Replaced Spark Plugs, Slew of fault codes

Dan_Q · 04-11-2014, 02:36 PM

So this morning I swapped out my plugs. I purchased them from Turner Motorsports and they seem to be the exact same thing as the stock plugs. Same exact part number stamped on them and they arrived in a BMW parts box (Bosch ZR5TPP33-S or BMW part number 12120037582). It all went pretty uneventful until I started up the car. It started roughly and I immediately realized I forgot to plug in the sensor on the intake. CEL came on and I turned it off. I plugged in the sensor pulled out the Accessport then checked and cleared the codes. I then restarted it and it sounded fine but after 5 seconds the CEL and Service engine soon lights came back on. I checked again and had a slew of 7 codes showing. Most were present upon the first attempted start. They were:
P2FAC: Active Eng Mounts 2 electrically
P2EFE: Elec Fan
P2F03: No description
P2EE0: No description
P2EF1: No description
P2EE2: No description
P2EF3: No description

What the hell could I have done? I was thinking another missed connector mate but I don't think there were really any other de-mates. The new plugs look identical to what came out and the gaps were roughly the same on the new plugs as what the old plugs had. The car has 32k miles and I've owned it for all of about a month. So I'm a newbie to dorking with the N55.

HELP!

Dan_Q · 04-12-2014, 08:23 AM

So I went back in this morning and put the stock plugs back in. Buttoned everything up, cleared the codes and restarted the car. No issues. WTF? The new plugs I got literally looked identical to the old ones. The only difference was a 3 digit code stamped on them that I assume is probably the batch number.

So the whole reason for replacing the plugs now was because I want to install a Cobb tune and I read that plugs and sometimes coils need to be replaced in order to prevent misfiring issues. So what's a man to do? My car doesn't seem capable of accepting new plugs. Has anyone else had issues when replacing their plugs?

Initial G · 04-12-2014, 01:24 PM

I'm also planning to replace my plugs this weekend but I bought my plugs from ECS tuning PNs: 12120037582 and ZR5TPP33. I saw your plugs had PN: ZR5TPP33-S though, not sure if that makes a difference. I searched the Bosch website and it showed ZR5TPP33 for the 2011 N55 335i.

I checked the gap on all of them and they were all a little smaller than the 0.8mm pre-gap that they are supposed to come with. So i adjusted to what my plug gapper showed. So either the plugs all came from Bosch with the wrong gap/too small or my gapper is off. Then I also read that these plugs should not be gapped as it can damage the electrodes. I will probably install them and see if they work ok.

I read on another post that there may be differences between the plugs not purchased at a BMW dealer, even with the same PNs. But of course all the dealers charge a lot more, some even twice ECS. We'll see how these turn out.

Initial G · 04-14-2014, 09:36 AM

Dan_Q

Quick update on my spark plug change. I did it yesterday and got no codes or issues and the car is running well. As mentioned, I had gapped them as the factory gap showed too small when I checked against two different gappers. Bosch warns against doing any gapping as the electrode is very thin and can be damaged but I must have gotten lucky and not caused any. Next time, I'll leave it as them come.

I still wonder if the plugs you bought (ZR5TPP33-S) are different in any way from the ones I bought from ECS Tuning (ZR5TPP33). Others on the forum said the plug type that works with our cars is very specific.

I also followed the DIY which was very helpful:
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...ht=spark+plugs

04-11-2014, 02:36 PM	#1
Dan_Q Second Lieutenant 118 Rep 241 Posts Drives: F80 M3, F15 X5 50i Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Colorado Front Range iTrader: (5) Garage List 2018 M3 [9.50] 2015 X5 xDrive50i [10.00]	Replaced Spark Plugs, Slew of fault codes So this morning I swapped out my plugs. I purchased them from Turner Motorsports and they seem to be the exact same thing as the stock plugs. Same exact part number stamped on them and they arrived in a BMW parts box (Bosch ZR5TPP33-S or BMW part number 12120037582). It all went pretty uneventful until I started up the car. It started roughly and I immediately realized I forgot to plug in the sensor on the intake. CEL came on and I turned it off. I plugged in the sensor pulled out the Accessport then checked and cleared the codes. I then restarted it and it sounded fine but after 5 seconds the CEL and Service engine soon lights came back on. I checked again and had a slew of 7 codes showing. Most were present upon the first attempted start. They were: P2FAC: Active Eng Mounts 2 electrically P2EFE: Elec Fan P2F03: No description P2EE0: No description P2EF1: No description P2EE2: No description P2EF3: No description What the hell could I have done? I was thinking another missed connector mate but I don't think there were really any other de-mates. The new plugs look identical to what came out and the gaps were roughly the same on the new plugs as what the old plugs had. The car has 32k miles and I've owned it for all of about a month. So I'm a newbie to dorking with the N55. HELP!
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04-12-2014, 08:23 AM	#2
Dan_Q Second Lieutenant 118 Rep 241 Posts Drives: F80 M3, F15 X5 50i Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Colorado Front Range iTrader: (5) Garage List 2018 M3 [9.50] 2015 X5 xDrive50i [10.00]	So I went back in this morning and put the stock plugs back in. Buttoned everything up, cleared the codes and restarted the car. No issues. WTF? The new plugs I got literally looked identical to the old ones. The only difference was a 3 digit code stamped on them that I assume is probably the batch number. So the whole reason for replacing the plugs now was because I want to install a Cobb tune and I read that plugs and sometimes coils need to be replaced in order to prevent misfiring issues. So what's a man to do? My car doesn't seem capable of accepting new plugs. Has anyone else had issues when replacing their plugs?
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04-12-2014, 01:24 PM	#3
Initial G Initial G 4 Rep 41 Posts Drives: 2011 BMW 335i E90 N55 Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: SF Bay Area iTrader: (1)	I'm also planning to replace my plugs this weekend but I bought my plugs from ECS tuning PNs: 12120037582 and ZR5TPP33. I saw your plugs had PN: ZR5TPP33-S though, not sure if that makes a difference. I searched the Bosch website and it showed ZR5TPP33 for the 2011 N55 335i. I checked the gap on all of them and they were all a little smaller than the 0.8mm pre-gap that they are supposed to come with. So i adjusted to what my plug gapper showed. So either the plugs all came from Bosch with the wrong gap/too small or my gapper is off. Then I also read that these plugs should not be gapped as it can damage the electrodes. I will probably install them and see if they work ok. I read on another post that there may be differences between the plugs not purchased at a BMW dealer, even with the same PNs. But of course all the dealers charge a lot more, some even twice ECS. We'll see how these turn out.
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04-14-2014, 09:36 AM	#4
Initial G Initial G 4 Rep 41 Posts Drives: 2011 BMW 335i E90 N55 Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: SF Bay Area iTrader: (1)	Dan_Q Quick update on my spark plug change. I did it yesterday and got no codes or issues and the car is running well. As mentioned, I had gapped them as the factory gap showed too small when I checked against two different gappers. Bosch warns against doing any gapping as the electrode is very thin and can be damaged but I must have gotten lucky and not caused any. Next time, I'll leave it as them come. I still wonder if the plugs you bought (ZR5TPP33-S) are different in any way from the ones I bought from ECS Tuning (ZR5TPP33). Others on the forum said the plug type that works with our cars is very specific. I also followed the DIY which was very helpful: http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...ht=spark+plugs
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