Idling issue

[FreedS4]

Just swapped in one of the ICVs I acquired and it seems to have fixed the idling problem. Started her up, idle dropped to 700-750 and purred at 750. Gave it gas to see if she would cut out like she'd done so many times before, but not anymore, idle dropped to 650, then right back up to stable at 750. Thanks to everyone that said it would be the ICV.

[FreedS4]

If the car is running poorly when cold, and nice when warmed up..this is usually a bad coolant temp sensor. A new one is like 7 bucks from Pelican. Its worth replacing even if you think the one you have is operating correctly.

True, I'll order one and see if it helps. It's a cheap fix if that is the problem. Thanks guys.

Chris

[blocke]

If the car is running poorly when cold, and nice when warmed up..this is usually a bad coolant temp sensor. A new one is like 7 bucks from Pelican. Its worth replacing even if you think the one you have is operating correctly.

[e30Matt]

How does the car know if it's cold or warm? ;) ;)

[FreedS4]

Unplug the coolant temp sensor and run the car again. Report back with findings, sounds like a prime suspect right now.

It's been replaced within the last 6 months and didn't think it did anything until the car was warm. The real issues I'm having now are on initial start-up. I will give it a try though.

[e30Matt]

Unplug the coolant temp sensor and run the car again. Report back with findings, sounds like a prime suspect right now.

[FreedS4]

The voltage regulator looked fine. It looked just like the one pictured above, fairly new. Any other ideas?

[FreedS4]

If you want to give yourself some room, you can remove the AFM and airbox from the bay. This is what i do because I like seeing what i'm doing. Then there are two phillips head screws on the backside of the alternator that hold in the voltage regulator. Unscrew those and it should come right out.

For pictures:

http://www.pelicanparts.com/bmw/tech...Alternator.htm

the guy you want to remove.\/ Brushes.
________________________\/

Perfect, thanks Tim! I'll check it out tomorrow.

[Philo]

If you want to give yourself some room, you can remove the AFM and airbox from the bay. This is what i do because I like seeing what i'm doing. Then there are two phillips head screws on the backside of the alternator that hold in the voltage regulator. Unscrew those and it should come right out.

For pictures:

http://www.pelicanparts.com/bmw/tech...Alternator.htm

the guy you want to remove.\/ Brushes.
________________________\/

[FreedS4]

What further is there to explain? Your brushes are worn, making the alternator not generate enough current to provide the car. It dips, then levels out. Happened to my car one month ago. Just check the brushes.

Can't say I've removed the regulators from an alternator before. I was looking for an explanation on how exactly one would go about doing what you recommended. Thanks for the help.

[Philo]

What further is there to explain? Your brushes are worn, making the alternator not generate enough current to provide the car. It dips, then levels out. Happened to my car one month ago. Just check the brushes.

[FreedS4]

Sounds a lot like a voltage regulator going bad. I would pull the regulator off of the alternator and check the bushings. Make sure they are long enough. It's a simple check that takes less than 5 min.

Hmm...explain in further detail...

[Philo]

Sounds a lot like a voltage regulator going bad. I would pull the regulator off of the alternator and check the bushings. Make sure they are long enough. It's a simple check that takes less than 5 min.

[FreedS4]

My TPS wasn't reading any ohms until it hit the idle stop and sometimes didn't register ohms at all. I've adjusted it so it's reading accurately now and my idle seems a litle more stable and doesn't want to cut out when I let off the gas abrutly. The RPMs also don't drop as far down as they used to when I let off the gas. The only thing I haven't checked is the cold start-up and it's tendency to almost die at first. I'll let her cool down fully and check it out, but all signs point to it being fix, or at least better. Thanks for all of the help.

Just went and started her up and she's having the same issues as before on start up. Jumps up to 1000ish RPMs, then drops to 500ish RPMs and settles at around 600-650 RPMs. If you give it some gas and then let go, it drops to 500 RPMs or lower and almost dies. The idle seems a little more stable when she finally gets warm, but when cold, not so much.

[FreedS4]

My TPS wasn't reading any ohms until it hit the idle stop and sometimes didn't register ohms at all. I've adjusted it so it's reading accurately now and my idle seems a litle more stable and doesn't want to cut out when I let off the gas abrutly. The RPMs also don't drop as far down as they used to when I let off the gas. The only thing I haven't checked is the cold start-up and it's tendency to almost die at first. I'll let her cool down fully and check it out, but all signs point to it being fix, or at least better. Thanks for all of the help.