Engine idle with car cover

F

FlairBarstar

New member
Joined
Nov 20, 2014
Messages
11
Reaction score
0
Hi autogeek people, i would be needing opinions from you; i have a bmw z4M-coupe and i rarely use it. I made a mistake... I started the engine with the CAR COVER installed and left it for 45 Minutes on idle. When i came back, i noticed the hood is very hot and the kidney grills is having hard time getting some air into the intake because entire car is covered. I opened the hood and there is no steam or smoke. I touched the engine and its not that hot but its warmer than usual. When i turned off the engine; the fan is still running. i got confused on whats happening because engine is turned off and fan is running. When i turned the engine back on; the engine seems fine. So i turned it back off again and the fan already stopped. Im just concerned if the engine got hurt or damaged. Any opinions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!
 
It is normal for the fan to run on BMW's after the car has been shut off.

When I was in Las Vegas with my BMW's the fan would run full speed almost immediately after startup and continue to run full speed until the engine being shut off. When shut off the fan would run 50% speed for a bit and then shut off.

BTW, dont do that again. lol
 
Hi Mike,
Thank you for the response! and yes that was one of the dumbest thing I did on my Z4M-Coupe. Im just very concerned about the engine; when that thing happened did my s54 engine got overheated? I know the engine got hot than normal, but no indication from my dash that i have an overheat. And do you think that made damage any part that I don't know of? I mean the engine runs fine; but im just really concerned about my engine's performance.
Thanks in advance!
 
I'm still trying to figure out how you pulled that off. Lol

Did you park the car in the garage and covered it. While it was still on?

Maybe you were camping like we did with chairs and blankets and flashlights at night time while reading a book before bedtime, when we were kids? Then turned on the car and the heater because it was cold?

Or was it just a fun night? :laughing:
 
At this point I think it is safe to say there is nothing to worry about. If the temperature gauge on the dash stayed within normal temperature range you are fine.

In the even the car did overheat, there would be a check engine light and the car would have went into "limp mode" allowing 10% throttle. You would know if this happened.

If you want to go further, run the self diagnostic check on the car. It will tell you of any thing wrong. If that does not ensure your satisfaction, pick up the bavarian technic cable and run the diagnostic checks this way. This will allow you to see everything about the car.

Any BMW enthusiast must have this cable on hand IMO.
 
Hey Mike,
Thanks for that info, I really appreciate that. I will look into that Bavarian technic cable. Is that the same as Active Autowerke Simon 2?
 
Hey hernandez.art13,
Well, there was a construction going on in my neighbor and dust and debris were going through my driveway so I covered the car, and I rarely use the car so I just turned the engine on idle so battery wont be drained. Then I did something for 45minutes; came back and that incident happened. What a dumb mistake!
 
Your engine is more than likely just fine. You didn't drive the car therefor there was no load put on the engine and I'm sure the cooling fan was able to pick up cool air from underneath where the cover doesn't seal off.
 
The roads where I live are clear and clean...

Better bring it on over to my house where I can
give it a thorough "going over". VROOOOOM!!

Bob
 
Probably didn't do any long term damage, thinking you'd have known when you cranked it up the next time if it did. (AKA a loud knocking/tapping from a cracked head.)

My wife once drove home with her mother in a (V6) S10 we had many moons ago. The water pump had gone south and of course it was raining, so rather than stop (and call me to come get them EVEN THOUGH I OWNED A TOWING BUSINESS) she kept trying to get home with it. She said it "clunked out only 3 times" while she was on the way home. Thing is.... it wasn't even 5 miles from the mall to the house!

So the next morning I go out to get in my truck and tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick..... sure enough, cracked the snot out of the head!

Cars these days usually have 2 (or more) electric cooling fans. They can even have electric water pumps! One (fan) that'll only run when the engine is running, and the rest can run well after the car is turned off (in an attempt to cool the engine while it's not producing any heat of it's own).

Looking down the road for an easy way to keep you from having to worry about that again is an inexpensive trickle charger. You can find them at Lowes and Home Depot even. Just connect one pair of lugs to your battery and then locate the plug in an easy to reach place. From there you can then plug and unplug it without even raising the hood.:dblthumb2:

(I have one on my Cadillac and G35 btw as neither get driven that much, especially the Caddy.)
 
Nothing was harmed.

There are thermostats connected to the electric fan that will keep the fan running even if the car it turned off. It is to keep the radiator cooling after shutdown. There is still some heat transfer from the hot engine to the radiator even without the water pump running. The fan can even START after you shut off the car if the thermostats sense a higher than programmed water or underhood temp. Keep you hands and everything else away from the fan at all times. It may start at any time.
And remember that even with a car cover on the car when the electric fan starts it will still be able to pull air from under the front bumper so it is never totally blocked off.
 
Awesome guys! thank you again! attached is the pic of my Z4M Coupe :xyxthumbs:
Cheers everyone and happy thanks giving!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top