[teejaybee]

In view of your current vehicle test I now firmly believe you have a sticking EGR valve as hesitation and low power under 2000 rpm happens when this valve isnt operating correctly.
You could try removing and throughly cleaning or replace EGR and all should be well.
It might also be worth cleaning the intake manifold pressure sensor as this also can be a problem with your symptoms.
You have begun the process of elimination to a tricky problem,hang in there you will get there.

 

[Revelator1969]

In view of your current vehicle test I now firmly believe you have a sticking EGR valve as hesitation and low power under 2000 rpm happens when this valve isnt operating correctly.
You could try removing and throughly cleaning or replace EGR and all should be well.
It might also be worth cleaning the intake manifold pressure sensor as this also can be a problem with your symptoms.
You have begun the process of elimination to a tricky problem,hang in there you will get there.

Thanks for your reply. I already took the egr valve off a while ago and it was only lightly sooty, i cleaned and oiled it anyway, the spring is very strong so its unlikely to ever get stuck open, maybe i need to take it off and test it again, now that i have a vacuum gauge i can test its movement while its out.

The MAP sensor was replaced with a new oem one.

TESTS DONE TODAY

EGR valve tests using vacuum gauge - please note opening egr with my vacuum gauge causes the engine to stall is this normal?
ISTA air mass system test still reports the egr as faulty.
ISTA pneumatic egr tests, both tests cut the engine out

0 - 10 - checking egr holds pressure (it does)
10 - 30 - egr operated with vacuum gauge & engine cuts out
30 - 50 - vacuum reading before pressure converter and it goes off the scale
50 - 2.07 - vacuum reading after the pressure converter

Acceleration with foot to floor, all components are connected, there is hesitation and low power below 2500rpm, my foot is flat to the floor, a knocking noise appears around 2000 to 2500rpm, this noise is only heard at this point in the rev range and only brought on with the foot flat to the floor ie not with gentle acceleration.

 

[teejaybee]

If engine cuts out when operating egr by vacuum this is normal.
Under normal operating conditions the egr is only pulsed by signal from dde to vacuum solenoid according to varying operating conditions .
Everthing about what you have detailed points towards EGR at fault.
To be honest you are only faced with limited choices at this stage therefore to replace a potentially fauly egr(potentially sticking) is your best option.
I have personally suffered the exact same problem you have and ended up replacing MAF,MAP,Pressure converter/vac solenoid, and EGR.
My egr bench tested ok and seemed to conform to the spec as yours does but it was still not operating correctly.
It was the last(most expensive) item to replace but it done the trick.
The performance was back to normal with no hesitation around the 2000rpm mark,pick up was rapid and car was back to its old self ,very responsive to throttle.
The way I looked at it was that the cost of 'throwing parts ' at the car was still well worth it because a so called 'BMW Specialist' wanted 1500 pounds plus as a starting point to fix it.
Needless to say this was a case of the usual 'Ripp Off Garage' .
What better incentive is there to find a resolution.
You are nearly there I think,only my opinion and if anyone else cares to chip in then they are welcome if they think my diagnosis is flawed.
Keep us all posted.

 

[Revelator1969]

Thanks mate for sharing your interesting dealings with your problem. From what i have read on an ISTA document on the egr valve is that its operating travel is 8mm so im guessing i only need to concentrate on its movement on that for part of its travel. Did you happen to notice any difference in feel with your hand when you got the new egr valve compared to the old?

I think i would rather remove the egr valve with a remap and block it off rather than pay for a new one. I do prefer to keep the car original if i can but not if the expense is too high. I would rather plug the egr off and do a remap to remove it, some people pay money for the kits and remove it, thats not for me.

 

[teejaybee]

The replacement EGR opened somewhat easier than the original so I can only assume it must have been intermittently sticking at various temperatures.
These are not that expensive and there are plenty on offer to choose from,it is not a complicated part and worth investing in a new one for the purposes of elimination.
I personally believe the car performs better with a good working EGR valve as opposed to removal .
The car is designed to have the egr in circuit .
I tested my car with the egr vacuum blanked(eml warning light illuminated) and the air mass readings are far too high resulting in the type of hesitation you have described and feeling of lower power around 2000 rpm.
The EGR is also an active component in regeneration as I understand it.
I was faced with the same dilemma as yourself and considered the delete option but could not get guarantees that it would not eliminate an eml warning light( mot fail).
My vehicle(330d e90) remains totally stock and pleased I took this route with no worries about zealous MOT testers failing the car due to removal of emission components.
Plenty of so called mappers with fancy websites make claims re. egr removal but I demand guarantees which they are not so keen to give.
The choice is yours

 

[Revelator1969]

The replacement EGR opened somewhat easier than the original so I can only assume it must have been intermittently sticking at various temperatures.

Hi mate i think you might be right and i am hoping you are right. I took my egr off today and it does seem to move ok with the vacuum gauge, i now know to look at it a bit closer that i did before, when i try to move the plunger with the unit between the palm of my hands i can feel a slight stickiness, like its dry and rough sounding scraping noise, who knows how it will behave under those high temps too. Would i be right in thinking it cannot be stripped down and serviced? Did you buy an aftermarket one then? It sounds like its worth replacing it if they are not crazy money to buy new. One step closer lol thanks for sharing your wisdom.

 

[teejaybee]

Aftermarket EGR ,perfectly satisfactory.
If you are keeping car for life then original oem.

 

[Revelator1969]

Aftermarket EGR ,perfectly satisfactory.
If you are keeping car for life then original oem.

I will see if i can source one on Monday morning, im in Glasgow, i am travelling to Bristol on Monday afternoon as i am starting a job on Tuesday. Its unlikely i will find one before i go but i can always get one when im in the Bristol Area, i dont know when i will be returning home exactly. I have spayed penetrating fluid in all the orifices of the egr and it feels a bit better, i dont know if that will help or not but its free to try. I will let you know of any progress i make.

 

[Revelator1969]

I

Aftermarket EGR ,perfectly satisfactory.
If you are keeping car for life then original oem.

I fitted my egr valve tonight and took it for a brief drive along the street, it was for a brief moment a bit better, i was not sure if i was imagining it or not and then it went bad again, i popped the bonnet and checked the vacuum to the egr and there was none, i checked the vacuum to the pressure converter and that was fine, i did a scan using my phone and i found a 419B code has come back, it looks like it has disabled the egr via the pressure converter.

In ISTA i have read quite a few times that a certain fault like the MAF would in turn deactivate the egr. There are other items that can disable it too.

My theory - It looks like this 419B code has deactivated the egr. The deactivated egr is making my car go like there is an faulty egr. I will test it further tomorrow.

I have asked on the forum if anyone has experience of that specific fault code and description. To see if it is maybe related to the egr, maf or i need the DDE repaired. Im hoping its one of the cheaper options.

 

[Greasy]

Silly thing .. could it be that the vacuum pipes to the pressure converter are on wrong way round? ie, the bottom one should go to the EGR, the top to the vacuum pipe tee-piece ... Part 1 in the diagram, just swap over the pipes and try it ...

 

[teejaybee]

You might have a look at a post on another forum which is an identical set of probs as your car.
The fault plan is to replace DDE where the ambient pressure sensor is located although there still remains some doubt if
another component is the issue.
Of course the DDE replacement is the most expensive option and it is always wise to look at other components/modules/sensors before going that route.
Heres the post for your info.

Ambient Pressure Sensor - Anyone Know About This Code 419B

Hey Guys BMW 520d LCI N47 The DDE is deactivating my egr valve and as a result my car is performing very badly below 2500rpm. I replaced the pressure converter with a new one and sometimes there is no vacuum leaving the pressure converter. This is because the DDE is deactivating the egr valve...

www.bimmerfest.com

 

[Revelator1969]

Silly thing .. could it be that the vacuum pipes to the pressure converter are on wrong way round? ie, the bottom one should go to the EGR, the top to the vacuum pipe tee-piece ... Part 1 in the diagram, just swap over the pipes and try it.

Hi mate thanks for your reply. They are on correctly, i have done a vacuum test with my gauge many times and they work correctly.

You might have a look at a post on another forum which is an identical set of probs as your car.
The fault plan is to replace DDE where the ambient pressure sensor is located although there still remains some doubt if
another component is the issue.
Of course the DDE replacement is the most expensive option and it is always wise to look at other components/modules/sensors before going that route.
Heres the post for your info.

Ambient Pressure Sensor - Anyone Know About This Code 419B

Hey Guys BMW 520d LCI N47 The DDE is deactivating my egr valve and as a result my car is performing very badly below 2500rpm. I replaced the pressure converter with a new one and sometimes there is no vacuum leaving the pressure converter. This is because the DDE is deactivating the egr valve...

www.bimmerfest.com

Hi mate thanks for your reply. That post is by by me lol that's why i mentioned to you that i was going to ask about the 419B code as it is so rare and i want to see if anyone has any insight, i really dont want to replace the DDE and im not sure that is needed at this point in time, it could be the maf or the egr thats causing the 419B code. People are trying to help but nobody seems to have had direct experience with that code.

Good news is Im convinced the egr is faulty and sticking. Before my first drive today i checked the vacuum feed before and after the pressure converter and all was ok, i also cleared the code from last night. The car drove slightly better when cold today but nowhere near 100%, i think the penetrating spray help a little bit. Once warmed up i stopped somewhere to run the ISTA air mass system test, it still says the egr is faulty like before, i run the egr valve tests, the engine cuts out and the tests cant be performed, i closed ISTA and i could not start my car, after 5 minutes, i then blew into the egr to close it and then the car started, this has never happened before but it seems its sticking open despite that strong spring. Time to replace the egr and see how it goes after replacing it.

The egr valve is needing replaced but also the DDE is deactivating it at times too, so i dont know if that will still happen after i replace the egr valve. I Will replace the egr and take it from there. Whew.

 

[Revelator1969]

I had to travel 370 miles today. This morning i tried to get an egr valve but there was only a few places open and they said their supplier was closed anyway. Im am now outside of Bristol and i will need to try again on Wednesday when im off.

 

[Revelator1969]

My egr did not turn up today, i complained to the seller on ebay and asked for a shipping refund as i paid for next day delivery, they refunded me without any hassle. So goodness knows when it will turn up.

 

[Alan G]

Pain in the rrrrs when that happens.
Then something you are not in a rush for will turn up next day sods law i call it.

 

[Revelator1969]

Pain in the rrrrs when that happens.
Then something you are not in a rush for will turn up next day sods law i call it.

Yeah for sure man, this happens so many times to me to, cheap and unimportant things arrive the next day

 

[Revelator1969]

Sorry for the late reply, I fitted the new egr valve this morning and i used ISTA to do so as there is a procedure to reset the adaptations and then fit the new egr valve. I let the car sleep for 1 hour after fitting. I went for a drive and there is an good improvement after replacing the egr valve however sadly there is still has hesitation and low power below 2500rpm.

I did the ISTA air mass system tests again, im pleased to say it passed for the first time, it always used to fail due to the egr fault, now it passes this test with the new egr valve.

I drove 50 miles and no other codes appeared.

I did know i needed a new egr valve and ISTA has proved this. My car still has hesitation and low power below 2500rpm. I unplugged the maf sensor and the car now drives great. So it looks like the Maf sensor needs replaced too. Before i replaced the egr valve disconnecting the maf did not help much at all, after replacing the egr valve disconnecting the maf sensor makes the car go great. It looks like i also need to replace the maf sensor too.

I will need to wait and see if the 419B ambient pressure sensor fault comes back, i know the egr valve was needing replaced, i also think the maf sensor needs replaced too. Im hoping i dont need to replace the DDE.

 

[Revelator1969]

Im not sure whats wrong. I did need a new egr valve and the exhaust pressure sensor but my car still has this problem.

I am getting these codes over the last 8 days. Has anyone got any thoughts on these codes? Before it was mostly 419B i was getting but i now have a few that are repeating.

3 times - 4501 EGR CONTROL DEVIATION
3 times - 419B AMBIENT PRESSURE SENSOR
3 times - 4CD0 BOOST PRESSURE PLATE

1 time - 41AA BOOST PRESSURE SENSOR

 

[teejaybee]

The options are now limited because of your previous replacements.
It would seem that assuming all other factors/sensors are good (including 100 per cent vacuum lines) that MAF replacement should be considered as the last remaining option.
If that doesnt fix it then DDE may be a problem.(rare to the best of my knowledge)

 

[Revelator1969]

== `QUOTE="teejaybee, post: 3354633, member: 860125"]
The options are now limited because of your previous replacements.
It would seem that assuming all other factors/sensors are good (including 100 per cent vacuum lines) that MAF replacement should be considered as the last remaining option.
If that doesnt fix it then DDE may be a problem.(rare to the best of my knowledge)
[/QUOTE]

Thanks for your reply. Yes im thinking that way too. Its just crazy how these different codes appear after i changed the egr valve. I will look into finding a new bosch maf and probably buy it and take it from there. Ill update this thread once there is any progress.