 08:51 PM

You've made an assumption that this is ignition related because disconnecting a coil makes no difference.
Disconnecting a coil serving a cylinder not getting fuel will get the same result.
Is that injector firing? You can use a screwdriver as a stethoscope to listen for it, compare to the others.

**bmwdirtracer** · 01-16-2019, 09:33 PM

Indeed, I'm aware of the storm....two of them in a row, I understand.

Ross is right, of course, which is also why Abel and I emphasized testing wiring / fire signal, before condemning the DME. There are quite a few possible culprits for misfires.

You've said that there's no spark on cylinder 1....but I do not see that you've actually tested for spark. You test for spark by removing that coil, plugging a spark plug into it, and grounding the threads of the plug, while someone tries to start the car. If there is a spark, then your DME's coil driver is fine, and you need to search for a different culprit.

I have seen DME's with failed coil drivers, but not as often as I've seen other causes of misfires.

**PMW1978** · 01-17-2019, 01:40 AM

Ross, would the spark be retarded in that cylinder if the injector was not firing?

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That’s exactly how I tested it. I even then put the plug into the cyl 2 coil to make sure I had a good plug. Tons of spark.

**ross1** · 01-17-2019, 09:06 AM

Originally Posted by PMW1978

Ross, would the spark be retarded in that cylinder if the injector was not firing?

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That’s exactly how I tested it. I even then put the plug into the cyl 2 coil to make sure I had a good plug. Tons of spark.

Retarded, or late spark isn't your problem, neither is the crank position sensor*. If by retarded you mean prevented from sparking at all the answer is still no, fueling(or not) shouldn't effect spark.
Have you confirmed the injector is firing?
* I'm not sure about how the triggering is at the crank sensor on your engine. If for some reason the CPS was not "seeing" the trigger properly I could imagine your symptoms. I do know of crank wheels causing misfire issues on other engines.
I'll wait for others here that don't work exclusively on stone age devices such as I do to chime in on this thought.
All the wiring deserves an inspection too.

**PMW1978** · 01-17-2019, 09:44 AM

Abel- my email is phil@keystonelandscapedesign.com,

Can you shoot me a quote sourcing a DME? I haven’t checked the wiring yet, but I will be getting to that early next week. If for some reason it is not the wiring and it falls on the DME, I just want to know what I’m going to be looking at. Also, I noticed there was a few small cracks in the insulation of the wiring going to the coil clip. Both cylinder one and cylinder two have them, and like I said, were getting signal on the MM. just curious if that could have something to do with it? Cylinder two fires, cylinder one obviously does not. It doesn’t look like one is any worse than the other. And there is no corrosion on the copper.

**328 Power 04** · 01-17-2019, 10:36 AM

Sent email.

Do you have access to a multimeter?

**328 Power 04** · 01-17-2019, 12:35 PM

Use the multimeter to measure signal continuity from the dme to each coil. This would be a good initial test of wiring.

**328 Power 04** · 01-31-2019, 05:02 PM

Received your MSV70 dme. Sure enough, the driver for coil one measures at 1.26k ohm, while all the others are at a proper 4.65kohm.

**PMW1978** · 02-10-2019, 06:57 PM

Hey, just wanted to give everyone an update- Abel came through, the issue was the DME as stated in the previous response. Put the cloned DME in the car, fired right up and idled perfectly (took a minute, but...) Great throttle response, etc... Hoping this helps out anyone with this issue, and thanks again to all who contributed.

Abel, SPECIAL thanks again for being timely, professional, informative, and fair! Was less than a week turnaround from sending my DME out until I received the cloned one. Much appreciated!!!!

Phil