Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Name that problem

Collapse
X
Collapse
 
  • Page of 2
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
Previous 1 2 template Next
    #1

    Name that problem

    I'm having a little issue with my car. I'm not mechanically savvy so I'll just list the symptoms.

    Car: 1987 325is
    Motor: S50 with ~90000 miles

    In order from first to last:
    Yesterday
    1) while driving, car suddenly started jerking and losing power
    2) restarted car, started moving then immediately #1
    3) car starts right up and then shuts off
    4) when car does stay on, RPMs rev on its own

    Today
    5) started her up today and it shut off right away
    6) after several tries, she started up and stayed on. RPMs still bouncing
    7) She stayed on for a few minutes (in garage) and then shut off

    I appreciate any and all feedback.

    Merry Xmas!
    Tags: None
    #2
    Sounds exactly like when my icv fell out of the fitting on the intake manifold. Make sure that you dont have any bad vaccum leaks.

    Comment

      #3
      vacuum leak
      RIP e30 (brilliantrot '91 325i) 11/17/06 Byebye: 8/21/07
      Welcome e30 (brilliantrot '90 325is) 12/23/06
      DaveCN = Old Man
      My signature picture was taken by ME! Not by anyone else!



      Originally posted by george graves
      If people keep quoting me in their sig, I'm going to burn this motherfucker down.

      Comment

        #4
        definitly a vacuum leak.
        1989 E30 Zinnoberrot Vert 325i OBD1 S52 turbo;IP

        Comment

          #5
          Great, how do I check for it and where's it located? I have the S50 motor.
          Thanks so much!

          Comment

            #6
            spray some brake cleaner on your intake manifold/vacuum lines/anywhere there could be a leak. But spray specific areas one at a time. you don't want to spray everything and not know where that leak is.

            The engine will either stumble or the idle will go up when you spray where the leak is.
            Function.
            Form.
            sigpic

            Comment

              #7
              check fuel pressure; could have a fuel pump on it's way out. have your buddy underneath the car under the tank where the fuel pump resides. once the car shuts off; have him tap the fuel tank while starting or just before you start it. see what happens. if it stay running then for sure it's the sending unit issue and will eventually crap out all together. If nothing changes, could still very well be leaks as someone pointed out or fuel pump is still on its way out. LOL.
              sigpic

              Comment

                #8
                I had all the same issues happening. I can think of a couple days where your scenario was happening with my S50 E30.

                I boiled it down to be an ECU issue. I picked up a replacement ECU, opened my old ECU to pull my Turner chip and found that chip wasn't fully installed in the ECU (my error when I installed it).

                I pushed the chip all the way in and reinstalled the original ECU (not the replacement I just picked up). All of those issues went away.

                Comment

                  #9
                  I should also note that white smoke comes out of the muffler, pretty constant. And it has a fuel smell to it. Could this be part of the fuel pump or filter?

                  Thanks for the replies, i'll start checking some of the suggestions i've gotten here.

                  Cheers

                  Originally posted by Ceeker View Post
                  check fuel pressure; could have a fuel pump on it's way out. have your buddy underneath the car under the tank where the fuel pump resides. once the car shuts off; have him tap the fuel tank while starting or just before you start it. see what happens. if it stay running then for sure it's the sending unit issue and will eventually crap out all together. If nothing changes, could still very well be leaks as someone pointed out or fuel pump is still on its way out. LOL.

                  Comment

                    #10
                    Originally posted by e30pq View Post
                    I had all the same issues happening. I can think of a couple days where your scenario was happening with my S50 E30.

                    I boiled it down to be an ECU issue. I picked up a replacement ECU, opened my old ECU to pull my Turner chip and found that chip wasn't fully installed in the ECU (my error when I installed it).

                    I pushed the chip all the way in and reinstalled the original ECU (not the replacement I just picked up). All of those issues went away.
                    I dont have a chip in my ECU, not that i know of anyway. I'll have to check it as i bought my motor and it came with an ECU.

                    Comment

                      #11
                      Originally posted by 5ickride View Post
                      I dont have a chip in my ECU, not that i know of anyway. I'll have to check it as i bought my motor and it came with an ECU.
                      You have a chip in your ECU. What you don't know is if it's aftermarket or stock.

                      It's possible the previous owner put the stock chip back in and didn't put it in all the way.

                      The first clue to look for is if the tabs on your ECU look like they have been opened. If they have been opened you should open it again and check to see if the chip is fully installed in the socket.

                      Comment

                        #12
                        Originally posted by e30pq View Post
                        You have a chip in your ECU. What you don't know is if it's aftermarket or stock.

                        It's possible the previous owner put the stock chip back in and didn't put it in all the way.

                        The first clue to look for is if the tabs on your ECU look like they have been opened. If they have been opened you should open it again and check to see if the chip is fully installed in the socket.
                        Cars been running fine since i got it a few months ago. Is it possible it could come loose?

                        Comment

                          #13
                          Check your intake boot for cracks or like the others stated....vacuum leak
                          https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7475/...1e97724413.jpg

                          Comment

                            #14
                            Originally posted by 5ickride View Post
                            Cars been running fine since i got it a few months ago. Is it possible it could come loose?
                            In my case, the Turner chip I installed was not fully installed in the socket. The car worked great for a couple of years but I have a stiff suspension and I autocross my car so eventually it worked loose.

                            The first thing that happened was one night the car acted like it was running out of gas and died. I waited for a tow truck. When he got there I tried the car and it started and I made it home (a couple miles). The car ran the next time I tried to drive it and it worked for a few months and then again it acted like it ran out of gas. This time I rebooted the ECU (unpluged the battery, waited 5 minutes, hooked the battery back up) and the car started again and ran for a few days. The next time I was driving back from the gas station and the car started increasing rpm on it's own (as if I lost control of the throttle, not a gradual increase) when I was in neutral. Then as I tried to drive the car started stalling like it was running out of fuel and a block later it died. I pulled over and rebooted my ECU. The car started running and I made it home.

                            The next time it happened (it died) I tried to reboot the ECU and it still didn't run. Had to get towed home. When I opened the old ECU I could see that the chip was barely touching the socket so that's why I was experiencing varying symptoms.

                            The bottomline is that the car ran great for a couple of years with the Turner chip not installed fully until it started losing contact. That's when the ECU started having a mind of its own.

                            Again, that was the problem with my car that showed similar symptoms to the ones you are experiencing. It could be one of the other issues that others have responded with.

                            Comment

                              #15
                              Check the hoses going to and from underneath your intake boot. Ill be willing to bet one of the hoses slipped or blew out. It sounds IDENTICAL to the problem I had when i popped a vaccume hose.

                              Comment

                              Previous 1 2 template Next
                              Working...
                              X