[mattp1986]

Hi I have a 335d 2007 model e90. I've noticed that when I first start the engine in the morning sometimes the crank takes a little longer and it s followed by a big puff of white smoke from the exhaust, then white smoke keeps coming until the engine has warmed up. And sometimes it shows a yellow swirl symbol in the HUD. The car is fine once warmed up and is running fine with no noises or other problems. Any ideas what could be wrong, or is it normal. As I say it only does this on a cold start when the car has been sitting for over 12-18 hours overnight.

[mattp1986]

Forgot to add, the car has a dpf delete which I suppose could affect things.

[335dlci]

What yellow swirl symbol are we talking about? The dsc? Have you lost any coolant? It almost sounds like a cylinder could be filling up and in the morning, the car is tryin to compress that water causing a rough start then all the white smoke to be present in the exhaust

[mattp1986]

No mate not lost any coolant at all. The symbol is like a yellow swirl, but it only shows up for a split second then dissappears after. My mate said he thinks it could be the glow plug symbol. Would that cause the white smoke if one of my plugs was out

[CO335D]

Originally Posted by mattp1986

No mate not lost any coolant at all. The symbol is like a yellow swirl, but it only shows up for a split second then dissappears after. My mate said he thinks it could be the glow plug symbol. Would that cause the white smoke if one of my plugs was out

Your buddy is right. That is the glow plug indicator. It just means the glow plugs need a little extra time to warm your fuel. Are there any codes? Cold start issues can definitely be related to a bad glow plug or glow plug module.

[mattp1986]

Not had it scanned for faults yet mate, but there are no errors in the check control on the idrive. Might just get the plugs changed they are not that expensive anyway, and see what happens then.

[335dlci]

What are your ambient temps where you live?

[WreckerX5d]

I'm pretty sure it's normal for a cold unfiltered diesel to do this. Mine does the same thing. I find it rather pleasant, actually.

[mattp1986]

I'm in the UK mate so it's been around 1 to 4 degrees Celsius when it's happened. As I say it's fine when warmed up. Would a faulty glow plug bring up a warning light or would I need to get it scanned

[jackstrath]

it will just store a code rather than bring it up , scan for codes , 3+ glow plug errors (each cly will have its own error) its most likly to be the controler rather than 3 failed at the same time , if its just the 1 code for a cylinder then it will be that single glow plug

personaly if you have no record of it getting done id do all 6 , if the glow plug controler is cheap might be worth doing it while the intake is off for the plugs as its a bit fiddly if you want to do it with the intake off

and while you are doing that , it might be worth blanking the swirl flaps! lol

all up to you tho!

[mattp1986]

Originally Posted by jackstrath

it will just store a code rather than bring it up , scan for codes , 3+ glow plug errors (each cly will have its own error) its most likly to be the controler rather than 3 failed at the same time , if its just the 1 code for a cylinder then it will be that single glow plug

personaly if you have no record of it getting done id do all 6 , if the glow plug controler is cheap might be worth doing it while the intake is off for the plugs as its a bit fiddly if you want to do it with the intake off

and while you are doing that , it might be worth blanking the swirl flaps! lol

all up to you tho!

Sounds like that could get quite expensive lol, I'm not sure if the swirl flaps have been done in the past by a previous owner. If not I would like to get them done. Probably be best buying all the parts then going to a garage and just pay for labour, I know my way around an engine but I'm not that confident looking at the engine in this one lol. Rather pay someone proper to get it done I think. I will price all the parts up come payday and get it all done I think. There's nothing like piece of mind I suppose

[dixy2k]

Water in the fuel?

Just wait a few seconds for the glow plug to warm up before starting up the engine.

[QUIKDZL]

+1.

The glow plug symbol indicates it's working properly, so no need to "fix" it. At those temperatures, cranking will be delayed for about one second after pressing the start button while the glow plugs heat up. During this brief time, the glow plug symbol (looks like a coil) illuminates. It goes out as the engine cranks over. If something is wrong with a glow plug, the car will throw a code and illuminate the SERVICE ENGINE SOON light.

The delay in firing and white smoke could easily be frozen water in the fuel line or injectors causing a delay in fueling, and the white smoke is steam. Try different fuel or a winter additive.