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Stalling and SES after cleaning K&N filter

6K views 22 replies 10 participants last post by  illestminimike 
#1 ·
Ok, so I want to start off by saying that I am brand new here but I did try to do my own research first because I know from other car forums, everyone hates when you post a question that was answered a million times.

based on what I found, it seems as though my car is having 2 different problems; however, both problems started at exactly the same time which leads me to believe there is 1 common problem that I am hoping one of you experts can help me figure out.

I have a 2005 6spd M3 with only 13,000 miles on it. I have driven it for about 1200 miles with zero problems. Then on Sunday I removed the K&N filter and used a recharge kit on it (done this many times before with other cars...not really something you can mess up). When I put the filter back on and started the car the RPM's began pulsing between 1k-2k. I thought this was weird, but I ignored it and parked the car for the night. Next day pulsing happened when i started the car and then died down. As I was driving though, when i started braking, the car stalled out. Again, thought this was weird but somewhat ignored it. 2 minutes later, i came to another light and same exact thing happened. Now I know something was up. its been a couple of days now and probably 1/5 times i am going over 45mph and come to a stop, the car stalls. Then just yesterday the SES light came on.

So from what i have found so far, it seems the E46 is a little finicky with after market intakes; these apparently can cause the car to run lean; however the intake was on for the first 1200 miles i drove the car with no problems, problems only occurred after I cleaned it (which, yes, i understand a clean filter can allow more air to come through, but still). I also don't understand why the car would start stalling only during braking after this.

This is my first BMW but I am somewhat of a gearhead so I know how to work on cars and would really prefer not to take this to a dealer for them to rape me. If anyone has any ideas if this is a related problem or if it was pure coincidence and if there is any advice for how I can fix this problem, it would be greatly appreciated.

I'm looking forward to participating in this (what appears to be) great community. Thanks in advance
 
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#3 ·
well I let it dry for about 20 min in 100 degree Arizona heat (which, granted, is not very long but it felt dry and was not dripping at all) and yea I definitely put it back on correctly (all you do is slide it onto the tube and tighten the clamp down)
 
#4 ·
I feel like 20 minutes is not long enough even in that heat. The filter is made of cotton which keeps a lot of moisture. I'm guessing it's a cold air intake and not a drop in filter. I would take it out and let it dry some more. Then try resetting your codes and checking for problems again
 
#5 ·
you might be right about the 20 minutes, which was my first thought when the rpm pulsing happened, however i didn't drive the car after i cleaned it, just pulled it into my garage and left it overnight which definitely would have been enough time to dry at that point.

Additionally, even if I reset the SES light, that wouldn't take care of my stalling problem I wouldn't think?

I mainly want to confirm these problems are related to each other (SES light and stalling) and are they related to the cleaning of the filter or purely coincidental they both happened after the cleaning of the filter?
 
#7 ·
I'm pretty sure Autozone has OBD readers but even if i get the codes read and confirmed its intake related, the intake is definitely 100% dry at this point and the car is still stalling so I'm trying to understand what would be causing that part (the SES light im less concerned with than the stalling)
 
#8 ·
It doesn't just have to be moisture related. You could have over oiled the filter which the maf sensor doesn't like. So the codes might give you an idea of what's wrong and what you could potentially clean. More than likely it is your maf sensor for one reason or another. Once you get some codes you might be able to get more detailed help. I have the same intake on my m3 but I have yet to clean it. But I have heard of maf sensor codes from the oil and erratic driving.
 
#12 ·
clean the maf

get yourself a peake tool or one like it that shows you bmw-specific codes, this will help you diagnose your problem with ease. One of the best things Ive done.

I would double check your install and clean the maf and get the check engine light turned off.
 
#13 ·
Yeah 20 minutes is not long enough. I let mine sit for more than an hour in the sun. Get the MAF cleaner and codes read. Since your in Arizona, Autozone can scan the codes. They don't do it in California anymore. And if you have so little miles, why did you even clean it? My intake had about 30k on it and barely had any dirt. I'm assuming you have the K&N Typhoon intake like me. I didn't feel any difference when I cleaned mine. I felt more of difference when I cleaned my MAF sensor a few weeks before.
 
#14 ·
@illestminimike I just bought the car a week or so ago and the place I bought it from didn't really know anything about it so I just thought I would clean the filter, change oil, flush the coolant, etc just so I can know where I stand on my my maintenance items on the car. Didn't really know it was going to generate problems in the car though...

and yea, I'm realizing 20 min was probably not long enough although there really are not many things that don't dry out in Arizona heat in 20 min; I guess that was my thought process. live and learn i guess
 
#16 ·
I would strongly recommend taking this M into bmw and updating the software and have an inspection just so you know everything and anything.

If you can afford this machine you can afford couple $$$ for proper check up and update.

And congrats on a beutiful car.. Enjoy it.


Sent from my SGH-I727R using Bimmer App
 
#18 ·
^This, I read that all the time K&N oiled filters don't seem to work well with e46's. MAF Sensor Cleaner is at Autozone thats where I bought mine when I had SES light and lean codes also after messing around with my air filter. Cleaned it and reset the codes. Car idled better and no codes ever came back. Good luck man :thumbup:
 
#21 ·
make sure its not leaking somehwere and sucking in unmetered air
Use mad russians fix for putting in the mesh so that the air is not turbulant
For some reason this affects some m3s and not all m3s
IT also depends on whether you got the 57 fipk or the typhoon.
I am looking for a way to reduce the feeling of almost stalling (i dont hav eht emesh as there was no easy way to do it in the 57)
 
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