87' 325e cold start questions

[Phenomenon]

Long time reader but first time actually posting here...nice forums guys :up:


Anyhow, I have an 87' 325e that runs awesome and starts perfectly....as long as its warm outside.

I have read 100's of posts about the smoke test so i did that first...no leaks.

Next i changed the normal stuff (plugs,wires,cap,rotor,fuel filter,etc, etc).

Cleaned the ICV which was not very dirty anyhow.

Either way this cranky little car won't start if its below 0°C (canadian freezing point).


Can anyone think of more things to check?

Thanks, Gordon

[green]

The words "cold start" on an e immediately make me think of the cold start injector. If it's not doing its job, it will be hard to start but I'm not 100% sure if this is what is causing your problem.

[MTechnikII]

there is a ECU temp sensor next to the coolant temp sensor on thermostat housing, not sure which one is the ECU sensor, but if that sensor doesn't work the ECU would think its warm outside and wont ad aditional gas to start the engine
one way to find which sensor is which is once the engine is warm, unplug the sensors one at a time, one should drop the coolant temp gauge to cold , then the other one is for ECU
good luck
Henry

[Phenomenon]

fixed the problem.... crappy battery.

who would have guessed since it cranked over so nicely.

i also need/want to add more ground wires including one directly from the battery to the engine block.

I have read that BMW's in general are very particular about their grounds unlike domestic vehicles.

[Phenomenon]

Thanks for the ideas guys :D

[Phenomenon]

Ok this is weird... i have read many many times that an ETA 2.7L motor will NOT rev over 4500rpm but this car has the 7000rpm tach and will rev all the way up with no sounds of valve float.

Perhaps i should upload a pic of this cars engine... i'm not sure what it is as this car has had many owners that have all done "upgrades" to it over the yrs.

[MTechnikII]

Glad to hear about your problem being fixed :)
on the 7000RPM tach, just because it says 7000 don't push your luck :) you never know what the prev owner has done, enjoy your E30 all the way to 5 k RPM , I had an eta and loved the lowend torque and feul economy
Henry