M42club.com - Home of the BMW E30/E36 318i/iS
DISCUSSION => General Topics => Topic started by: Voluted on June 09, 2008, 12:03:36 PM
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Hello. My engine has been misfiring during idle and acceleration consistently throughout the RPM range. I checked the spark plugs and they all have a coating of dry black dust on them. I was hoping some one here has had a similar problem and could help me out.
So far i have tried new ignition wires, plugs, coils, and a new fuel pressure regulator and the problem persists. Also, the problem disappeared when i crimped the fuel return line with vice grips. Any ideas? And will the OBC spit out a code even when the check engine light doesn't come on?
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If you crimped the line and it got better then the first thing I would check would be fuel pressure .At the pump you should have 42-43 psi on the supply side .
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The pump was just replaced last year, do you think that it could be defective?
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crimping the fuel return line should shoot pressure to whatever the pump can manage. If only under those circumstances it keeps up then there's a chance it's bad. throw a gauge on it and see.
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The pump was just replaced last year, do you think that it could be defective?
Did you put an OEM pump in when you replaced it ? How about the fuel filter ?
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The pump and filter were both replaced new from BMW. Also, blue smoke comes from the exaust and black ash is found on the plugs which tells me the car is running rich.
Also, the O2 sensor on the car hasn't been replaced for the life of the vehicle. The car has 170,000 km on it now and it's a 91. I havn't heard of a bad O2 sensor causing this much missfire though.
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The pump and filter were both replaced new from BMW. Also, blue smoke comes from the exaust and black ash is found on the plugs which tells me the car is running rich.
Also, the O2 sensor on the car hasn't been replaced for the life of the vehicle. The car has 170,000 km on it now and it's a 91. I havn't heard of a bad O2 sensor causing this much missfire though.
If the 02 sensor is faulty the engine will run in default(rich) mode . You should replace it .
good luck
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O2's should be replaced at 40,000 miles to 60,000 miles. They do not last forever. Most O2's when not functioning 100% as they should, do not always throw a CEL either.
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My issue sounds similar to yours but for me it turned out to be the ignition wires. A new o2 sensor did improve my idle significantly, but then again I was only running on 3 cylinders. I hope you get it sorted out, it isn't fun driving a car that you can't run hard if you want to. Goodluck.
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Hey check this out. Turn your ignition switch to run but do not start the car. Press the gas pedal to the floor five times within five seconds. All the way down. Your check engine light should flash once, pause (1-2 sec) once, then a series of flash flash flash. Then the cycle starts over. Example 1444 is the no faults found (no failure) code on my 91 318is. O2 is 1221. The oxygen sensor heating relay is 1264. So the check engine light will flash in a series like once, twice, six times, and then four.1264. It will pause, once, pause and repeat the code. If multiple codes are at fault , it will flash in sequence. 1264 1232 1444,Ok. I found these codes in my chiltons manual. Part # 8427 . I seriously recommend Chiltons. Everyone else says the other brand of manual. But I beg to differ. I hope this works for you. Email me the codes if you can't get a book where your at and I will tell you the fault. Cool. quinn11mc275@yahoo.com or tony.quinn1@us.army.mil . Hope to here from you.
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Thanks for the information. I would have never thought to look for this method to generate codes. I did some searching for the code list and found this on bimmerforums (originally from Pelican).
Pelican Technical Article:
BMW On Board Diagnostics
Jared Fenton
Did you know that your BMW 3 Series has an internal diagnostic program built into the computer? Not many people know about this. On the BMW 3 Series, there is a way that you can diagnose common engine problems without having to purchase a code tool or take it to the dealer to have it scanned. This is one of those neat little features of the Service Indicator Computer; the series of lights directly under the tachometer and speedometer that remind you to change the oil and perform service. In this tech article, I will provide you with the procedure for checking the fault codes and what the codes mean. This guide will help you to diagnose any possible problems with your car.
This article is written for both the BMW E30 and E36 3 Series cars (up to 95) and should work on both models where a Service Indicator Computer is used. I will go over the small differences between the early and late cars, as they differ slightly. Keep in mind that this procedure will not work on early cars with Motronic 1.1.
Now on the E30 models, get in the car and put the key in the ignition and turn it to the second turn or "ON" position, but do not start the car. Now, press the accelerator pedal all the way to the floor, then let it release all the way back. Now repeat the depress/release cycle 4 more times fairly quickly, but not too fast. It may take some time to get this timing down correct. It should only take you a few seconds to do this. What this does is activate the wide-open throttle switch and the idle switch 5 times. This then sends a signal to the Motronic ECU to send fault codes to the Service Indicator Light.
On the E36 models, the procedure works the same way, but the timing at which you press/release the gas pedal is faster than on the E30. Just keep at it, and you will eventually get the correct speed.
Watch the "Check Engine" light. It should blink once, and then start blinking a series of four numbers. For instance, say this is a sequence you see…. the light blinks once, then twice, then four times and lastly four times. If you read it correctly this means that the SI light is reading out the code 1244 (faulty camshaft sensor) The codes appear as a series of flashes for each digit. The flashes indicating one digit are about one second apart, the next digit will appear after a couple seconds interval. If there are no faults in the car, the computer will flash out the number 1444.
Here is the list of codes and what they indicate.
1211 DME Control Unit
1215 Air Mass Sensor
1216 Throttle Potentiometer
1218 Output Stage, Group 1
1219 Output Stage, Group 2
1221 Oxygen Sensor 1
1212 Oxygen Sensor 2
1222 Lambda Control 1
1213 Lambda Control 2
1223 Coolant Temperature Sensor
1224 Intake Air Temperature Sensor
1225 Knock Sensor 1
1226 Knock Sensor 2
1227 Knock Sensor 3
1228 Knock Sensor 4
1231 Battery Voltage/DME Main Relay
1232 Throttle Idle Switch
1233 Throttle Wide Open Throttle Switch
1234 Speedometer A Signal
1237 A/C Compressor Cut Off
1242 A/C Compressor
1243 Crankshaft Pulse Sensor
1244 Camshaft Sensor
1245 Intervention AEGS
1247 Ignition Secondary Monitor
1251 Fuel Injector 1 (or group 1)
1252 Fuel Injector 2 (or group 2)
1253 Fuel Injector 3
1254 Fuel Injector 4
1255 Fuel Injector 5
1256 Fuel Injector 6
1257 Fuel Injector 7
1258 Fuel Injector 8
1261 Fuel Pump Relay Control
1262 Idle Speed Actuator
1263 Purge Valve
1264 EGO Heater
1265 Fault Lamp (check engine light)
1266 VANOS
1267 Air Pump Relay Control
1271 Ignition Coil 1
1272 Ignition Coil 2
1273 Ignition Coil 3
1274 Ignition Coil 4
1275 Ignition Coil 5
1276 Ignition Coil 6
1277 Ignition Coil 7
1278 Ignition Coil 8
1281 Control Unit Memory Supply
1282 Fault Code Memory
1283 Fuel Injector Output Stage
1286 Knock Control Test Pulse
1444 No Fault Codes
When i get off work i'll see what pops up. Thanks again for the info.
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Im getting 1222 Lambda Control 1, which is the oxygen sensor relay. Have to wait till monday to buy a new one :(. Hope thats the problem!
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have you checked your fuel pressure?
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i get 1444 but my car is misfiring like crazy could it be my fuel filter??
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Voluted That is outstanding. Glad you found that info. For Vanghis109 could be a bad lead, or solenoid. If you can test those for continuity with a multimeter. If you know that your fuel filter hasn't been changed in over a year, I would try that too.
Hope to hear from you later.
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I found a better source for the fault codes. For each code there is an explanation and the codes are e30 specific. Check it out:
http://e30world.com/fuel/BMW-E30-DME-Motronic-fault-codes
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sweet. I just printed it out that is better than my manual. thanks.
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Hey, bit of an update.
It turned out to be a plugged injector. When i did all my work to the car last year i didn't take the tank off and clean it out thoroughly, and i paid for it! So i took this time to install my new head unit, component speaker system + 3-ways for the back, new vacuum lines, new O2 sensor, and new resonator. should be done Monday at the latest! I'll get some pictures of the car soon as well. Summers here and i polished and waxed the car a couple weeks back.
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i hope thats what's wrong with my car too.. it sucks now.. feels like is choking.. and no power at all..sounds horriable too.. aii.... i hope i can get it fixed this week
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Have you washed the engine lately? Water could have gotten to your spark plugs if you have. It sounds stupid, but I've seen many people wash the engine and suddenly it starts running rough and they can't figure out why.
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What's the remedy if water gets to your plugs? Do they need to be replaced or is there some way to "dry them out"?
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I use a shop vac, just remove the wires, or coil packs and use the vac to suck the water out of the holes. I little shot of elertro-clean down each hole (Plugs in) not much just enough to collect the water up and let it sit open and make sure it all evaporates.
Many cars do this when they are Dual Overhead cam and have the deep plug wells.
Dave