First engine cutout

[Zmirzephyr]

A couple of times during last year and once this year I experienced some hard starting symptoms of my 1.9 Z3. (Had to crank for longer)

It fires up immediately 99 times /100 but last year I discovered the valve cover gasket to be bad. The spark plug holes were partially filled with oil and so forth. I got that replaced and put new oil/filter, airfilter and plugs in the engine. Ever since she's been very consistent. I have experienced one hard starting this year. Note, this car sits for most part of the year and is only driven during the summer (may-august).

Yesterday though. It was a dry 21°C day and I were going for a drive, it fired right up, no worries there.

Its hard to describe it, the car felt sort of "jerky". The power was not very linear. (This is a manual transmission). I got through 2 turns and maybe 300 meters before I needed to turn out on the bigger road. I came to a complete stop, pushed the clutchpedal in all the way in and the engine dropped in rpm but couldn't idle, so it died...

I restarted it but the car wouldn't idle, I had to keep playing with the gas pedal.

I drove another 300 meters, pulled to the side of the road and everything was as usual, it was like it never happened? Steady idle and good power, no jerkyness.

Is it time to invest in a fault code reader?

Year of car: 1997
Milage: 180000 km/ 111 800 miles

 

[colb]

Yes get the codes read, I suspect you have a bad camshaft sensor with your description of bad starting. If you haven't got a code reader and want to get one there are various options for simplicity of use I find BMW Scanner 1.4 used on a laptop as that will read all modules on a car if it is equipped with them. Very simple to use and clears codes with the press of a button. Hand held OBD2 code readers also an option, most people seem to use a C110+, details on this post https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=103447
Another option is an App on your phone called Torque, works via a Bluetooth connection to the cars diagnostic port. Torque App available from usual download sites and the emulator that plugs in to the OBD port available on ebay, its an ELM327 Emulator. The advantage of Torque is that you can view live data from the car when its running so you can monitor whats happening with the numerous sensors and engine performance. If you want to go the whole hog then BMW INPA software on a laptop may suit your needs but its sometimes difficult to install. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-DIAG...524309&hash=item260ad19306:g:8XYAAOSweURc5xFk
Its worth noting that to connect any of the options you will need a round 20pin to 16pin cable adapter to plug into the engine bay diagnostic pacman socket, also available on ebay https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-20-P...986572?hash=item3f1416ed8c:g:oiAAAMXQHDlRfRYx
If your car has a 16pin OBD socket under the steering wheel that will only read the engine module, the 20 pin pacman socket in the engine bay will read all of the modules on the car.

 

[Zmirzephyr]

Hello again! I'm interested in the torque app idea. But where can I buy this emaulator/Bluetooth device?

Best regards

 

[colb]

Search eBay for ELM327 decide on either a Bluetooth or WiFi version whichever you prefer to use with your phone or ipad most come from China but some are UK based sellers

 

[Zmirzephyr]

And then I'll need one of these?

 

[Zmirzephyr]

Is it a OBD to 16 pin or OBD to 20 pin adapter I need?

I presume the OBD has 16 pins and my Z3 has 20? So a OBD to 20 pin adapter should be good?

 

[colb]

Yes thats what you want, the ELM327 will plug into the 16pin OBD2 end and the round 20pin BMW socket plugs into the round Pacman socket, so called because of the shape of the centre pin in the socket in the engine bay. Ignition on and connect to your phone with Bluetooth or Wifi depending which ELM327 you go for then open the Torque App on your phone set that to your BMW model and away you go for code reading and clearing and veiwing live data from the sensors. With a bit of playing about you will be able to set up a custom dashboard in the App to view what sensors and data you want to view.

 

[colb]

When you get equipped and read the codes set bear in mind what you will see may well be historical codes that were never cleared so don't take them as gospel and start replacing parts straight away. If the car is running and starting fine at the moment I would suggest you clear the codes you find after making a note of them. Take the car out for an extended drive and then read the codes again to see if any have come back. Then consider spending out on parts that will be responsible for some of the codes. After fitting new sensors clear any codes then test drive followed by code read again to see if anything has come back. More often than not running and starting problems are down to air leaks from split or holed rubber inlet and vaccum hoses and plastic pipes across the engine. The only clue you have this type of fault is either hearing the leaks or visually looking for them, smoke testing is very reliable for finding splits or holes if you can't find them visually. Another clue to vaccum leaks using live data is to view the fuel trims, if they are high that will affect running and your mpg will be vastly reduced. If that is happening sooner or later the EML will light up on your dash to draw attention to the fault.
Let us know how you get on and find when you scan it.