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Johno

E46 2001 330d – Will Not Go Beyond 3,000 Revs – Urgent!

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Hi,

I was driving to work this morning and noticed that my rev limit was reduced to 3,000 rpm which meant that the auto box was unable to change gears properly, so I drove it home in semi-auto mode.

Back on the driveway I put it out of gear and put my foot down, the revs initially exceed 3,000 but only for a few seconds. I can hear the engine fighting to go higher but it won’t budge.

I found a few threads on here pointing to the MAF so I disconnected it, same problem.

Any ideas what it could be? EGR valve? Crankcase breather? Dodgy hose?

I will get the codes read asap but may as well check the ‘basics’ while I’m off work.

I had the swirl flaps replaced quite a while ago so I'm assuming it's nothing to do with that. Turbo also seemed fine with no unusual noises.

Thanks for your help,

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I was going to suggest MAF but other than this it sounds like your car has gone into limp mode.

Have you got any lights on the dash?

Your best option here is to get it to a local indy or stealership and get it on a diagnostics otherwise it could be a needle in a haystack..

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Thanks guys, I'll get the codes read and we'll see what comes up.

There are no lights on the dash - other than the one that keeps bugging me to add screen wash.

...Thinking about it, the first time I noticed this problem was about 3/4 of the way through a 2.5hr drive on Sunday, I tried overtaking something and the revs increased but the speed didn't. I assumed it was ABS kicking in or something but obviously not.

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I had this problem about 10 months ago. Turned out to be the air flow meter/lambda sensor. No lights on the dash whatsoever, just would go over the revs but the power wasnt there.

+1 on the diagnostics. Check with your local quick fit, they might do a diagnostic for a tenner if you ask them nicely to read the codes.

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Is your fuel guage showing the correct reading? If the sensor in the tank is knackered then it wont let the engine rev above 3000rpm as the ECU will think it has no fuel. I have the same symptoms when i run the tank down to empty, cuts off a at 3k.

Could also be that your turbo has bitten the dust, does it feel sluggish?

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Is your fuel guage showing the correct reading? If the sensor in the tank is knackered then it wont let the engine rev above 3000rpm as the ECU will think it has no fuel. I have the same symptoms when i run the tank down to empty, cuts off a at 3k.

Could also be that your turbo has bitten the dust, does it feel sluggish?

The fuel reading has been fine and when I first discovered this problem I had about half a tank so I don't think it's that.

Not sure about the turbo, it never felt sluggish and always seemed to pull fine without any noises. Other than sluggishness is there any other way of knowing if a turbo is on it's way out?

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If it were gearbox though you would have lights on the dash surely.

Another simple thing to check is split hoses, have a look all around your intake etc and make sure no air is escaping.

its just i read something a while back on fanatics had the same problem and it was something to do with the box. Hope it aint the box tho.
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If it were gearbox though you would have lights on the dash surely

Yer I reckon so Simon, on the E60 at least you got the COG symbol show up, plus a notice in Idrive apparantly........fingers crossed its nothing too serious matey.

Turbos normally let go with a bang followed by smoke of varying amounts, pretty sure you would know if you had lost your turby mate :P

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I had a friend (BMW tech) read the codes last night and it looks like something to do with either the fuel pump in the tank, pre-supply pump under the front passenger side, or the fuel filter.

He's going to take a proper look at it over the weekend, I'm really hoping it's just the filter but these things are never that simple.

Have any of you guys experienced anything similar? I'm a bit lost on why it only revs to 3k, is this limp mode? or does the system require high pressure fuel delivery beyond this point?

Cheers guys

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It will cut off at around that point if it thinks its not getting enough fuel (sorry for the non technical lingo lol) as i say sounds like the same symptoms you get if you run the tank empty.

Start off with the cheapest to replace (fuel filter), then have the pump in the tank checked/replaced (next most expensive) then have the pre delivery pump checked/replaced (most expensive).

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Has the car been run using a Tuning box by any chance ?? they can exert extra stress on the fuel delivery system, especially the high pressure fuel pump which are a slightly weak part of the chain by default, let alone ramped up with tuning boxes....

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Update:

Fitted a new filter but the problem is still there, it does seem to get up to around 4k at times after the filter change but when flooring it the needle pretty much stops dead around 3.5k

A new pre-supply fuel pump is on the way, hopefully it will solve the problem!

I'll update once it has been fitted.

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