My 1988 e30 325ix - Garage'd

[bradnic]

You mean voltage regulator
Love the project!

[jeenyus]

My 1988 e30 325ix - Manual

Yesterday night i received a part that was much needed. In the morning my fuel pump was having issues holding a steady current. After reading through the Bentley and running the tests they recommend I determined my Voltage Regulator in the alternator was the issue.

Here is the old vs. the new. You can tell it was toast.


And a picture of the inside of the alternator. I have a feeling it needs to be cleaned or something to refresh it.


I also took some time to shine up the engine bay a little. Turned out OK, but I'm realizing the whole thing needs to be cleaned up more. It's just such a pain in the ass to do.

[2mAn]

FredK? The member here? You're tellin' me an entire forum has an avatar of one guy that joined back in 2003?

See Rule 1...

And thank you

[jeenyus]

where did you get these from? dealership??

this took me a min to find.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-BMW-GENUINE-E30-Set-of-3-Screw-Dashboard-51-45-1-916-579/221218918010?epid=1523819150&hash=item3381acce7a:g:wIAAAOxy2O1SXqRF

First Rule about FredK is we dont talk about FredK

FredK? The member here? You're tellin' me an entire forum has an avatar of one guy that joined back in 2003?

[2mAn]

Two little things. Bought some missing push clips for the kick panel under the steering wheel. Little detail, but looks much better.

where did you get these from? dealership??

Can someone tell me what the Asian face is on everyone's (a lot of people's) avatar?

First Rule about FredK is we dont talk about FredK

[jeenyus]

Can someone tell me what the Asian face is on everyone's (a lot of people's) avatar?

[jeenyus]

Today I had an epiphany. My car has been taking some time to start, like it's not holding pressure. Since I've replaced every fuel line so far, I figured that little hose connected to the fuel pump was probably the issue. Sure enough it was!

With confidence in my pocket I decided to redo the wiring for the pump as well. My friend and i hacked the wiring a while ago, but with access to a soldering iron I made it much nicer.

On the left you'll see the old wiring.


And this is what I ended up with. I would say it's much better.


Also here is a picture of my car.

[jeenyus]

Got Dayum!

This might seem like a small update, but for me it's substantial.

After all my work, all my replacements in search of a steady idle and a well running m20, I have come to find the issue!! And fuuuuuu... couldn't have been more of a relief.

Below you'll see a Y-pipe leading off my brake booster. Disregard that it's not connected to my intake, I was trying to figure if it was the issue and snapped a pic. The important part in the 1-2mm gap between the plastic housing and where the hose connects. I know the exact moment I created this gap and why. [emoji35]


Now below, you'll see the same part installed correctly, without any gaps in the plunger piece that connects to the Y.



This has completely remedied all my issues... dafuq?!? I'm happy, but also irritated.

A lot of effort has gone into trying to solve this issue. Glad it's done.

That being said, my car idles at probably 750~ and is so much faster than it ever has been.

Now to get into the fun stuff!

[jeenyus]

I am wondering if anyone has any information on aftermarket ICVs? The one I got was simply a band-aid (eBay purchased one) till I could find something better/OEM.

It looks like this is harder than you'd think though. All the ones I have found are either on back order, really expensive or NLA.

Does anyone know of a reputable aftermarket ICV or any suggestion as this part has been plaguing my life these days. The slightly bouncing idle is driving me nuts.

I know it's the ICV because when i got the new one it wasn't within spec with the resistance between each pin.

Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[bradnic]

NICE! congrats on chasing it down.

[jeenyus]

Found out it was my ICV. New one should be here this weekend. Moral of the story, don't assume parts you've replaced aren't the issue. They very well are he issue.

[jeenyus]

Today the car drove without any real issue. The car turns over fine. Pulls through the RPM range just fine, although hard shifting is still figuring itself out i believe. The idle is about 1200 more or less right now. Since a high idle was an issue prior to replacing the AFM I'm guessing there might be something else causing the issue.

I'll be honest, i had hoped the new MAF would cure my high idle issue, but since it didn't it helped me start to think a little deeper into where the idle issue is stemming from.

Last night i pulled the throttle position switch to make sure it was within the 0.02mm - 0.06mm continuity requirements between pin 2 and 18 and then between 3 and 18 on open throttle. all of that checked out. So i put it back in and I am leaning toward my ICV being the issue.

I know, I know... this should have been the first thing i checked... BUT I DID! I'm gonna try another one and see what the difference is. I will continue reading through section 3 of the Bently and section 6 of the Bently. It's all been helpful, but damn this idle...

[jeenyus]

best bet is to check the E30 electrical diagrams and confirm what those wires are for. Then you can start to get a working understanding of how the Miller MAF and chip are suppose to work.

translation: I don't know the specifics. Your best bet is to talk to Brody or someone who's installed the Miller MAF before like @fporro.

Thanks man. Those two wires are directly associated with the AFM. I'll read into it some more and hopefullly hear back from Brody.

[bradnic]

best bet is to check the E30 electrical diagrams and confirm what those wires are for. Then you can start to get a working understanding of how the Miller MAF and chip are suppose to work.

translation: I don't know the specifics. Your best bet is to talk to Brody or someone who's installed the Miller MAF before like @fporro.

[jeenyus]

nice work and thanks again for sharing these great pics.

Currently running a modded OEM airbus with M30 AFM and mustang injectors on my m20, which I will stroke soon. Heading towards a MAF conversion myself as well, and definitely planning on keeping the stock airbox in some way. your pain my gain lol.

hang in there.

Thanks man! I can still see the light at the end of the tunnel, might be a train though.

How long would you say the ECU takes to adapt? Also do you think I understood the instructions properly about T'ing #12 into #37?