E46 330ci trembles at idle and engine light on, no smoke, no oilleaks..

"Floyd Rogers" > wrote in message
...
> "Brian Lam" > wrote
>> What's the possible cause for this symptom? Any help is appreciated!
>> Brian.
>
> There are so many causes of engine light on that it's useless to even try
> to
> diagnose it without READING THE F#$%^ CODES.
>
> FloydR

Just a guess (with the same engine in my E39 and having the experience
twice), but BMW's supplier provided a large batch of bad coils which have
failed regularly. Only cure is to go to a dealer (preferred ... I think
they should replace as a good will fix, it was a recall item) or indy
mechanic to read the codes and replace the coils. Even if its not coils,
the only way to diagnose is through an OBD code dump.

If it is a coil, you can just replace the effected coil(s), but the latest
bulletin is to replace all six. Of course, if its your nickel, you might
want to just go after the bad one and spread the cost of replacement over
time. OBTW, if you determine which coil, it's about a 15 minute DIY.

R / John

"Jeff Strickland" > wrote in message
news:_WXBi.279$sf1.51@trnddc01...
>
> "R. Mark Clayton" > wrote in message
> ...
>>
>> "Brian Lam" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>> What's the possible cause for this symptom? Any help is appreciated!
>>> Brian.
>>>
>>>
>>
>> Low fuel; wrong fuel, contaminated fuel, clogged lines..
>>
>
> None of these will turn the Check Engine light on.
>
>
>
>> Faulty ignition, disconnected / broken spark plug leads, oiled plugs.
>>
>
> There are no spark plug leads.
>
>
>
>

There are, but they might not be HT, unless the 330Ci is really a diesel...

"R. Mark Clayton" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Jeff Strickland" > wrote in message
> news:_WXBi.279$sf1.51@trnddc01...
>>
>> "R. Mark Clayton" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>>
>>> "Brian Lam" > wrote in message
>>> ...
>>>> What's the possible cause for this symptom? Any help is appreciated!
>>>> Brian.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>> Low fuel; wrong fuel, contaminated fuel, clogged lines..
>>>
>>
>> None of these will turn the Check Engine light on.
>>
>>
>>
>>> Faulty ignition, disconnected / broken spark plug leads, oiled plugs.
>>>
>>
>> There are no spark plug leads.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
> There are, but they might not be HT, unless the 330Ci is really a
> diesel...
>

Okay, but the "leads" are part of the coil pack, they are not wires. They
can not be not connected, but they can be physically broken/burned to a
crisp. If this is the case, one must remove the coil to find out.

"Jeff Strickland" > wrote in message
news:NVgCi.794$3R5.153@trnddc05...
>
> "R. Mark Clayton" > wrote in message
> ...
>>

>>
>>
>> There are, but they might not be HT, unless the 330Ci is really a
>> diesel...
>>
>
> Okay, but the "leads" are part of the coil pack, they are not wires. They
> can not be not connected, but they can be physically broken/burned to a
> crisp. If this is the case, one must remove the coil to find out.
>

I meant the wires going to the coils, which might well be subject to damage.

"R. Mark Clayton" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Jeff Strickland" > wrote in message
> news:NVgCi.794$3R5.153@trnddc05...
>>
>> "R. Mark Clayton" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>>
>
>>>
>>>
>>> There are, but they might not be HT, unless the 330Ci is really a
>>> diesel...
>>>
>>
>> Okay, but the "leads" are part of the coil pack, they are not wires. They
>> can not be not connected, but they can be physically broken/burned to a
>> crisp. If this is the case, one must remove the coil to find out.
>>
>
> I meant the wires going to the coils, which might well be subject to
> damage.
>

The "control wires" leading to the coils are not bullet proof, but they are
protected. I seriously doubt any damage to these wires, especially on an
E46. I'm not sure the first year of the 330, but my recollection is around
2005. This makes the car about 3 years old at this point. Surely the wires
will survive 3 years.

But still, one must pull the plastic cover off the top of the motor and get
close to the coil pack(s) to investigate this.

There is nothing the OP can do from here without pulling codes first. Well,
there is nothing he can do with any degree of certainty ... He can poke
around and hope, I suppose.

Just talked to a BMW master tech on a forum, he also reckons the coil pack
as he has done quite a few with similar symptoms. Let's see what code he'll
get when he visit the dealership coming Thursday (earliest). He's in London
so he has to book the car in and pays a premium just for pulling the code.



On 9/2/07 4:19 PM, in article zwACi.4831$3R5.998@trnddc05, "Jeff Strickland"
> wrote:

>
> "R. Mark Clayton" > wrote in message
> ...
>>
>> "Jeff Strickland" > wrote in message
>> news:NVgCi.794$3R5.153@trnddc05...
>>>
>>> "R. Mark Clayton" > wrote in message
>>> ...
>>>>
>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> There are, but they might not be HT, unless the 330Ci is really a
>>>> diesel...
>>>>
>>>
>>> Okay, but the "leads" are part of the coil pack, they are not wires. They
>>> can not be not connected, but they can be physically broken/burned to a
>>> crisp. If this is the case, one must remove the coil to find out.
>>>
>>
>> I meant the wires going to the coils, which might well be subject to
>> damage.
>>
>
> The "control wires" leading to the coils are not bullet proof, but they are
> protected. I seriously doubt any damage to these wires, especially on an
> E46. I'm not sure the first year of the 330, but my recollection is around
> 2005. This makes the car about 3 years old at this point. Surely the wires
> will survive 3 years.
>
> But still, one must pull the plastic cover off the top of the motor and get
> close to the coil pack(s) to investigate this.
>
> There is nothing the OP can do from here without pulling codes first. Well,
> there is nothing he can do with any degree of certainty ... He can poke
> around and hope, I suppose.
>
>
>

For less than the cost ot pay the dealer to pull codes, you can buy the scan
tool and pull codes yourself. TYhen, you will have the scan tool and can
pull codes on any '96 and later car or truck. (Since you said you are in
London, you may have different rules as they apply to the OBD II
specification.)

In any case, this is data that should be available to you from the OBD (On
Board Diagnostic) system, you can buy the tool that pulls the data for less
than it costs to pay the stealership to pull it.

I just bought my second vehicle that is a post-'96 model, I will be buying
the scan tool from my local auto parts store as soon as either of them turn
the Check Engine light on.

You may have seen another on this thread that said there was a recall on
your coil packs. Be sure to investigate this before you pay for these parts.
His car is the Z4, but the motor is the same and the recall ought to apply
....





"Brian Lam" > wrote in message
...
> Just talked to a BMW master tech on a forum, he also reckons the coil pack
> as he has done quite a few with similar symptoms. Let's see what code
> he'll
> get when he visit the dealership coming Thursday (earliest). He's in
> London
> so he has to book the car in and pays a premium just for pulling the code.
>
>
>
> On 9/2/07 4:19 PM, in article zwACi.4831$3R5.998@trnddc05, "Jeff
> Strickland"
> > wrote:
>
>>
>> "R. Mark Clayton" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>>
>>> "Jeff Strickland" > wrote in message
>>> news:NVgCi.794$3R5.153@trnddc05...
>>>>
>>>> "R. Mark Clayton" > wrote in message
>>>> ...
>>>>>
>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> There are, but they might not be HT, unless the 330Ci is really a
>>>>> diesel...
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Okay, but the "leads" are part of the coil pack, they are not wires.
>>>> They
>>>> can not be not connected, but they can be physically broken/burned to a
>>>> crisp. If this is the case, one must remove the coil to find out.
>>>>
>>>
>>> I meant the wires going to the coils, which might well be subject to
>>> damage.
>>>
>>
>> The "control wires" leading to the coils are not bullet proof, but they
>> are
>> protected. I seriously doubt any damage to these wires, especially on an
>> E46. I'm not sure the first year of the 330, but my recollection is
>> around
>> 2005. This makes the car about 3 years old at this point. Surely the
>> wires
>> will survive 3 years.
>>
>> But still, one must pull the plastic cover off the top of the motor and
>> get
>> close to the coil pack(s) to investigate this.
>>
>> There is nothing the OP can do from here without pulling codes first.
>> Well,
>> there is nothing he can do with any degree of certainty ... He can poke
>> around and hope, I suppose.
>>
>>
>>
>

On Fri, 31 Aug 2007 14:16:30 -0400, "Tom K."
> wrote:

>
>"Jeff Strickland" > wrote in message
>news:BLXBi.48$6T5.26@trnddc06...
>(snip)
>> By your description -- runs rough at idle -- my money is on a bad ignition
>> coil. Your car uses a separate ignition coil for each spark plug.
>
>Don't know about the E46, but there was a coil recall for my 3 liter Z4
>(same engine as the 330i) in late 2005. So if that's the problem, a dealer
>should fix it at no cost.
>
>Tom K.
>
I'm with the above - I had this symptom with my E46 325i and the
coil recall solved the problem.
epbrown
--
How can you know where I'm at if you haven't been where I been?
Can you see where I'm coming from? "How I Could Just Kill A Man" Cypress Hill