2003 BMW 318 intermitent cutting out

[quote:55527d96bc="blackheart7"]Engine Performance problem
2003 BMW 318 4 cyl Two Wheel Drive Manual 88,000 miles

hi my e46 has been cutting out for a while now but not actualy stopping but today it raised it`s game ! barely got home with it cutting out most of the time, about 10 miles, untill it stopped on the drive 20 seconds later it starts up like nothing ever happened argh ! there have been no codes stored over the 6 months this has been happening, any ideas ? it`s driving me mad , the battery/ignition light comes on when it cuts out ,eml light has come on about twice,still no codes stored,alternater output is spot on, belt ok, new battery,all the earths i can find are sound , starts crying into beer ![/quote:55527d96bc]

That's a tough one.... no error codes, but erratic operation. My guess is an intermittent crank sensor. As far as I know, the engine computer has no way to detect that the crank sensor is not working, and therefore it can't set a code. It simply waits till a vibration in the engine reconnects the intermittent crank signal and then it works again.

Please let me know if my guess is right.

Good Luck

Dr. Loot's Assistent

well my friend your pretty well spot on,i have done a bit more research into the problem and several people have suffered similar symptoms ! though not according to BMW ! and the result is to change the crankshaft position sensor or repair the wires feeding same ! my beemer is at this very moment in pieces on my drive,removal of the injection and inlet manifold is required to access the @@@@@ ! as you can`t even see it from underneath, so when i can get at it i will inform you of the result.i am doing the job myself because i refuse to pay the £80 an hour to BMW ! thank you for your input as it strengthens my resolve to fix the beast !!

hi dr loot the problem was the crankshaft position sensor thats the one underneath the starter motor a small crack develops in the body of the sensor allowing oil to seep into the internal bits right through to the plug terminals it`s a nightmare to get at but worth doing i had to strip everything off the intake side of the engine to allow access but it runs like a bmw again ! hope this helps others as well thanks for your help.