Idle Messed Up

[mph]

I just took my convertible out for a ride around my neighborhood while the temperature is decent.

The car started up as normal and nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

After I had been driving the car for a good 15 minutes, it started to act up. The Anti-lock brakes light went on and off repeadily. Then, at the next stop sign, as I went to shift from 4th gear to neutral to go to first, the car started idling out of wack. The car goes from 1500rpm to 2500rpm in evenily spaced intervals. I didn't think too much of the erractic idling until I came to the next stop sign and did the same as I did at the last. When the car is in neutral, it idles like that. At that stop sign, I left it in neutral and opened the hood of the car. I looked at the throttle and the throttle isn't moving when it rev's. There is also a slight shreking sound coming from the bottom of the engine.

I got back in my car and started to head back home. It was then that I noticed the gas pedal has delay on it. If I hit the gas, it doesn't speed up for a second or so. But then it doesn't stop speeding up until I tap the brakes.

I have no idea what is wrong with the car but it would sure be nice to know what the problem is. I would imagine it would be a problem with the computer, but I really don't know. I have yet to see anything that seems related to what I'm seeing.

What happens when someone puts something in the gas?

[arnoldgtr]

That is the symptom of a bad idle control system. The computer controls the idle with an idle control valve (ICV). The ICV allows a certain amount of air to bypass the throttle. The more it opens, the higher the throttle speed. The ICV is open all the way if the signal from the computer is missing. Also, the ICV could be stuck open.
When the ICV is open, the idle will climb until the computer senses the closed throttle condition and cuts off the fuel. The engine speed then drops until it reaches about 1000 RPM, then the cycle repeats.
The ICV is near the throttle body. It is cylindrical shaped and has two hoses (about 7/8" in diameter) attached to it. On the later model cars like the 325i, the ICV has three wires going to it. Check to make sure the wiring to the ICV is intact.
You may have some success in cleaning the inside of the ICV with carburetor/throttle body cleaner, but the best bet is to replace it.

[M-technik-3]

Wow quite a few of us having winter time delemias, myself included.

[EverWiser]

There's nothing like a cold snap to wake up those damn sleeping Gremlins!