Cold start engine shakes and sputters

[roundel318]

I am not sure if this is effected, but since it has individual ignition coils, it may.
Some BMW's with ECU's in the 0 261 200 4xx range could experience strange ECU failure after a coil failure. Mark D offers a service to repair these.

The E30 318's didnt have a complex OBC, they are just basic, although they have lots of wiring going to and fro, the connector has probably under 35 pins.
The 325's had the better one with range, trip, along with the stuff the basic one offered among other things.
E30 318's can be retro-d with one from a 325, although it is tied in with the cruise control, turn stalks, etc and loosely with the active check control (which i believe has all been combined in the E36 OBC) that checks tail lights, coolant level, oil level, abs, srs, backup lights, rear license plate light, etc.
There were two diff OBC's for E36's as well, this was a option from the factory for a 11 or 18 function, or thereabouts.

[roundel318]

Or is your OBC like this?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-e36-seven-button-OBC-Great-condition_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZ72Q3a1205Q7c66Q3a2Q7c65Q3a12Q7c39Q3a1Q7c240Q3a1318QQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem320317340120QQitemZ320317340120QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

It seems there were in fact 3 different OBC's available.

[bearsbmw]

Or is your OBC like this?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-e36-seven-button-OBC-Great-condition_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZ72Q3a1205Q7c66Q3a2Q7c65Q3a12Q7c39Q3a1Q7c240Q3a1318QQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem320317340120QQitemZ320317340120QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

It seems there were in fact 3 different OBC's available.

yes that is mine

[roundel318]

You would think if the MPG guage on the cluster works with the OBC, if the engine runs wonky even when the mpg guage is working correctly, you would think it would be something else. however if it was damanged from previous wiring problems, shorts, etc, we come back to the ECU.
Hope swapping that helps ?

[bearsbmw]

agreed! hopefully a swap will do the trick ... had other's tryed a swap??

[KyleTaylor]

I am leaning toward replacing my coolant temp sensor that signals the DME.  My gauge works, but on the e30 there is a separate sensor for the DME...  

Mine idles funny and stumbles at first start and if the coolant temp falls below straight up, which is often as the cooling system works well.  When the engine is normal temp it idles like an electric motor... just as smooth after some hard driving at which point the temp may be a little high on the gauge.

I am thinking the coolant temp sensor is not functioning correctly so the DME is in a default mode for normal parameters.

I plan to order and replace the sensor at the beginning of the week barring that no one else has tried this...

[roundel318]

Bearsbmw has that in his list of things he has swapped trying to fix it. (page 1)
If you have a spare, probably worth trying though?

[KyleTaylor]

darn, I read it all, but overlooked that....  He has replaced everything... wonder why these things want to do this so badly?

[tjts1]

Rain or shine, hot or cold, my car never does that. It did when I bought it but not anymore. You guys are taking shots in the dark. Start with the cheapest simplest thing and work your way up, vacuum leaks, spark plug wires, sensors, ICV, injectors...
In that order.

[KyleTaylor]

As far as I know the only two things that have not been replaced are the injectors and the coolant temp sensor.

For your not in the dark shots what did you do?

[bearsbmw]

Rain or shine, hot or cold, my car never does that. It did when I bought it but not anymore. You guys are taking shots in the dark. Start with the cheapest simplest thing and work your way up, vacuum leaks, spark plug wires, sensors, ICV, injectors...
In that order.

those are all thing's that have been looked over if you read abover ^:D

[roundel318]

we have been racking up pages of back and fourth just today

[bearsbmw]

to check for injector leaks just run the car to full temp and then pull the fuel pump fuse and let the car die and let it sit over night and if the engine has a clean idle on next start up then you know its a leaky injector

[roundel318]

Good tip!

[KyleTaylor]

to check for injector leaks just run the car to full temp and then pull the fuel pump fuse and let the car die and let it sit over night and if the engine has a clean idle on next start up then you know its a leaky injector

So that tests whether or not an injector is leaking while the engine is off... never really thought about that... my idle issue is prevalent at more than just startup, though.