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New member, Some Q about Vanos



 
 
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  #1  
Old June 29th 06, 03:56 PM posted to alt.autos.bmw
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Default New member, Some Q about Vanos

Hey Guys,

I just joined this group today, it seems to contain alot of useful
information. My question is concerned with an 2000 E46 328ci. I would
like to ask if any member here has experienced a sudden, silent stall
while driving. It happened to me while I was driving on the interstate,
my car while driving (its a 5spd) suddenly stalled when I was in
neutral and about to switch to 5th gear. My steering got locked, and it
was extremely dangerous. Thank god I have a 5spd and my car did not
choke, It just silently shut down, the only way I could tell was when I
looked in the dash and my engine and oil lights came on in red, so I
pressed the clutch, turned on the car while rolling on the interstate
at 65 mph! I got control back, took it to a mechanic and he told me it
could be my Vanos Unit going out. Has anyones "Vanos" unit gone out
here or experienced the same issue, any information shared here will be
highly appreciated.. Thank you.


Regards,
Omair

Ads
  #2  
Old June 29th 06, 04:48 PM posted to alt.autos.bmw
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Posts: n/a
Default New member, Some Q about Vanos


Bimmer328 wrote:
> Hey Guys,
>
> I just joined this group today, it seems to contain alot of useful
> information. My question is concerned with an 2000 E46 328ci. I would
> like to ask if any member here has experienced a sudden, silent stall
> while driving. It happened to me while I was driving on the interstate,
> my car while driving (its a 5spd) suddenly stalled when I was in
> neutral and about to switch to 5th gear. My steering got locked, and it
> was extremely dangerous. Thank god I have a 5spd and my car did not
> choke, It just silently shut down, the only way I could tell was when I
> looked in the dash and my engine and oil lights came on in red, so I
> pressed the clutch, turned on the car while rolling on the interstate
> at 65 mph! I got control back, took it to a mechanic and he told me it
> could be my Vanos Unit going out. Has anyones "Vanos" unit gone out
> here or experienced the same issue, any information shared here will be
> highly appreciated.. Thank you.



I extremely doubt that a vanos failure would cause a stall like this.
If the steering really did lock then I guess the key fell out?!
If you'd simply put the car in gear it should have come back to life
and even if not you'd have got power steering and brakes back.

  #3  
Old June 29th 06, 06:38 PM posted to alt.autos.bmw
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Posts: n/a
Default New member, Some Q about Vanos

In article .com>,
Bimmer328 > wrote:
> I just joined this group today, it seems to contain alot of useful
> information. My question is concerned with an 2000 E46 328ci. I would
> like to ask if any member here has experienced a sudden, silent stall
> while driving. It happened to me while I was driving on the interstate,
> my car while driving (its a 5spd) suddenly stalled when I was in
> neutral and about to switch to 5th gear. My steering got locked, and it
> was extremely dangerous.


It certainly is if this happened. To lock the steering you have to remove
the key. Which would be stupid. If the engine stalls, you merely lose
power assistance to the steering which makes it heavy but still manageable
while moving.

> Thank god I have a 5spd and my car did not
> choke, It just silently shut down, the only way I could tell was when I
> looked in the dash and my engine and oil lights came on in red, so I
> pressed the clutch, turned on the car while rolling on the interstate
> at 65 mph!


Why did you turn it off in the first place? Most would simply engage the
clutch and hope it would re-start. But you must have been changing gear
very slowly if the engine had time to stall.

> I got control back, took it to a mechanic and he told me it
> could be my Vanos Unit going out. Has anyones "Vanos" unit gone out
> here or experienced the same issue, any information shared here will be
> highly appreciated.. Thank you.


Most likely thing is the crank position sensor. But it should have thrown
up a fault code, so get this checked first. It's unlikely to be a Vanos
fault IMHO.

--
*Why is it considered necessary to screw down the lid of a coffin?

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.
  #4  
Old June 29th 06, 07:57 PM posted to alt.autos.bmw
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Default New member, Some Q about Vanos

Bimmer328 wrote:
> Hey Guys,
>
> I just joined this group today, it seems to contain alot of useful
> information.


I hope you didn't pay too much in initiation fees!

> My question is concerned with an 2000 E46 328ci. I would
> like to ask if any member here has experienced a sudden, silent stall
> while driving. It happened to me while I was driving on the interstate,
> my car while driving (its a 5spd) suddenly stalled when I was in
> neutral and about to switch to 5th gear. My steering got locked, and it
> was extremely dangerous. Thank god I have a 5spd and my car did not
> choke, It just silently shut down, the only way I could tell was when I
> looked in the dash and my engine and oil lights came on in red, so I
> pressed the clutch, turned on the car while rolling on the interstate
> at 65 mph! I got control back, took it to a mechanic and he told me it
> could be my Vanos Unit going out. Has anyones "Vanos" unit gone out
> here or experienced the same issue, any information shared here will be
> highly appreciated.. Thank you.


Go look for another mechanic. This one doesn't even know what the VANOS
does. It is merely a means of mechanically advancing the valve timing.
It would *never* cause the engine to stall, and especially not while
the engine was still in gear.

It sounds like you had a temporary disconnection of an electrical
signal. May a faulty ground connection somewhere or something like
that. Not a valve timing issue.


--
-Fred W
  #5  
Old June 29th 06, 11:32 PM posted to alt.autos.bmw
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Posts: n/a
Default New member, Some Q about Vanos


sunderland wrote:
> Bimmer328 wrote:
> >
> > stalled when I was in neutral and about to switch to 5th gear.
> >
> > so I pressed the clutch, turned on the car while rolling on the interstate

>
> Reading between the lines here... you were rolling down the interstate
> in neutral, with the clutch out?? What the devil for??
>
> If you actually keep the car in gear while driving, the engine won't
> stall as much.


What's wrong with rolling in neutral? I almost always roll to stop
lights in neutral and stay out of gear while at the light. Is this bad?
My car has never stalled while moving...

  #6  
Old June 30th 06, 04:46 AM posted to alt.autos.bmw
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Posts: n/a
Default New member, Some Q about Vanos


"Bimmer328" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Hey Guys,
>
> I just joined this group today, it seems to contain alot of useful
> information. My question is concerned with an 2000 E46 328ci. I would
> like to ask if any member here has experienced a sudden, silent stall
> while driving. It happened to me while I was driving on the interstate,
> my car while driving (its a 5spd) suddenly stalled when I was in
> neutral and about to switch to 5th gear. My steering got locked, and it
> was extremely dangerous. Thank god I have a 5spd and my car did not
> choke, It just silently shut down, the only way I could tell was when I
> looked in the dash and my engine and oil lights came on in red, so I
> pressed the clutch, turned on the car while rolling on the interstate
> at 65 mph! I got control back, took it to a mechanic and he told me it
> could be my Vanos Unit going out. Has anyones "Vanos" unit gone out
> here or experienced the same issue, any information shared here will be
> highly appreciated.. Thank you.
>


First, your problem is not the VANOS, you can relax on that front.

The only way for the steering to lock is for the key to be off AND removed.
I can switch my motor off at any time and I can still steer my car. The
steerig does not lock until the key is removed. But, even if your steering
locked, this is not a VANOS issue.



  #7  
Old June 30th 06, 04:51 AM posted to alt.autos.bmw
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Posts: n/a
Default New member, Some Q about Vanos


"Bimmer328" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Some clarifications. Steering did not lock, I guess it just lost power
> assistance so felt very heavy. Also, the mechanic said he sent a
> electric signal to the Vanos and the vanos would not reply implicating
> that the vanos was inoperative. He said there was sludge-build-up in
> the Vanos system
>
> Also, I did not turn the car off and I dont take much time to switch
> gears, The car silents turns off between gears very quickly. Though it
> does it rarely and has (so far) always turned back on, I just have to
> power it off, turn it back on while the car is rolling on neutral and
> then put it in the right gear so it does not choke.
>


WHY do yo have to power off then back on?

It ought not stall as you say it is stalling, but all you have to do is let
the clutch out and the spinning drive train will restart the motor. You real
issue is that the car does not idle well.





> First I took it to the BMW and they diagnosed and told me it was the
> Camshaft Position Sensor, whcih I paid them almost close to 400 dollars
> for replacement, After it was done, the light did not go away. So I
> took it to another mechanic, and he checked the error code and told me
> that this code could go on because of many faults. So thats when he
> went into the details and kept my car for about 4 hours and then called
> me to tell me that the Vanos was inoperative in the car because of
> sludge buildup. My engine had lots of oil sludge when I buoght it, so I
> had to change oils a couple of times and then do an engine flush. After
> that it drives very smooth, specially at higher RPM's, but it does not
> pick up in the 1K to 3K RPM range. The mechanic told me that is another
> indication of a bad Vanos as the Vanos controls the Mid and Low RPM
> range in these cars.
>
>
>
>
> Fred W wrote:
>> Bimmer328 wrote:
>> > Hey Guys,
>> >
>> > I just joined this group today, it seems to contain alot of useful
>> > information.

>>
>> I hope you didn't pay too much in initiation fees!
>>
>> > My question is concerned with an 2000 E46 328ci. I would
>> > like to ask if any member here has experienced a sudden, silent stall
>> > while driving. It happened to me while I was driving on the interstate,
>> > my car while driving (its a 5spd) suddenly stalled when I was in
>> > neutral and about to switch to 5th gear. My steering got locked, and it
>> > was extremely dangerous. Thank god I have a 5spd and my car did not
>> > choke, It just silently shut down, the only way I could tell was when I
>> > looked in the dash and my engine and oil lights came on in red, so I
>> > pressed the clutch, turned on the car while rolling on the interstate
>> > at 65 mph! I got control back, took it to a mechanic and he told me it
>> > could be my Vanos Unit going out. Has anyones "Vanos" unit gone out
>> > here or experienced the same issue, any information shared here will be
>> > highly appreciated.. Thank you.

>>
>> Go look for another mechanic. This one doesn't even know what the VANOS
>> does. It is merely a means of mechanically advancing the valve timing.
>> It would *never* cause the engine to stall, and especially not while
>> the engine was still in gear.
>>
>> It sounds like you had a temporary disconnection of an electrical
>> signal. May a faulty ground connection somewhere or something like
>> that. Not a valve timing issue.
>>
>>
>> --
>> -Fred W

>


  #8  
Old June 30th 06, 04:54 AM posted to alt.autos.bmw
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Posts: n/a
Default New member, Some Q about Vanos

Such a drama queen!

I coasted my car down a mountain road from over 2500 ft elevation to just
under 1300 ft elevation in 7 miles. I had suffered a cooling system failure,
and the tow truck charged extra to come up the hill, so I coasted down. No
vac assist to the steering or brakes, and no problems.

Sheesh!





"Bimmer328" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> But yes, that day I'll agree I took some time to switch between gears
> because there was traffic, sometimes I let my car roll in Neutral and
> then switch car according to the speed of the cars ahead of me... but
> regardless... my car should have never turned off on me like that. Once
> it happened on a turn, I almost climbed on top of a curve, but I
> managed to pull the steering all the way to the left to miss the curb
> by inches.
>
>
>
> Bimmer328 wrote:
>> Some clarifications. Steering did not lock, I guess it just lost power
>> assistance so felt very heavy. Also, the mechanic said he sent a
>> electric signal to the Vanos and the vanos would not reply implicating
>> that the vanos was inoperative. He said there was sludge-build-up in
>> the Vanos system
>>
>> Also, I did not turn the car off and I dont take much time to switch
>> gears, The car silents turns off between gears very quickly. Though it
>> does it rarely and has (so far) always turned back on, I just have to
>> power it off, turn it back on while the car is rolling on neutral and
>> then put it in the right gear so it does not choke.
>>
>> First I took it to the BMW and they diagnosed and told me it was the
>> Camshaft Position Sensor, whcih I paid them almost close to 400 dollars
>> for replacement, After it was done, the light did not go away. So I
>> took it to another mechanic, and he checked the error code and told me
>> that this code could go on because of many faults. So thats when he
>> went into the details and kept my car for about 4 hours and then called
>> me to tell me that the Vanos was inoperative in the car because of
>> sludge buildup. My engine had lots of oil sludge when I buoght it, so I
>> had to change oils a couple of times and then do an engine flush. After
>> that it drives very smooth, specially at higher RPM's, but it does not
>> pick up in the 1K to 3K RPM range. The mechanic told me that is another
>> indication of a bad Vanos as the Vanos controls the Mid and Low RPM
>> range in these cars.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Fred W wrote:
>> > Bimmer328 wrote:
>> > > Hey Guys,
>> > >
>> > > I just joined this group today, it seems to contain alot of useful
>> > > information.
>> >
>> > I hope you didn't pay too much in initiation fees!
>> >
>> > > My question is concerned with an 2000 E46 328ci. I would
>> > > like to ask if any member here has experienced a sudden, silent stall
>> > > while driving. It happened to me while I was driving on the
>> > > interstate,
>> > > my car while driving (its a 5spd) suddenly stalled when I was in
>> > > neutral and about to switch to 5th gear. My steering got locked, and
>> > > it
>> > > was extremely dangerous. Thank god I have a 5spd and my car did not
>> > > choke, It just silently shut down, the only way I could tell was when
>> > > I
>> > > looked in the dash and my engine and oil lights came on in red, so I
>> > > pressed the clutch, turned on the car while rolling on the interstate
>> > > at 65 mph! I got control back, took it to a mechanic and he told me
>> > > it
>> > > could be my Vanos Unit going out. Has anyones "Vanos" unit gone out
>> > > here or experienced the same issue, any information shared here will
>> > > be
>> > > highly appreciated.. Thank you.
>> >
>> > Go look for another mechanic. This one doesn't even know what the
>> > VANOS
>> > does. It is merely a means of mechanically advancing the valve timing.
>> > It would *never* cause the engine to stall, and especially not while
>> > the engine was still in gear.
>> >
>> > It sounds like you had a temporary disconnection of an electrical
>> > signal. May a faulty ground connection somewhere or something like
>> > that. Not a valve timing issue.
>> >
>> >
>> > --
>> > -Fred W

>


  #9  
Old June 30th 06, 04:56 AM posted to alt.autos.bmw
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Posts: n/a
Default New member, Some Q about Vanos


> wrote in message
oups.com...
>
> sunderland wrote:
>> Bimmer328 wrote:
>> >
>> > stalled when I was in neutral and about to switch to 5th gear.
>> >
>> > so I pressed the clutch, turned on the car while rolling on the
>> > interstate

>>
>> Reading between the lines here... you were rolling down the interstate
>> in neutral, with the clutch out?? What the devil for??
>>
>> If you actually keep the car in gear while driving, the engine won't
>> stall as much.

>
> What's wrong with rolling in neutral? I almost always roll to stop
> lights in neutral and stay out of gear while at the light. Is this bad?
> My car has never stalled while moving...
>


It's okay to wait for the light to change while in N, but you should not
shift into N until yo are very nearly at a full stop. You should allow the
motor to provide braking and not rely solely on the brake pedal to haul your
car to a stop.




  #10  
Old June 30th 06, 10:24 AM posted to alt.autos.bmw
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Posts: n/a
Default New member, Some Q about Vanos

Bimmer328 wrote:
> I do the same exact thing... anyway, guys.. lets get back to the topic
> pls..! any additional information after my latest comments?


Yep, happened to be too, twice in fact ('02 E46 Ci w. Steptronic).
- First time when turning into my street at ~5 mph, the engine just cut
out for no reason (bear in mind it was a Steptronic, so stall is
impossible).

- Second time it happened as I was going down the highway at ~45 mph
(v. heavy traffic), which was most amusing as I'm sure you can imagine!

Again, bear in mind this was a Steptronic(!)

Each time it started up again instantly & ran fine + no warning lights
of any kind. Of course I took it in to be looked at, but no fault codes
were ever recorded. I always had a theory that it was the cam sensor...

In summary, it happened twice over the 3.5 yrs I owned the car, which
doesn't sound much but is very dangerous nonetheless.

 




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