Z3 costing me an absolute fortune at the moment with having new coolant system,head gasket,head skim and new cam sensors.Runs fantastic once started but when cold it sounds like an old steam engine begging for more coal .I need somone to point me in the right direction of getting this problem solved.realistically it sounds like its only firing on 3 until you give it a bit of gas.I had it on diagnosis and no faults are show on ecu.As I said once its running it runs fine.
Dave
Its a hairdressing thing.......................you would'nt understand
i have the same symptoms.and spent lots of money going down the sensor route,but after several hours on this forum searching i beleive i have solved it
put an engine flush in and change oil and filters
the roughness at first start up is because the hydraulic lifters are choked with gunge ,all it takes is for the engine oil to rise a couple of degrees(30 seconds to a minute)and it runs fine
it sounds basic but actually works
i have never heard of this before on any cars i have owned but the Z is a breed of its own
Yeah thanks for that. I've really only had the problem since having the head gasket replaced. Used to be fine before.just wondering if any dirt got into injectors and once running it moves around to give clearance for fuel. Stab in the dark really lol
Its a hairdressing thing.......................you would'nt understand
I've been all over net still carn't find an answer to this problem. Everything I comes up as camshaft sensor. The garage I use fitted a new one and it was faulty so he sent it back. I drove for over a week with the old one back in but left disconnected. The new one arrived faults cleared but made no difference what so ever with the starting. Can I of had 2 dodgy sensors fitted just wondering now do I buy another. This problem is only on start up
Its a hairdressing thing.......................you would'nt understand
i know this may sound simple but have you checked the battery? i know someone who had simler problem and soon as he changed the battery all was solved.. this cold weather can be a killer for batterys. yours could be on its way out. try to start it hooked up from another battery or a battery booster pack if possible, worth ago and could be a simple fix
I have exactly the same problem at the moment, it seems very reluctant to fire up for about 5-6 seconds, then gets going on 2 or 3 cylinders for a few seconds before revving cleanly and then drives fine.
After the initial cold start it starts fine for the rest of the day. This problem has only manifested itself very recently, since the weather has turned very damp and miserable. I've had a diagnostic which showed no faults whatsoever so I'm a little stumped the the moment. I do have a theory however ...
The car has had an induction kit fitted by a previous owner, which does away with the original airbox, leaving the air intake open with a large 'power filter' type thing attached. I wonder if the we are getting some condensation on the inside of the air intake, which is being sucked into the injectors during the initial cold start ...?
I have the original airbox and filter, so I'm going to put this back on and see if it improves things. It seems odd that it only starting doing this when the weather turned damp. When it was colder it was OK, perhaps due to the fact that it was too cold for condesation to form without freezing.
Haven't got a definitive solution yet, but a damn good flushing will be done as part of the next oil change and see if it makes any difference. Having the ignition retarded has helps, but the recent cold weather has made for a few grumpy starts, but definitely not as bad as it was.
Cheers R.
Arctic Silver '99 Z3 1.9 & Black '59 Frogeye 1275cc
Have changed the idle control valve?
Have u had a read out on fault codes?
Norwegian who also likes to ride bikes, (Kawasaki ZZR1400 -08).
Sportchassie, sports leather seats, heated seats, el/hyd cab, el windows, el seats, Blaapunkt amp for sub. M44 1,9 engine. -98.
well I never.I wouldn't have believed it but thanks to bennyboy1, I finally got round to doin the oil service and the starting problem has gone .would't have thought an oil service would make any difference but its fixed
Its a hairdressing thing.......................you would'nt understand
.I need somone to point me in the right direction of getting this problem solved.realistically it sounds like its only firing on 3 until you give it a bit of gas.I had it on diagnosis and no faults are show on ecu.As I said once its running it runs fine.
.would't have thought an oil service would make any difference but its fixed 
