318is Hestitation.. check engine.. Adapter lead?

[Highway1]

My car has been hesitating during acceleration and sometimes trowing the cel. while poking around in the engine bay i noticed and extra Adapter on my harness. what is this thing doing here. Part number was only 7 digits long and when I searched real oem and this part number came up 13621734516 and said it was an adapter for the m40. Is my motor and m40? It runs the same without it... i'm so confused

[Highway1]

..

[Highway1]

Has anyone else seen one of these before?

[Danny]

Yours is an m42. My m42 had it as well, its something BMW put in as part of some recall. I forget what is it specifically though.

[3bvert]

yes you have an m42, yes it was some kind of adapter opr something, I know not why, my 91 318ic does not have it, my 91 318 sedan parts car did not
I think you can bypass it, if thats what your thinking

[jlevie]

The first action would be to read the fault codes out of the DME and see what it is complaining about. The odds are that the fault codes are related to the hesitation.

[Highway1]

thanks for the input guys. I haven't noticed any any difference with or without the adapter. I'll be safe and leave it in.

And.. No fault codes. The check engine light only comes on when giving more than 3/4 throttle for more than 10 seconds and goes away as soon as I let up. I have a new fuel filter and a TRE fuel pump. I'm going to check ohms on the coils today.

[jlevie]

If the check engine light is coming on there should be a code stored in the DME. The only case where that won't happen is if the DME looses power. in which case the light is part of the power up self test. Have a shop with a pro diag system scan the DME.

[Highway1]

I checked the coils and got .6 ohms across all four. I pulled my plugs and i looks like oil burn-off on them. Do these look like they need to be replaced?

I don't have any money for a expert to look at my car is there any other way i can test my DME? The light only stays on as long as I'm under constant load like going up a hill. as soon as i let off OR i floor it, the light turns off. The hesitation is also getting worse and is now at low rpm as well as high. could it be a vacuum leak? my car idles great...

[Highway1]

crap... i did stomp test again and found 1222.

[Eecen]

Is it bagging out after starting up, or just randomly while driving?

I had a hesitation+CEL issue that would pop up after warm starts, then go away after like 2 minutes. Stomp test also came up with 1222. Although what your describing sounds a little different from my issues, you could try doing this:

http://www.m42club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7757

Solved mine immediately.

[KenC]

What's 1222?

I it idles great, I wouldn't suspect a vacuum leak. Possibly the fuel pressure regulator?

[Highway1]

it idles perfectly the problem is under load. if I'm very light on the gas i get no hesitation. I'm thinking it's for sure a fuel issue. How do i check fuel pressure regulator and fuel pressure? maybe my ford injectors craping out?

[Highway1]

1222 - Lambda control fault code is produced when Motronic system in Bosch control unit receives signal indicating that air/fuel mixture is either excessively rich or excessively lean for period of time loner then 10 seconds. Majority of the causes that affect drivability of the car can be responsible for DME flashing this error:

* air leak
* defective Air Flow Meter ( AFM)
* bad engine temperature sensor
* incorrect fuel pressure
* problem with injector(s)
* defective evaporation system
* empty gas tank
* issue with spark plugs
* problem with valves
* etc.

[jlevie]

The first thing to do would be to run the fuel system tests in the Bentley manual.