my Friday 13th

fastboatster · 09-15-2019, 12:58 AM

Spoiler - it ended up being a coil pack

Anyway, dropped and lost my sim card in my project $4(S4) on Thursday night when trying to swap it from my iphone to an android phone to do a control module scan. Thinking I'll be OK and can get a new card during the lunch, I drove to work the next morning. 2 miles from work, when I was accelerating hard on the ramp, the car suddenly started to shake and check engine light came on. Pulled over to the shoulder but then realized I can't call anybody. Couldn't scan my car either because I could never get my work mac laptop to work with INPA. Carefully drove to work, luckily the traffic wasn't fast but not standing either. I thought I had a broken engine mount or something of that nature. Next morning, came back and called AAA. Decided to scan the car while waiting for the tow and discovered that it was a misfire on cylinder 4. Suddenly I get a call from the tow truck driver saying he's 20 minutes away. I decided to quickly try to change the coil while waiting for him (luckily, I bought one before for any occasion like this). Just as I installed the coil pack (or thought I installed it correctly) he calls me and pulls up next to me. I quickly start the car thinking that if it doesn't shake I can just decline his services. No dice, still shakes so decided to go ahead thinking that there might be other, more serious problem going on.
After the car got towed, I decided to double-check the coils again. Well, there we have it, the connector plug just wasn't seated all the way in and the car started right up without any shakes

Guess it just wanted to get my attention.

Soden82 · 09-15-2019, 06:36 AM

In a similar boat myself. The moment I flashed the car with mhd I took it for a spirited drive and had the shaking and SES light come on for misfire in cylinder 1. Coils came in yesterday and spark plugs in a few more days. Deciding to replace everything and start fresh instead of just addressing cylinder 1.

fastboatster · 09-15-2019, 02:11 PM

Well, I have to admit I had this coming - I knew that coils go out at these mileages (100k+) and even bought one spare coil just for this. If one of the coils goes out I thought I’d swap it out then go to dealer to replace the coils under Sulev warranty. Spent more money on tow, Uber and Caltrain than a set of good OE coils would cost me. Pennywise, dollar fool I guess. Going to replace the rest of the coils now anyway

09-15-2019, 12:58 AM	#1
fastboatster Captain 382 Rep 891 Posts Drives: 2009 bmw 328i Join Date: May 2019 Location: CA iTrader: (0)	my Friday 13th Spoiler - it ended up being a coil pack Anyway, dropped and lost my sim card in my project $4(S4) on Thursday night when trying to swap it from my iphone to an android phone to do a control module scan. Thinking I'll be OK and can get a new card during the lunch, I drove to work the next morning. 2 miles from work, when I was accelerating hard on the ramp, the car suddenly started to shake and check engine light came on. Pulled over to the shoulder but then realized I can't call anybody. Couldn't scan my car either because I could never get my work mac laptop to work with INPA. Carefully drove to work, luckily the traffic wasn't fast but not standing either. I thought I had a broken engine mount or something of that nature. Next morning, came back and called AAA. Decided to scan the car while waiting for the tow and discovered that it was a misfire on cylinder 4. Suddenly I get a call from the tow truck driver saying he's 20 minutes away. I decided to quickly try to change the coil while waiting for him (luckily, I bought one before for any occasion like this). Just as I installed the coil pack (or thought I installed it correctly) he calls me and pulls up next to me. I quickly start the car thinking that if it doesn't shake I can just decline his services. No dice, still shakes so decided to go ahead thinking that there might be other, more serious problem going on. After the car got towed, I decided to double-check the coils again. Well, there we have it, the connector plug just wasn't seated all the way in and the car started right up without any shakes Guess it just wanted to get my attention. __________________ 09 328i TiAg 6MT barebones with sport package
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09-15-2019, 06:36 AM	#2
Soden82 Major 479 Rep 1,196 Posts Drives: 2011 BMW M3 Join Date: Jun 2017 Location: Boston iTrader: (1) Garage List 2011 BMW M3 [0.00]	In a similar boat myself. The moment I flashed the car with mhd I took it for a spirited drive and had the shaking and SES light come on for misfire in cylinder 1. Coils came in yesterday and spark plugs in a few more days. Deciding to replace everything and start fresh instead of just addressing cylinder 1. __________________ 2009 BMW 335i 6MT big single (eventually) For now... MHD tuned VRSF Race IC DCI ATM exhaust
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09-15-2019, 02:11 PM	#3
fastboatster Captain 382 Rep 891 Posts Drives: 2009 bmw 328i Join Date: May 2019 Location: CA iTrader: (0)	Well, I have to admit I had this coming - I knew that coils go out at these mileages (100k+) and even bought one spare coil just for this. If one of the coils goes out I thought I’d swap it out then go to dealer to replace the coils under Sulev warranty. Spent more money on tow, Uber and Caltrain than a set of good OE coils would cost me. Pennywise, dollar fool I guess. Going to replace the rest of the coils now anyway
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