Running stupid rich 325e

[alanhigh]

I think it's coming down to the ICV again. It was running shitty, but idling mostly okay. I unplugged the ICV, it revved crazily, and then I plugged it back in and it has run great since.

[hotballs]

Wtf is a charcoal canister and what does it do is that located next to the fuel filter because while changing the fuel filter on my 84 325e and i a saw something that looked weird and wondered what it was for ?

Yes, it's next to the fuel filter in the engine bay. It takes vented fumes from the gas tank and exhausts them into the charcoal canister. Then the fumes are vented into your intake at "appropriate" times. If the unit is faulty it can cause unwanted extra gas to go in your intake and run rich.

It is part of an emission regulation enforced after the 70s basically.

[BTP325ic]

Seems to be the way most 84 325e's run. Mine does the same thing. VERY intermittent. My fuel pump whines like crazy and I suspect this is the culprit. When my fuel pumps have failed on other cars they would run like this until one day I couldn't start it at all. I found a used working one for $50, but haven't installed it yet.

One thing that seemed to help quite a bit for me is removing the charcoal canister. I'm sure that you're supposed to clean them and replace a filter or something and check that the lines aren't leaking, but I just removed mine and plugged up the holes. Made the problems go away for now.

Did you change the two CPS?

Wtf is a charcoal canister and what does it do is that located next to the fuel filter because while changing the fuel filter on my 84 325e and i a saw something that looked weird and wondered what it was for ?

[alanhigh]

I replaced the coolant temp sensor as the first thing that I did.

I have not replaced the crank position sensors.

[hotballs]

Seems to be the way most 84 325e's run. Mine does the same thing. VERY intermittent. My fuel pump whines like crazy and I suspect this is the culprit. When my fuel pumps have failed on other cars they would run like this until one day I couldn't start it at all. I found a used working one for $50, but haven't installed it yet.

One thing that seemed to help quite a bit for me is removing the charcoal canister. I'm sure that you're supposed to clean them and replace a filter or something and check that the lines aren't leaking, but I just removed mine and plugged up the holes. Made the problems go away for now.

Did you change the two CPS?

[eek142]

Hmm, my car was running very rich too but a new CTS seems to have fixed it for now...

[alanhigh]

Cracked intake tube? It's happened on pretty much every older bmw I've seen and it will make your car randomly run shitty. This probably wont solve all of your problems but it may be part of it...

I've checked that, the intake boot is perfectly fine. Before it wasn't put on all of the way and was letting unmetered air in, but is fine now.

[884door]

Cracked intake tube? It's happened on pretty much every older bmw I've seen and it will make your car randomly run shitty. This probably wont solve all of your problems but it may be part of it...

[twright]

My external fuel pump whined when the internal (in tank) fuel pump was dead.

[alanhigh]

In addition, the fuel pump whines. I don't know what that means, but it definitely is while sitting there idling. I can't hear it any other time.

[alanhigh]

I'm resurrecting this thread.

I've replaced AFM, TPS, FPR(but it may be from an I, I need to check part #s again), ICV + ICV computer thing(a green one), O2 sensor. It now will idle, but it seems like its missing and its still running stupidly rich, seemingly randomly. I've let the car sit for a couple days and come back to it, and it runs great for about 30 miles, and then just kind of falls on its face. Or if I start it up, turn it off, and start it up again.

It will idle, barely. Anything below 1500 RPM it just kind of falls on it's face though. Above 1500, it works fine.

When it's not running rich, it runs beautifully.

[jlevie]

In this case I'd suspect a fuel delivery problem (bad FPR, block return line, etc) before a CPS. Run the fuel tests to see if the problem is in the fuel system.

[EvoStevo]

Is the Crankshaft position sensor the same as the engine speed reference sensor? Whatever it was I replaced, it was in the front of my 'i' motor.

[Faviolosky]

my 325 e did the same excact thing, i changed everything except the fuel pressure regulator, after i did that the car ran like a dream

[Dag]

Mines an 86, not sure if that makes a difference.