Charge air coolant empty 20A201 CEL code

[arthas6969]

New to the M4 and tuner cars in general.

Picked up a 2018 M4, 50k miles from a local dealer.

Has a Racing Dynamics charge air intercooler on it, got the 20A201 check engine light error code on it, checked the small coolant res and it was completely empty.

Been googling around and all issues that I've seen seem to just be from the OEM cooler and everyone says to replace it and it wont leak. Mine been replaced and seems to be leaking.

Anyone have suggestions on where to check? I filled it up last night, didn't do the bleed thing correctly though I think. Drove it around for about 30 minutes, check it this morning since it was too hot to check last night and it was empty.

Filled it back up this morning, way over filled it on accident, ran the bleed procedure and that brought it down to a little below empty, topped it off to the correct levels, still waiting to take it back out and test to see if it empties again.

Just looking for a direction on what to check, no threads that I've found in the search talk about this happening with an aftermarket cooler.

[AlmondJayRoM3]

Internal leaks can happen on any heat exchanger and there only two places coolant can go with that system.

Get a leak down check if it’s not holding pressure it should be pretty easy to track down the leak location. If you don’t find it dripping outside, look in the intake side of the heat exchanger for coolant.

[arthas6969]

Originally Posted by AlmondJayRoM3

If you don’t find it dripping outside, look in the intake side of the heat exchanger for coolant.

Sorry I'm dumb. Is that the dual pipes on the left side of the single big pipe on the right going down?

[drroc]

Originally Posted by arthas6969

Sorry I'm dumb. Is that the dual pipes on the left side of the single big pipe on the right going down?

The single Jpipe. The two pipes on the left are the turbo charge pipes that feed the air into the intercooler. The cooler can start to spit due to high pressure due to added boost, and the split can cause coolant to leak into the intake Jpipe (into the motor).

[N1rve]

Originally Posted by arthas6969

New to the M4 and tuner cars in general.

Picked up a 2018 M4, 50k miles from a local dealer.

Has a Racing Dynamics charge air intercooler on it, got the 20A201 check engine light error code on it, checked the small coolant res and it was completely empty.

Been googling around and all issues that I've seen seem to just be from the OEM cooler and everyone says to replace it and it wont leak. Mine been replaced and seems to be leaking.

Anyone have suggestions on where to check? I filled it up last night, didn't do the bleed thing correctly though I think. Drove it around for about 30 minutes, check it this morning since it was too hot to check last night and it was empty.

Filled it back up this morning, way over filled it on accident, ran the bleed procedure and that brought it down to a little below empty, topped it off to the correct levels, still waiting to take it back out and test to see if it empties again.

Just looking for a direction on what to check, no threads that I've found in the search talk about this happening with an aftermarket cooler.

Never heard of this brand. Google reveals it's a very inexpensive TMIC...like a Wagner or Mishimoto is 2X the cost. Could just be low quality and sprung a leak. Coolant has to go somewhere and I am guessing it's into the engine. If it is leaking, I would recommend replacing it with a Wagners or a Mishimoto. I would skip CSF as it causes performance losses.

[arthas6969]

Originally Posted by drroc

The single Jpipe. The two pipes on the left are the turbo charge pipes that feed the air into the intercooler. The cooler can start to spit due to high pressure due to added boost, and the split can cause coolant to leak into the intake Jpipe (into the motor).

Put a bore scope camera through the sensor hole and into the J pipe, seems to be clear, I think? Not really sure what it's supposed to look like but I don't see any residue.

[b_w.]

pop the charge pipes off and take a look at both sides. When mine leaked there was a puddle at the bottom of the J pipe. started slow and then failed completely and dumped.

Should be evidence of fluid in there.

any other visible leaks? Any misfires on throttle?

I would also run the proper bleed procedure if you haven't.

How long have you had the car?

[arthas6969]

Originally Posted by b_w.

pop the charge pipes off and take a look at both sides. When mine leaked there was a puddle at the bottom of the J pipe. started slow and then failed completely and dumped.

Should be evidence of fluid in there.

any other visible leaks? Any misfires on throttle?

I would also run the proper bleed procedure if you haven't.

How long have you had the car?

I'll try to pop one off and check here in a min.
No issues that I can tell with the car running, it just got a CEL for it running dry. Check it and it was empty, filled it back up and did the bleeding procedure, topped it off and drove, it dropped a lot again.

No visible signs of leaking from the car on my garage or anywhere that I can see.

I've had the car a week, purchased used 50k miles.



Went back through the bore scope video and there's possibly residue? Can't tell if its just dirty or from coolant.

[theweebabySeamus]

Ironic, my car came from KY and needed the valvetronic replaced the first week.

[Info@mad-us.com]

Possible it never had any to begin with or very little? It took awhile for that code to pop up on my car when my stock IC leaked. I drove it hard for weeks before I saw that code come up.

Fill it up and and do the proper bleed procedure and monitor it.

[arthas6969]

Originally Posted by Info@mad-us.com

Possible it never had any to begin with or very little? It took awhile for that code to pop up on my car when my stock IC leaked. I drove it hard for weeks before I saw that code come up.

Fill it up and and do the proper bleed procedure and monitor it.

Yeah that's what I'm starting to think. I had it for about 4 days, put around 100 miles on it and got the CEL about it being low.

Going to keep an eye on it and see if I can notice it dropping a lot.

[Info@mad-us.com]

Originally Posted by arthas6969

Yeah that's what I'm starting to think. I had it for about 4 days, put around 100 miles on it and got the CEL about it being low.

Going to keep an eye on it and see if I can notice it dropping a lot.

Used distilled water if you aren’t in a cold climate .

[arthas6969]

Originally Posted by Info@mad-us.com

Used distilled water if you aren’t in a cold climate .

In Kentucky. I used Peak Blue European Mix to fill it up, hopefully that's not an issue. Might just take it down to BMW and have them check it out / drain it. It was completely dry when I got the CEL.

[Info@mad-us.com]

Originally Posted by arthas6969

In Kentucky. I used Peak Blue European Mix to fill it up, hopefully that's not an issue. Might just take it down to BMW and have them check it out / drain it. It was completely dry when I got the CEL.

Distilled an water wetter is what I use but I’m just suggesting distilled to top it up because it’s cheap and easy to get.

[arthas6969]

Originally Posted by Info@mad-us.com

Distilled an water wetter is what I use but I’m just suggesting distilled to top it up because it’s cheap and easy to get.

did a pressure test this morning for about 30 mins. 18 psi, it dropped to 17'ish over those 30 minutes, can't see a leak anywhere, checked inside the intercooler again. Going to test it for longer later this evening. Not sure if the tester is just leaking or I actually have a leak.

Just confusing on why it was completely empty to begin with unless they just forgot to fill it up somehow.

[Info@mad-us.com]

Originally Posted by arthas6969

did a pressure test this morning for about 30 mins. 18 psi, it dropped to 17'ish over those 30 minutes, can't see a leak anywhere, checked inside the intercooler again. Going to test it for longer later this evening. Not sure if the tester is just leaking or I actually have a leak.

Just confusing on why it was completely empty to begin with unless they just forgot to fill it up somehow.

Is the system completely empty or just the cooler itself? Do it your selfers or crappy shops that don't know how to properly bleed the system may think its full when filling the find out its empty after driving.

[arthas6969]

Originally Posted by Info@mad-us.com

Is the system completely empty or just the cooler itself? Do it your selfers or crappy shops that don't know how to properly bleed the system may think its full when filling the find out its empty after driving.

It was empty.

3 days after I got the car got the 20A201 CEL code saying the coolant pump was running dry.

The cooler was extremely hot to the touch, the reservoir was empty. Added a few cups to it and seems to be holding now. Just did a 3 hour pressure test and it held at 15 PSi the entire time. Guess its good? lol

Side note, found this on the car while looking at the coolant stuff haha.

[jaylazy2020]

I had a main radiator hose pop off so Bmw did a coolant flush and pressure test. From memory it held 3 bar for 30 mins.

[Info@mad-us.com]

Originally Posted by arthas6969

It was empty.

3 days after I got the car got the 20A201 CEL code saying the coolant pump was running dry.

The cooler was extremely hot to the touch, the reservoir was empty. Added a few cups to it and seems to be holding now. Just did a 3 hour pressure test and it held at 15 PSi the entire time. Guess its good? lol

Side note, found this on the car while looking at the coolant stuff haha.

Nice Logo


Have you filled it up yet and monitored the level or looked for leaks?