Rough Running

Neo4

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#1
Has anyone come across the problem of the E36 (mine's 1992) running rough when it is first started, and giving a bit of a miss when you press the accelerator suddenly? And if you step on it, specially in the sports mode, a burning smell come from the engine?
 
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Chicago
#2
are you saying youre giving your cold engine more thorttle?? DONT DO THAT!! you need to wait until your temp gauge is at normal operrating temperature. SO YOU GIVE YOUR CAR FULL THROTTLE AFTER JUST STARTING IT??? omg youre going to kill your engine.. what is the burning smell?? you need to be more specific. is it a rubber buring smell? or smell of oil being burnt?? and is it an automatic? becasue i never heard of a 1992 e36 having a sport mode.. i couldnt give you a definite answer unless you clearify exactly what is going on. in any case, it doesnt sound good. it would be a real smart idea to perform a tune up. change and replace EVERYTHING!! thats my best advice. this tread is very wierd..
 

Neo4

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#3
a) its Automatic and got the "sports - econ - traction" (I hope thats what those three mean) button next to the gear lever
b) i am sure its made in 1992 and its an E36
c) I DONT give full throttle immediately after starting, of course I wait for it to heat up (sorry i didnt mention that) and the temperature is always at halfway mark, it doesnt over heat.
AFTER warming up, when i start moving, i usually reverse.. and the car revs up and down for about half a minute. Its pretty crappy cos it tries to speed up suddenly and i have to be careful not to hit anything behind.
d) when i give full throttle, and speed up or do a fast pickup I get the burning smell. its a bit like a rubber burning smell, but i couldnt pin point the location of the smell. when i switch to the "S" mode in transmission the smell is guranteed.
Thanks!
 

epj3

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#4
Idle control valve, end of story. Burning smell? I will tell you that a widely known problem on E34's (built around the same time) have sport/econ/etc. switches that literally catch on fire. If I were you I would pull the dash apart and take a look at the wires and the switch...

Though, if the smell is coming from the exhaust? That's another story.
 

Neo4

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#5
Repairer says

I actually took the car over to my repairer (BM Tech - Australia) and they just got back to me saying its some valve that controls the fumes from the petrol tank from coming to some part in the engine (pretty vague stuff, i know) and that it costs a bomb to replace. I had a feeling that its the idle control valve, but they say they ran extensive checks AND it was in the end they found out the cause ....

The burning smell comes from the engine, but you could feel it inside the car as well. It could be an electrical burn.
 
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epj3

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#6
Sounds like he's talking about the charcoal canister which is $40 (USD, about the cost of a tank of gas over here at $2.30/gallon) and takes about 2 minutes to replace. Your mechanic is quite obviously screwing you. Try finding a new mechanic.
 


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