Mysterious Stalling?? Need help!!

[tonyplatinum]

Hello everyone. I have a 1988 535i manual transmission. Everything was fine, until my car started to stall. It stalls at idle, acceleration, whenever it feels like it. When I try to restart the engine, it turns over but won't start. After about 15 minutes it will start again (then usually stall). It will stall about 3 or 4 times in a row, then it won't stall again for about a week. Weird hey? Also, when it stalls, the "Check Engine" light comes on, and the "brake" light in the upper mounted console (by the sunroof) comes on. I don't know why the brake light comes on but it does every single time my car stalls.
I've been to mechanic after mechanic, and had the sensors replaced, vacuum hose, tune up, new spark plugs, new fuel filter. My mechanic cannot find the problem. I also notice that the car drives sluggish, not as reactive, and low fuel mileage. Any ideas?? I welcome your expertise....thank you.

[BillionPa]

charcoal canister and valve attatched to it?

fuel pump and dme relays?

fuel pump itself?

although, the first thing i would do is replace the distributor rotor and cap, and the wires connecting to the plugs, and the 2 primary relays.

[DaveVoorhis]

Crank position sensor?

[tonyplatinum]

thanks, i'll check it out!

[Morgenster]

Had something similar on my e30: fuel pump relay was loose and fuelpump on the way out.
Does it happen on full or almost empty tank?

[tonyplatinum]

Had something similar on my e30: fuel pump relay was loose and fuelpump on the way out.
Does it happen on full or almost empty tank?

Doesn't really matter whether the tank is full or not. Someone suggested to go to BMW and get them to scan trouble codes. Then check whether it's the ECM relay short, or the ignition coil.
By the way, my oilservice light is always on (it's always on no matter whether it's serviced or not) and now the "inspection" light came on just beside my oilservice light. What does that mean??
Thanks!
Tony

[tonyplatinum]

I don't know, the fuel filter and spark plugs were done. Do you think there is a wiring issue that trips the brake lights to stall? It doesn't make sense to me (or my mechanics). I appreciate your advice and will check out the distributor rotor and cap etc.

[BillionPa]

indeed, there are too many damn parts in our cars associated with stalling, bad idle, and refusing to start :/

[ThoreauHD]

There will be a code associated with a stall. Bring it to a BMW mechanic that can read it. If it has just stalled and started again, bring it straight to the shop to get read. You turn it off and it'll go bye bye. But since you stall all the time, it may not be an issue. Yes, there are lots of things that can be wrong so don't guess if at all possible.

[BillionPa]

the lights are timed and just need to be reset when service is done.