R56 Fuel Injector Cleaning- DIY
#1
03-29-2022, 01:30 PM
Fuel Injector Cleaning- DIY
Has anyone ever attempted a Fuel Injector cleaning DIY? My car is at 70K and it has some misfires on cylinder 3 and as a preventive maintenance step I think it needs it and it has probably never been done. It looks easy enough. $60 for the apparatus and then $30 for the cleaner. It might be cheaper just to have Mini do it.
https://www.avesay.com/product/profe...oaAjNcEALw_wcB
https://www.avesay.com/product/profe...oaAjNcEALw_wcB
#2
03-29-2022, 07:22 PM
There are plenty of DIY videos on YouTube on how to clean injectors (9-volt battery, some wire and alligator clips and a can of brake cleaner). Here's something you might want to check first. I kept getting an Injector 4 misfire on my OBDII reader so I was constantly removing it, cleaning the connections and reinstalling only to have it happen again a few weeks later. I eventually found that the two wires carrying the voltage to the injector had both worn away their insulation and were periodically touching each other from vibration and causing the misfire. A little electrical tape took care of the problem. That would be worth checking, particularly if the misfire is occurring on the same cylinder each time.
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mini-is-for-me (03-30-2022)
#3
03-30-2022, 07:34 AM
There are plenty of DIY videos on YouTube on how to clean injectors (9-volt battery, some wire and alligator clips and a can of brake cleaner). Here's something you might want to check first. I kept getting an Injector 4 misfire on my OBDII reader so I was constantly removing it, cleaning the connections and reinstalling only to have it happen again a few weeks later. I eventually found that the two wires carrying the voltage to the injector had both worn away their insulation and were periodically touching each other from vibration and causing the misfire. A little electrical tape took care of the problem. That would be worth checking, particularly if the misfire is occurring on the same cylinder each time.
Where were the wires worn away at--right at the plug? Yes, always seems to be cylinder 3. I suppose I should check the compression first as well and verify that I don't have a valve that tapped out or something. However, it appears to be heat related. Once the engine warms up, the problem goes away.
#4
03-30-2022, 08:04 AM
Yes, the wires were worn right at the point they meet the plug. From continued bending the insulation had worn away on both and they were making intermittent contact. Note that most on YouTube are using carb cleaner, not brake cleaner (my bad). The 9-volt battery sends power to the injector to make it pulse as you spray the cleaner into the top side. The carb cleaner spray provides the pressure. Biggest issue is sealing the top side of the injector so that there's no leakage. There are numerous videos showing different methods on how to do that. There are also a bunch of companies on the Internet that can clean and flow test them for you for a nominal charge.
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