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Thread: Replaced VCG and now car only cranks and displays "Start-off assistance inactive"

  1. #1
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    20009 BMW 328i E93

    Question Replaced VCG and now car only cranks and displays "Start-off assistance inactive"

    I had a leaking oil cover gasket and it was time for new spark plugs, so over the past week, I replaced the valve gasket, spark plugs and coils on my 2009 BMW 328i. Once i had installed all the new parts, I reconnected the neg battery cable and performed the valvetronic motor relearn procedure (key-in, ignition on, wait 2min, key off wait 30sec, repeat). After I went through the relearn procedure, I attempted to start the vehicle. That's where the problems start
    The brake pedal is very stiff and the engine just cranks but won't start. After awhile of cranking (approx 6-7sec), I get an indication shown in the attached picture indicating "Start-off assistance inactive". I checked the fault codes with OBDFusion and there aren't any.
    The car ran fine before the valve cover gasket/plugs/coil replacement.
    Any ideas how I can troubleshoot this?

    Resized_20190506_172434_3316.jpg

  2. #2
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    Have you rechecked your work? All electrical connections?

  3. #3
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    Check all your work. You've missed something. Check the ground wires, and power wires on the strut tower, coil connections, injectors, etc.

    And BTW, the valvetronic procedure is completely unnecessary. Just turning on the key once, it will do a sweep from stop to stop.
    ASE and BMW Master Certified Technician

  4. #4
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    I took a log using OBD Fusion before and during cranking. See attachment. Does anything look suspicious?
    I checked connections again as well as fuses. I don't see any issues there.

    Screenshot_20190507-183855.jpgScreenshot_20190507-184217.jpg

    Quote Originally Posted by White94RX View Post
    Check all your work. You've missed something. Check the ground wires, and power wires on the strut tower, coil connections, injectors, etc.

    And BTW, the valvetronic procedure is completely unnecessary. Just turning on the key once, it will do a sweep from stop to stop.

  5. #5
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    Does anyone have feedback on the logs which I took during cranking? Does it appear the engine is attempting to fire? Does battery voltage look ok?

  6. #6
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    I've never used logs like that and can't comment on them. The car ran before you worked on it. Now it doesn't run. You did something wrong somewhere along the way. Are you getting any fault codes? Post the codes with the descriptions.
    ASE and BMW Master Certified Technician

  7. #7
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    No fault codes being read. I am using OBD Fusion android app to read the codes.

    Quote Originally Posted by White94RX View Post
    I've never used logs like that and can't comment on them. The car ran before you worked on it. Now it doesn't run. You did something wrong somewhere along the way. Are you getting any fault codes? Post the codes with the descriptions.

  8. #8
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    No codes unfortunately. I am using OBD Fusion android app and an OBD WI-FI adapter.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by White94RX View Post
    I've never used logs like that and can't comment on them. The car ran before you worked on it. Now it doesn't run. You did something wrong somewhere along the way. Are you getting any fault codes? Post the codes with the descriptions.
    I got a FoxWell NT520 scanner and was able to pull the following codes:
    A0B4 - CAS; Engine Start, starter operation
    A0B5 - CAS Fault, road speed signal

    I tried cranking again this morning and it sounds like it starts to fire, but then continues cranking. The engine is N52.

    Is there anything else I can check with the scanner to understand this issue further?

  10. #10
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    After many, many days trying to figure out why my car wouldn't start, I was nearing surrender and started looking up local shops that could tow my car in for assessment. Then my wife asked me if I had prayed about the situation. I thought that seemed like a good idea, so I went into the garage and said a prayer asking for direction. Well, then it occurred to me to pull off an injector coil and see if the spark plug was making good contact. I did this and found when I pressed the sleeve over the plug, the plug would push out and not make contact. I checked the other plugs and they all had the same situation. What had happened was that when I put in the new plugs and injector coils, I smeared dialectric grease on the inside of the boot and the spark plug ceramic shaft including the metal tip. I think I went a bit overboard sine there was no friction in the boot to keep it seated on the plug. So, I went back and installed the old plugs and injector coils and cha-ching! the car fired right up. Mission accomplished


    So, the bottom line here is don't go overboard with the dialectric grease when applying to the spark plug. Probably only need it applied on the metal tip of the plug which seats in the injector coil.


    Thanks for all the input.

  11. #11
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    Glad you got it figured out. Like we said, check your work. And BTW, I never use dielectric grease on plugs or coils. Well, anything really. And they're ignition coils. Not injector coils.
    ASE and BMW Master Certified Technician

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