E36 Emissions; O2 Sensor Testing

[Don Kearns <dkearns@xxxxxxxx>]

My 93 325i, 60k miles, has recently failed California emissions testing on
HC. It was showing 285 ppm on the idle range, well above the 100 ppm
maximum. The car is stock, aside from a K&N OEM style replacement filter.

Does anyone have any suggestions about what to look for? The other numbers
were: 2500 RPM- 45 ppm HC, 0.56% CO, 14.9% C02, 3.3% O2; 750 RPM- 0.82% CO,
14.7% CO2, 3.4% O2. The car runs very well otherwise. The plugs look good
and mileage is in the low 20's on a combined cycle. I do occasionally
notice a strong smell from the exhaust during idle.

I have seen a simple test that could be done on the O2 sensor. Can anyone
point me to that information?

Thanks!


Don Kearns
93 325i
BMWCCA# 148689
dkearns@domain.elided

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