eta runs terrible while its cold. icv?

[richardkeith97]

so my car ran great all summer. idled fine and got me everywhere i needed to go with no issues. its an 85 eta btw. now that it is gtting colder the car doesn't seem to want to idle when i first start it in the morning. i need to let it fun for about 5 minutes. it will get a little better then by the time i get to work the problem is gone. i have about a 3 minute drive to work. when i leave work i have the same problem only if its cold out. the best way to describe it is that the car doesn't want to idle but it never dies. when i start driving it wont get above 3000rpms and the rpms are jumping all over the place until it warms up then problem is gone till it gets cold again. thanks for the help. if you need any other info let me know. i'll be taking the icv out today and cleaning it. what should i be looking for when i take it off?

[jlevie]

A sticky ICV, cold start valve issue, or intake leaks would be the first things to attend to.

[richardkeith97]

where can i find this cold start valve on an e30? is their a way to test it?

[richardkeith97]

i also have read some stuff abourt a coolant temp sensor possibly being the problem?

[accident]

the cold start valve on the ETA is on the valve cover side of the intake manifold. it will have an electrical connector on it as well as a fuel line

[richardkeith97]

i read a little more about this cold start valve. it says the it only stays on for about 8-10 seconds to get the car started? car starts right up with no issues. just rpms are all over the place and almost stalls. probably not the problem or am i wrong?

[jlevie]

The cold start valve should only be a player for the first few seconds after engine fire. But if the time/temperature switch is bad, it could be at fault. A more likely cause, if the rpm isn't steady is the ICV and/or intake leaks. A smoke test of the intake will quickly tell if (and where ) there are any intake leaks.