<E36> Check Engine Light the bane of my existence

["Curtis A. Ingraham" <ingraham@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

In BMW Digest v09.n1859 Greg Stapells <gregs@domain.elided> wrote:

> I bought my 96 328i off Town and Country BMW in Dec '98.  The dealer has
> maintained the car for my ownership so far, doing Inspections I and II 
> etc. but so far, has been unable to solve a pesky check engine light.
> 
> Here's what trips the light:
> 
> a) Constant speeds at a fairly high RPM, say 5000. (drawing out 4th a little
> too long (30 sec) before grabbing 5th - that engine does sound sweet!)
> 
> or
> 
> b) Hard on-ramp acceleration, 80KPH approaching redline in second gear
> 
> Here's what happens:
> 
> The light will go on, the car will run like its on three cylinders.  
> I pull over, shut the ignition off, turn it back on, the light goes 
> off, the car runs fine.
>
> Here's what the dealer has done to try and solve the problem:
> 
> 1)  Checked gas cap, oil cap, all caps(!)
> 
> 2)  Replaced all O2 sensors
> 
> 3)  Replaced my Catalytic converter
> 
> It's really an annoying problem because it occurs whenever I'm trying to
> have a little fun, and sure puts a damper on things!
> 
> Any ideas folks?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Greg Stapells
> Red '96 328i, ASC+T, roof, leather, 5spd, no sport package, no H/K

When the DME turns on the Check Engine light, it has a specific
reason for doing so.  This reason is stored in the DME as a fault
code.  The DME can recognize a sh*tload of fault conditions, and
it can store a bunch of codes.  When you take your car to a dealer,
the tech should read out the fault codes from the DME, then do
whatever diagnosis is needed to isolate the cause of the fault
condition.

Do you know if your dealer read the fault codes or diagnosed any 
particular problem?  The repairs you list smell suspiciously like
faith-based parts swapping.  I hope this work was covered by the
warranty.  If not, you should request that the dealer put it's 
very best tech on the case.

Also, this problem seems vaguely familiar, and I think there is
a service bulletin covering it or something similar on your car
or another BMW model.  Ask the service advisor to check the
service bulletins.

Curt Ingraham
72 2002tii
Oakland, CA

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