BMW E36 Blog

Hi Guys,

I know this is one of the most confusing subjects about the BMW E36 cars. Too many sensors with complicated names. Hopefully, this list will help you figure out what the most common sensors in your cars are and what they actually do. Have fun O_o :-

Symbol	Name	Job	Picture
CPS	Crank Position Sensor	Controls the timing of firing for the spark plugs.
CMP	Camshaft Position Sensor	Controls the timing of injecting fuel.
MAF	Mass Air flow Sensor	Reads the volume of air entering the engine intake.
ICV	Idle Control Value	By controlling how much air is allowed to enter through the throttle plate, it controls the idle of the engine. In many cases where the BMW E36 is not idling perfectly, the Idle control valve is the reason behind this problem. Read about cleaning the ICV.
IAT	Air Intake Temp Sensor	Measures incoming air temperature. If the air is cold (more dense), the engine will need more fuel.
O2	Oxygen Sensor (Precat, Postcat)	Monitors the gas that’s coming out of exhaust and provides readings to the DME to help it mix air+fuel better.
CTS	Coolant Temp Sensor	Measures temperature of the coolant.
TPS	Throttle Position Sensor	Measures changes in the throttle position.

BMW E36 Blog: The ultimate BMW E36 information source.

Hi, These are 3 videos that contain loads of essential information about buying a BMW E36 M3. So, if you’re going to buy one, or if you already have one, I’m sure you’ll find this information very helpful. The videos also try to mention the most common problems known about these cars and how you should check to make sure that your car doesn’t have one of them.

This is a gold mine in my opinion, so after you watch the videos you should be able to tell whether your car was hit before or not. You should know the VIN number locations in your car plus determine if any of the body parts has been replaced by a previous owner or has been messed with.

Take a look, I hope you find these videos useful:-

BMW E36 Blog: The Ultimate BMW E36 M3 Information Source.

Hi, Today’s post is about a BMW E36 M3 GTR project. The project has originally started with a BMW E36 320 and it ended up like the following 2 videos. It has under the hood a 3,378 cc 8-cylinder engine and it can provide a 550 hp. I suggest you take a look at these videos. They’re just awesome and if you’re looking for more information about this car, you can Google for "Georg Plasa BMW 320". You’ll find a lot of information about this car.

One of the things that I want you to pay attention to is the sound. Just make sure to turn the sound as loud as you can. Also, pay attention in the second video that the driver is not even using his hand to shift gears. How cool is that ?!!!

Enjoy… I hope you like these videos

BMW E36 Blog: The Ultimate E36 Information Source.

Hi Guys,

Today I’ve found this fabulous estroil blue BMW E36. It’s making me feel so bad about my car and about not giving her all the love I could. I’m sure almost (if not all) of you will feel the same after you see the pictures. It’s simply the cleanest BMW E36 M3 I’ve ever seen … seriously. As a bonus to that, the car has 48K miles on it only. Isn’t that awesome? Have you ever seen a cleaner car?

Take a look at the photos and let’s hear your opinions.

BMW E36 Blog: The ultimate E36 information source.

Hi all,

As you may know, I’m still having a problem with my car’s idle. I mainly have 2 problems:

1. When I start my car, the idle bounces for a while and then it becomes stable.

2. While driving, I sometimes notice that the RPM (Rotation Per Minute) moves down until it reaches 200 or maybe less then it comes back again especially when I’m pressing the clutch pedal.

After running an extensive research about these problems, I’ve found many solutions or you may call them suggestions and they’re all over the forums. The solutions for a perfect idle in a BMW E36 are:

1. Cleaning ICV (Idle Control Valve): A very straight forward task. This unfortunately didn’t solve my problem completely but it helped a little bit.

2. Checking/Replacing the TPS (Throttle Position Sensor): I tried to replace it, but nothing has changed.

3. Check for vacuum leaks: Just buy a carborator cleaner can and while the engine is running, spray it around the engine and make sure to listen to the engine sound and see if you can detect any change in the engine’s idle. If anything has changed, it means that you have a vacuum leak. This didn’t result in any problems in my case.

4. Check the ignition coils: I didn’t find any problems with this either.

With these options out of my way, I’m left with a knock sensor error code when I check my car for problems. Actually it’s the 2nd knock sensor which is located in the left side of the cylinder block. For those who don’t know what a knock sensor is, it’s a sensor used to monitor the combustion chamber for engine-damaging knock (according the the Bentley Manual). Unfortunately, the second knock sensor requires removing the upper section of the intake manifold to replace it. So, as you can see, it’s not a very straight forward task, so I took the car to a mechanic and he replaced it (I suggest you do the same if you have the same problem). Now, the knock sensor is working properly. I also asked him about the DISA valve and it turned out that I had a vacuum leak that prevented it from working properly.

Now, after I fixed both problems, I got rid of the second problem completely. Now, I need to do more research about the first problem. I know it’s not going to be that simple and I will need to dig deeper before I have my perfect idle. But I’m not going to despair…

BMW E36 Blog: The ultimate BMW E36 information source.