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Thread: Problem with crankshaft position sensor

  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2018
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    Sweden
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    My Cars
    1995 BMW E36 328i

    Unhappy Problem with crankshaft position sensor

    Hello guys, new to the forums here. Hope I won't do anything incorrectly in this post.

    Anyway, I have an E36 328i which I have given very much love recently but it keeps rejecting me.
    I got an error code on my Crankshaft Position Sensor a few weeks back so I changed it with one I assumed was working, from my friends car. There was absolutely no change. Then, we tried one from another e36, and this one worked fine. Until the same thing happened again, I was driving along smoothly and I felt the car "turning off" for a moment, with the rev counter hitting 0 and then going back to normal in the blink of an eye. After this I have a tremendous loss of power, stalling whilst not in gear, and poor fuel economy. I deleted error codes with the changed sensor but the crankshaft position sensor error code came back instantly. Now, I changed to a completely new sensor, and it worked fine again. Until the engine got hot.

    Now, my car seems to be working fine whenever I start it but when I've driven a bit the same things keeps happening. When this error returns, the car becomes really difficult to start(long cranking) and I cannot get any power out of the engine.

    I have changed to new spark plugs, I have changed the crank sensor, and the camshaft position sensor.
    Could the error be in the ECU, since it returns when the engine has been hot for a little bit, around 15-30 minutes?

    Does anybody have an idea as to what is haunting my car?
    Best regards

  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2012
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    '94 325i, '93 325is
    Did you use off brand sensors for the new ones? They are frequently no good even though new.
    '94 325i Sedan, Arctic Gray: UUC LTW FW, EVO 3 and DSSR, +.020 Maxsil pistons, ASC delete, Eibach shocks/springs, 16" contour reps 238k
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  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2018
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    Sweden
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    1995 BMW E36 328i
    Quote Originally Posted by jc43089 View Post
    Did you use off brand sensors for the new ones? They are frequently no good even though new.
    Thank you for your reply.

    No, I have only used genuine BMW sensors.
    The second one I borrowed from my friend was working well in his car, as well.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2015
    Location
    Tennessee
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    1998 BMW 328i
    Does your car have the sub harness recall completed for the crank sensor?

    Sent from my VS987 using Tapatalk

  5. #5
    Join Date
    May 2018
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    Sweden
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    1995 BMW E36 328i
    Quote Originally Posted by XnWarden View Post
    Does your car have the sub harness recall completed for the crank sensor?

    Sent from my VS987 using Tapatalk
    Thank you for your reply.

    I do not know of what you speak. Could you elaborate what it is you are referring to?

  6. #6
    Join Date
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    Last edited by XnWarden; 05-24-2018 at 04:38 PM.

  7. #7
    Join Date
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    If your crank sensor harness has 4 plugs on it then you already have it done

    Sent from my VS987 using Tapatalk

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    NY
    Posts
    9,079
    My Cars
    1997 328i
    I would suggest to clean your idle air control valve, that may help fix the stalling while coasting in neutral. Second would be to trace the wires back all the way to the DME to make sure there are no frayed or shorted wires.

    How old are you pre-cat oxygen sensors? Do you have INPA on a laptop to see if the pre-cat sensors are switching?

    How long has it been since the vanos seals were done?
    Attn. NEWBIES: Use the search feature, 98% has already been discussed.
    Click the search button, select "search single content type", select the "e36 sub forum" specifically, try the "search titles" then try the "search entire posts".

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Oct 2016
    Location
    Tenerife, Spain
    Posts
    628
    My Cars
    1997 BMW E36 323i
    Swapping the DME (easiest to swap it with one with EWS-delete) would be an option to check.. Or you need someone to sync the new DME to the EWS in your car.
    The RPM-gauge going to zero while driving really suggests there is a problem with either the CPS, the CPS wires, or the DME (or the instrument cluster, but I don't think that would be logical)..
    If you've replaced the CPS twice, and double checked that it works fine in another identical BMW, then what's left are the CPS wires and the DME. Easiest to check would be the DME (but it would cost you a bit, but having a spare DME isn't a bad idea).. Checking the wires is a bit more difficult (but it's for free), but you can start with the parts of the wire you can access easily, before completely disassembling the wiring harness.

    Tip: Get a tuned DME from this guy on Ebay (like I did, very happy with it).. Very cheap and gives a nice amount of HP and Nm.. Get this one: https://www.ebay.de/itm/BMW-Chip-Tuned-ECU-For-E36-M52-323i-MS41-0-MS41-1-215hp-7100-rpm/301676724209 and ask for the EWS Delete (or if you have a laptop and OBD-USB interface and 20 pin BMW plug, you can sync yourself).. It's a proper tune (all rpm's, all loads properly tuned).. (note: I have no commercial or other links with the seller, but I just really like his tuned DME and enjoy it in my 323i) (I ordered it with the stock rev limiter at 6500rpm, stock idle, no EWS delete, no O2 sensor delete, no ABS delete, and synced it myself to my EWS)
    Last edited by ed323i; 05-26-2018 at 04:09 PM.

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