ALLDATA Repair offers Inside Intelligence on BMW F34 320D
When a vehicle suddenly presents a host of issues, it can leave the owner worried and frustrated about an imminent and costly repair. In its latest bulletin, ALLDATA Europe reveals how ALLDATA Repair and BMW OEM repair data could help diagnose intermittent starting issues on a 2016 BMW F34 320D.
A random non-start – but the vehicle would then run smoothly – the MIL light would illuminate, it would ‘run rough’ occasionally and the instrument cluster would advise the motorist to “check control message drive disturbed”.
Technicians could spend many hours trying to diagnose the issue, with only some DTCs relating to “voltage short circuit to ground/plus” present. This DTC offers insufficient guidance for a diagnosis and repair, while standard diagnostics would likely offer a similar conclusion. So, what’s the problem?
Solution
ALLDATA Repair can provide the relevant BMW OEM repair information to diagnose and fix the issue. In this scenario, by carrying out harness integrity checks, one area was causing particular concern: inside the engine bay electronics box, a part of the wiring loom had been rubbing against the side of the ECU (see below).
After repairing the wiring loom, it can be secured with a cable tie, stopping it from brushing against the ECU in future (see below).
Once the engine bay electronics box is put back together and secured, the technician should conduct a road test with the car driving smoothly and without any faults. It should not return any DTCs either.
This bulletin, highlighted by ALLDATA Europe, shows just a tiny area of loom, chafing against the ECU, can cause a series of issues.
ALLDATA Repair
With access to original data and practical support, ALLDATA Repair helps workshops avoid mistakes, identify root causes and carry out repairs confidently and efficiently.
With data from 44 VMs, over 106 million technical articles and more than nine-and-a-half million wiring diagrams and drawings, ALLDATA Repair covers over 165,000 vehicle combinations – that’s around 97 per cent of all vehicles on Europe’s roads. In 2026, ALLDATA is celebrating 40 years in business.
ALLDATA will be exhibiting at the 2026 Auto Trade EXPO, which takes place alongside the CV Workshop EXPO from 10th -11th October at the RDS Simmonscourt in Dublin.
