Please Help!!!

Post Thu Jun 23, 2005 5:18 am

Ok so, one day, I put in a dinan replica chip in my 91 318is and the car started up and ran strong. The next day I fill the tank with gas from a 1/4 of a tank with 93 octane. The car then sat for about 2 - 3 hrs and started starting and backfiring. Nothing too loud but still backfiring none the less. Had my mechanic drain the tank a couple of days later and he also changed the fuel filter and the problem persists. It appears that if I go easy on the throttle, it will sputter a little backfire then smooth out. If i go heavy on the throttle, then it just sputters a bit longer.

I've tried putting the stock chip back in and disconnecting the battery and reconnecting it about an hour later and also changed the spark plugs and no difference. Can you guys please help me figure this out. Or atleast give me some ideas to point my mechanic in the right direction. If possible, I would love to try and fix it myself.

Thanks in advance.

Post Thu Jun 23, 2005 8:02 am

Although i cant help you with your problem, i did notice this was your first post, so i thought i'd be first to welcome you to the zone. I'm certain someone on here will come up with the answer - there's such a wealth of experience and expertise on here. They'll have you sorted in no time.

Good luck!

Post Thu Jun 23, 2005 1:06 pm

Welcome!!

whereabouts are you dude?

all Bmw engines (apart from the diesels

) are meant to run on fuel with a RON of at least 95

that 93 RON fuel wont have done your car any favours and may have caused 'pinking' (ie improper combustion)

having the tank drained should have solved that problem

as for the stuttering problem, check the coilpacks on your engine (next to RH front wing) as they are often the cause of misfires on the m42 engine

hope that helps

320Touring

Post Thu Jun 23, 2005 1:09 pm

Thanks for the welcome guys, Im located in the U.S. so 93 octane is our premium gas here. I'll check the coil packs but what should I be looking for. Im not very mechanically inclined.

Post Thu Jun 23, 2005 1:44 pm

thumper3ld wrote:Thanks for the welcome guys, Im located in the U.S. so 93 octane is our premium gas here. I'll check the coil packs but what should I be looking for. Im not very mechanically inclined.

check the leads from the packs to the spark plugs are on firmly, get another coil pack and replace it.

also replace the leads one at a time

should help you identify if coilpack is damaged

see below for a pic of where the coilpack/HT leads are

Post Fri Jun 24, 2005 1:19 am

I took out the leads and inspected each coil and it looks like coil 4 had some white crusty stuff on it. I tried cleaning it off as best as I could and it seemed to run fine for about 10 mins then started stuttering again. I guess I'll start off with replacing that coil and see what happens. Unless any of you guys suggest other wise. Thanks for the input.

Post Fri Jun 24, 2005 2:31 pm

sounds like the no4 coil isnt working correctly (ie youre not getting a good electrical contact)

defo try changing that then if problem persists look at the HT leads and the sparkplugs

hope you get it sorted mate!!!

Post Fri Jul 08, 2005 2:12 am

Finally got my problem sorted out. Took awhile cuz I was lazy but it turned out to be my #1 ignition coil. Had I bothered to check them all to begin with, I could've had this resolved alot sooner. thanks for your help 320touring.

Post Fri Jul 08, 2005 9:18 pm

thumper3ld wrote:Finally got my problem sorted out. Took awhile cuz I was lazy but it turned out to be my #1 ignition coil. Had I bothered to check them all to begin with, I could've had this resolved alot sooner. thanks for your help 320touring.

Glad its all sorted my man!

not ba advice from a man who'se never even owned a 318iS...

shows you all the good info you can get on the zone :lol:

Post Fri Jul 08, 2005 10:48 pm

Lol, definately not bad advice. Thanks again for your input and e30zone Rocks!!!!!!