Just about had it with the Z3

Heath · Post by **Heath** » Wed 21 Mar, 2012 17:21

Hello all I have just about had enough of this car I seem to be just spending time & money on it & getting nowhere. First off I have spent loads trying to sort the tramlining but it still tramlines (yes I know its got 18s on it & that will make it worse) I then had a petrol leak which was the fuel filter. The ABS/ASC light kept coming on, had it plugged in it shown front n/s sensor so got that changed & still the ABS/ASC light comes on. It seems low on power so had it checked to find the induction hose split & code PO340 which is the inlet cam sensor, just spent the afternoon changing the sensor & the induction hose then went for a short run checked the codes & still PO340 is showing (it was cleared before I went for a run) although it does go a little better that is probably down to the new induction hose. I got my sensor from GSF car parts so should I email them to tell them the new sensor is faulty ? Although the car seems to run ok apart from its still pretty gutless. I have had the car 8 months & never had this many problems with any cars I have had before. Its like everytime I do a job it dont fix the problem & I am now starting to lose my patience

Heath on Tapatalk

pete59 · Post by **pete59** » Wed 21 Mar, 2012 18:19

Sorry to here your loseing your faith in the zed,mine the same model as yours and although is running fine touch wood,the garage that service our cars say there are far to many sensors and complcate the engine,my mate physically attacked his, but broke his arm doing it,any way he had his remapped and has not had a engine sensor prob since so it may be worth looking into.

si-forks · Post by **si-forks** » Wed 21 Mar, 2012 18:22

Very sorry to hear all your trouble its a real shame always loved the look of your car

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Badman gee · Post by **Badman gee** » Wed 21 Mar, 2012 18:36

sad to hear this, its the luck of the draw sometimes.

mark

PCSAM · Post by **PCSAM** » Wed 21 Mar, 2012 18:41

I got rid of my mv2s as the tram ling was terrible ....when I had my 15 inch winter's on , it was fantastic the grip and ride was vastly improved ........ I cant help with your other matters as mine is running super sweet ....

Z3cade · Post by **Z3cade** » Wed 21 Mar, 2012 18:50

I'm afraid these cars are old and will have problems at times. Sensors going on the engine seem quite common from what I've read over the last few years on here..

Heath · Post by **Heath** » Wed 21 Mar, 2012 19:21

I understand with the age of the car & the amount of sensors on them that problems will occur but my main question is after changing the inlet cam sensor why is it still showing the code PO340 after clearing it several times

Heath on Tapatalk

Heath · Post by **Heath** » Wed 21 Mar, 2012 19:24

si-forks wrote:Very sorry to hear all your trouble its a real shame always loved the look of your car

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I still love the look of it, I wrote the post whilst still sitting amongst my tools feeling really fed up. I dont really want to get rid I just wish when I fix what was supposed to be the problem it is fixed

Heath on Tapatalk

('_')Z3 · Post by **('_')Z3** » Wed 21 Mar, 2012 19:27

If you do get rid of your Z don't get my other car a Leon FR!!
Since i got it 18months ago its ABS sensor valve bust £1500, Four new injectors and loom £2500, CAM sensor £250 which put the car in limp mode, indicator bulb (oh no, new headlight and the bumper will need to come off to replace it. Joy! be careful what you wish for.

simonbud100 · Post by **simonbud100** » Wed 21 Mar, 2012 19:46

I don't have an issue with tramlining and I have 18's with adjustable coilovers.

It could be worth driving a similar model, see if there are any for sale locally and take one for a test drive (unless you know someone with the same engined model). My 2.0 was not the quickest car in the world but I would not describe it as gutless, especially over 3.5k revs. I had it remapped which made a small difference but no certainly miracle cure.

It sounds as if you may have a duff aftermarket sensor, I would bite the bullet and buy an OEM one.

OldskoolRS · Post by **OldskoolRS** » Wed 21 Mar, 2012 20:03

That's odd I thought I'd posted on here, but seems to have vanished...

Anyway, sorry to hear you're fed up with your problems, but I hope you get them sorted. I've heard that aftermarket sensors don't always work properly, so might be worth trying a BMW one (not sure how much more money it is though). At the very least, if the on you've bought doesn't cure it and gives the same error code, then I reckon you should be able to return it for replacement or refund.

John Wilson · Post by **John Wilson** » Fri 23 Mar, 2012 18:29

I've got the same year and same engine as yours and I used to have the same problem. Even when the car is running fine part of the enjoyment is tempered as you are waiting for that orange light to come on. And when it did , you are in limp mode with no acceleration. The code said it was wheel sensors which were cleaned and then replaced. The code still said wheel sensors. I finally solved the problem with ignoring the code reader and I cleaned the MAFF sensor. The light hasnt come on from that point onwards (must be about a year now). I has thinking, as you have had problems with the inlet hoses, it might your problem as well. Anyway, its worth doing as its a simple job. I use the spray which is designed for the job. I wouldnt recommend touching the sensor at all because it is very delicate.
I hope you solve it in the end anyway
John

Heath · Post by **Heath** » Fri 23 Mar, 2012 21:54

I replaced the cam sensor with an original bmw one today but it still reads code po340 so I went to a good bmw indy to ask if they knew why, he plugged my car in to a proper bmw reader but it seemed like he didnt want me to see it. I was trying to look over his shoulder & I noticed 2 faults up I tried to read them before he moved it away from my sight & I noticed one said exhaust camshaft sensor I didnt catch the other one. He then said "yeh you got a few codes come up so we are going to have to book it in to do a diagnostic check on it" I booked it in for next Friday but I have a mate who works for a vauxhall main dealer & he says they have the equipment for reading bmws so I am going there tomorrow for him to read it for free. I will see what that comes up with & then if its just the exhaust cam sensor I will change that & cancel the booking at the indy

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OldskoolRS · Post by **OldskoolRS** » Fri 23 Mar, 2012 23:15

Going back a few years, my Mrs had an old Rover 214i which started playing up, idle was rough and wouldn't hold a steady 2000 rpm for the emisions test. We were quoted £100 (IIRC) to have it looked at by a fuel injection specialist, who said it might need a lambda sensor which was another £60 on top (the most likely item, but also the most expensive of the posibilities).

I took a gamble and put a new Lambda sensor in and it ran smoothly again and passed the MOT no bother. The sensor was about £50 from a motor factors, but I priced up the other sensors/parts that might be the cause and the total was about £110. I figured that if I bought all of them it would solve the issue for sure and still be £50 less than the specialist (if it was the Lambda).

I guess the point to my ramble being that you could just buy the exhaust sensor anyway probably for less than the indy charge for the 'diagnostic check'. I have to wonder what exactly the check was that they did today though, was it a pre diagnostic check? (As in pre to charging you more to do what they already know the codes for

). I'd seriously look at buying a £40 code reader (USB to BMW cable with software if you have a laptop and some basic computer skills, or a handheld reader if not).

Sunny weather coming up, so I hope you get it sorted and can be out enjoying the Z3 again soon.

Heath · Post by **Heath** » Fri 23 Mar, 2012 23:54

I have a code reader which keeps showing code PO340 which is inlet cam sensor, my mate has a code reader & his comes up with the same code. The BMW reader came up with exhaust sensor (the quick glimpse I got of it) The code reader we are using tomorrow is a expensive dealer one so should come up with more information so hopefully I can sort the problem myself.
I would just like to add the car doesn't run rough & I dont have the engine light on at all it is completely driveable it just seemed a bit under powered hence the reason why I got the code reader. Trouble is now I know its not perfect I just want to get it right

Heath on Tapatalk

OldskoolRS · Post by **OldskoolRS** » Fri 23 Mar, 2012 23:59

OK, I see where you're coming from...I'm hoping the PC based readers are more detailed as that's the route I'm going. I hope I don't find any codes on mine as I'm sure I'll be the same as you wanting to fix them.

skeete · Post by **skeete** » Sun 25 Mar, 2012 02:04

I bought one of those proper DIS/TIS BMW code readers off ebay and spent a good 4 hours today setting it all up with no avail..

By god is it complicated with serial emulators, virtual machines running Linux and XP, emulators for equipment etc.. What made it worse was there are no instructions at all on how to use the software and all I get are errors in connections etc..

I am a programmer and I am finding it rather complicated, so If you are going to buy one of these kits make sure you know what you are getting yourself into !

I have had the same problem on and off with the ASC lights. Very intermittently it comes on and then will just turn off again. I am thinking it could be a relay on its way out as I have changed all the wheel sensors. Will try cleaning the MAF tomorrow to see if that helps too. My code I was getting on my crappy obd2 reader was 1690 I think which was wheel sensors.

So you are not alone... Stick with it though as the car is truly fantastic on a lovely warm sunny day. What with the power, growl and handling of a tremendous car I couldn't think of anything better!

Heath · Post by **Heath** » Thu 29 Mar, 2012 13:36

Just changed the exhaust cam sensor & what a difference, it feels really responsive now & quicker. The fault code doesn't come up anymore so now I am smiling.
Its booked in tomorrow for the thermostat housing as that has a slight seep & another fault code was thermostat control which is the electronic part on top of the housing so tomorrow should sort that out. Another code I had was brake light switch (even though the brakelights worked ok) this limits the fuel supply or something like that when you brake so I have changed that today also. I will be in the over draught after tomorrow but I am still happy now things are getting sorted

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Devon Z · Post by **Devon Z** » Thu 29 Mar, 2012 17:39

So have you replaced both your sensors with OE BMW one's now? Which inlet sensor did you get from GSF they do two one for £28 and one for £58! they also say they do an OE exhaust sensor for about £60.

Heath · Post by **Heath** » Thu 29 Mar, 2012 19:12

The one I got from GSF was £33 & definately wasn't OE. Are you sure they do OE ones & not just OE quality because that seems a bit cheap + BMW give you a year warranty

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