greyfallen
10-17-2005, 11:50 PM
Hi everyone, i'm new to this forum and am just looking to see if anyone can offer any advice or help with my bimmer problem. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks
I have a 85 325e that has a loping, stuttering idle. It puffs out black smoke clouds, and is generally not very drivable. When i bought it from a friend, it was doing the same act as it is doing now, but after we unplugged and replugged the fuel pump relay and the o2 sensor relay(under that little plastic box near the left side of the engine) it ran fine. Weird, but at the time i had even less knowledgability about 325e's than i do now.
So we drive it to my place and it's still running fine.
I change out the air filter, running fine. I change out the fuel filter and start up the car, and after about 15-30 sec it starts loping, the black exhaust starts pumping out, and the engine sounds like it's about to stall...but it doesn't actually stall. I cut off the engine, check the hose fittings around the new fuel filter, and try again. Now it immediately lopes and spews black smoke, runs rich. I, being a dummy, think it's the fuel filter and put the old one back in. Now it seems to run fine. No black smoke, no loping. Runs fine. I buy a new, higher quality fuel filter and put that in. Seems to run fine. A few days later after i change out the brake pads(and i know that has nothing to do with the fuel systems) i start up the car and it starts to do the loping, rich running, black smoke idle again. Hmmm...i change out the NEW new fuel filter and put the old one back in. Seems to run fine again. Weird, i think. Then i start up my car a day later and after about 15-30 secs, it starts doing the lope dance again. So i put the fuel filter(New new) that i just took out back in, and it runs fine for about 15-30 secs, and then it does the lope dance again. GARRRHHH!!
So i think that the fuel pump is fine, since i seem to be getting too much fuel, and a busted fuel pump would cause too little, right?
I've cleaned out the contacts for the fuel pump and O2 sensor relays(since shifting these about seemed to help initially) and it made no difference. I tried switching the relays around with the same relay component from the fuse box, but no change. I don't even know if a busted fuel pump relay could cause a rich fuel mixture or not.
I've been told by a friend of a friend that works at a BMW repair shop that the 02 sensor relay problem might cause a rich idle, but that the 02 sensor information doesn't kick in until a little while after the engine has been running. Since now my car runs rich, loping and rough immediately upon start up and stays that way, i suspect this isn't the problem.
Maybe it's the fuel pressure regulator? I've tried the sucking on the vacuum line to check if the diaphram is intact and i can create a vacuum, so it is, i suppose. The line isn't hissing or in any way showing any signs of leaking while the engine in running(poorly, ie rich, ie loping), so i guess it's alright?
Maybe it's the cold start injector or the thermo-time switch? I haven't yet checked those out, but i was wondering if this problem sounded like the thermo-time switch or the cold start injector is at fault. Yes? No?
I'm running out of ideas, and i just want to know i'm checking the right things. Any help at all would be very much appreciated.
Thanks,
james
I have a 85 325e that has a loping, stuttering idle. It puffs out black smoke clouds, and is generally not very drivable. When i bought it from a friend, it was doing the same act as it is doing now, but after we unplugged and replugged the fuel pump relay and the o2 sensor relay(under that little plastic box near the left side of the engine) it ran fine. Weird, but at the time i had even less knowledgability about 325e's than i do now.
So we drive it to my place and it's still running fine.
I change out the air filter, running fine. I change out the fuel filter and start up the car, and after about 15-30 sec it starts loping, the black exhaust starts pumping out, and the engine sounds like it's about to stall...but it doesn't actually stall. I cut off the engine, check the hose fittings around the new fuel filter, and try again. Now it immediately lopes and spews black smoke, runs rich. I, being a dummy, think it's the fuel filter and put the old one back in. Now it seems to run fine. No black smoke, no loping. Runs fine. I buy a new, higher quality fuel filter and put that in. Seems to run fine. A few days later after i change out the brake pads(and i know that has nothing to do with the fuel systems) i start up the car and it starts to do the loping, rich running, black smoke idle again. Hmmm...i change out the NEW new fuel filter and put the old one back in. Seems to run fine again. Weird, i think. Then i start up my car a day later and after about 15-30 secs, it starts doing the lope dance again. So i put the fuel filter(New new) that i just took out back in, and it runs fine for about 15-30 secs, and then it does the lope dance again. GARRRHHH!!
So i think that the fuel pump is fine, since i seem to be getting too much fuel, and a busted fuel pump would cause too little, right?
I've cleaned out the contacts for the fuel pump and O2 sensor relays(since shifting these about seemed to help initially) and it made no difference. I tried switching the relays around with the same relay component from the fuse box, but no change. I don't even know if a busted fuel pump relay could cause a rich fuel mixture or not.
I've been told by a friend of a friend that works at a BMW repair shop that the 02 sensor relay problem might cause a rich idle, but that the 02 sensor information doesn't kick in until a little while after the engine has been running. Since now my car runs rich, loping and rough immediately upon start up and stays that way, i suspect this isn't the problem.
Maybe it's the fuel pressure regulator? I've tried the sucking on the vacuum line to check if the diaphram is intact and i can create a vacuum, so it is, i suppose. The line isn't hissing or in any way showing any signs of leaking while the engine in running(poorly, ie rich, ie loping), so i guess it's alright?
Maybe it's the cold start injector or the thermo-time switch? I haven't yet checked those out, but i was wondering if this problem sounded like the thermo-time switch or the cold start injector is at fault. Yes? No?
I'm running out of ideas, and i just want to know i'm checking the right things. Any help at all would be very much appreciated.
Thanks,
james