Bmw 316 misfire??

[DomPritchard]

Hi.
I have a bmw 316 compact 1996 model, use the car daily just to get to work and back, great lil car but it has began to misfire just wondering what you people think i should check/change first??
It misfires arround 2600-3200rpm.
Does tend to be worse when its colder outside...
I was thinking spark plugs??
Not sure.

??

[8Tech]

You need to plug it in and do a fault code read or you will never know where to start.

if it is service to schedule then its unlikely to be a plug, most likely a coil.

[disco!!!!]

as said get the fault codes read, the 2 main culprits are the camshaft sensor and the crank sensor
its a single coil pack on the 4 cylinder E36s and its not very often they fail

[silverback mike]

I had the same symptoms on a 318is, turned out to be the cam sensor. Then it kept cutting out, that was the crank sensor Fine after that though..

[DomPritchard]

Thanks will look into taking it into the garage.
Mike:
How much was your sensor? And do you know if it was difficult to change??
My car does not cut out at the moment, just little misfire that got worse in last 6 months. Seems to be worse in the very cold weather
Hopefully i can fix it myself, what do you guys think or do i need specialist tools?

Thanks guys.

[silverback mike]

Hi Dom,
It's not a difficult job at all really, with no specialist tools, it's just a wire with a connector on the end of it, situated at the top of the engine, it's a bit of a fiddle but not too bad at all.
The crank sensor is at the bottom of the engine, gibbonesque arms are a bonus, but again not too much of a ballacher.

I think my sensors were about £60 each, but not too sure of that. My guess is that your cam sensor has gone, this is usually the culprit of missing rather than cutting out.

[DomPritchard]

ok,cheers mike. will try and change the sensor and hopefully fix the problem

thanks Dom.

[silverback mike]