1987 325e idle still not solved

[WORLDCITIZEN]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BehwId_-880

So this is just a ruff example of the situation right now will post a better pic of the car and idle.

took the car to a local mechanic that has worked on them all his life and seems pretty knowledgeable. After $300 its still not fixed:(
Heres what he did:
*Smoke test-no vaccum leaks
*valve adjustment/ valve cover gasket
*new plugs and "gapped them" (kept mentioning that)
*soldered ICM joints
* and adjusted ICV quite a few times

only difference from before and after is it does die as much and runs a bit smoother but it still surges up and down. I would really be able to find the fix myself. got the car last monday and the guy gave me a huge folder with all the receipts from the work he had done. the car was originally automatic and someone swapped it to 5 speed. the guy before me had a note to a shop saying when he got it back from having the clutch replaced is when the idle issure started. Any advice and next steps to take to diagnose and fix it myself would be greater appreciated because the car was a hell of a deal if I can figure this out. Thank R3V!

[tomstin]

There are many posts regarding high idle issues and I've read most of them. So, search, read and search some more. If your are depending on a mechanic to perform the repairs on these 30+ year old cars, you're going to go broke. Probably the best consolidated, top to bottom explanation and trouble shooting guides is:
http://www.verrill.com/car/e30_idlefaq.shtml

Recently I chased my tail on a bad ICV that was replaced a year ago. In frustration, I ended up buying new from BMW $$$$$ and solved the problem.

Good Luck!

[WORLDCITIZEN]

There are many posts regarding high idle issues and I've read most of them. So, search, read and search some more. If your are depending on a mechanic to perform the repairs on these 30+ year old cars, you're going to go broke. Probably the best consolidated, top to bottom explanation and trouble shooting guides is:
http://www.verrill.com/car/e30_idlefaq.shtml

Recently I chased my tail on a bad ICV that was replaced a year ago. In frustration, I ended up buying new from BMW $$$$$ and solved the problem.

Good Luck!

thanks Ill give that a go

[101]

I've had two eta motors that I've solved idle issues on. The first was a bad 45' temperature switch and a incorrectly adjusted throttle position switch, the second was a loose wiring connection at the ICV.

Here's what I recommend - Get the Bentley manual and run the complete pin test at the DME and the Idle control module. Those tests check both the continuity of the wiring of the engine control system as well as the proper operation of the sensors they are attached to.

Beyond that - find a buddy in the bay area with an eta powered car and swap some of the more expensive parts - one by one. It's cheaper to diagnose this way versus guessing on some of the more expensive parts (ICV, AFM, DME, ICM)