E30 Zone

hi all i still have a problem with my 88 325 coupe alfter getting it back from my panell shop after repairing a front end crunch to save a few bucks i assembled the cars front myself no big deal ive done 5 before this one now i had to replace the water pump pulley clutch fan radiator ect ect ect on top of the sheet metal now all is going well the car fires up first time and idles but when i put it in gear and acelerate the engine stalls now ive cleaned t/body and icv and afm with carby cleaner still the same then i thought afm might be at fault swaped it with the one off my convertible still the same thing,also i have checked for air leaks and there are none bar an outlet on the side of the 2 pipes taking vacume to the brake booster there is a little tube about a cm long that goes nowhere blocked it still the same.any advise my zone friends

Air leak?

thats what i think too but ive had my head in the engine bay all afternoon and i carnt find one any one else before i go

Still sounds lik AFM or wiring from it, have you tried simply disconnecting it to see if its the same?

cheers

c

good advise thanks i will check it out as a mater of interest would a crack in the distributor cap cause this just realised that the impact might of touched the dizzy

dizzys fine just speaking to a mechanic friend of mine and he sugested checking out the PCV valve from the tappet cover to the inlet so i will check that tomorrow in the daylight but would like to hear from you guys for your opinion before this sends me completly round the twist

anyone out there that can help

You'll have trouble checking out the PCV valve, as there isn't one!
Your fault description has all the characteristics of an air leak on the inlet side, or something else affecting the AFM signal, but we don't know if the problem was caused by the initial impact, the crash damage, or the attempts to repair the damage.
Just to complicate matters a little more, if the battery has been disconnected while repairs were done, the engine ECU may have lost its idle settings, and not yet relearnt them.
Does the car have a cat? Check that the throttle position switch is working properly. Does it idle better when cold than when hot?

brian i didnt think they have a pcv valve damage to the car was only light but it was enough to bash the rad into the water pump the car does idle beter cold the batery was disconected for about 3 months it just feels like the throtal body is choking on initial acelaration causing cut out but once it idles over 1000rpm the engine revs ok with no hesitation i hear you when you talk about air leaks the only one i found is off the brake vacume lines ther seems to be a 3mm offshoot pipe that goes nowhere and is sucking in air but that is it,im thinking either the timing is out or there is a fault with the throtal body i dont know but i will take any advise i can get and i know that you guys on the zone have been the best for the right advise and have helped me in the past and i have done all my work on my e30s myself there just is no one arround here that dosnt use the oh it might be that aproach and 2 weeks and 2000 dollars later it might be fixed or not so id rather do it myself with the zones help so keep the advise coming im listining thanks

Brianmoooore wrote: Does the car have a cat? Check that the throttle position switch is working properly.

Have you checked the C192, and under its rubber boot, as per willnz's post above?

This is a question no one asked but it just might mean im stupid for asking, but did you change the timing belt when doing all this work ? because if it was out a nick or 2 it would idle but when under load it would just die. im only spit balling but it could be very simple like this!.

hope you find in, if not. rip that inlet manifold off and replace all gaskets and seals!

Just a thought but try checking the hoses going to the fuel pressure regulator. Mine is located in front of the AFM and could of taken a knock. I recently changed a split hose here which drastically improved my idle.

In your op you mention it idles fine but then when you put in gear and pull off it cuts out? You also mention clutch. is it not more likely to be something to do with that?

What about the pulse sensor that takes its signal off the cranks vibration damper, sits close to were the airconpump is/would be. Since yours had a front collision

after many aganising hours with my head under the bonet problem is still there i did replace the water pump i didnt touch the cam belt but im thinking this is a timming related issue that is a bit beyond my back yard antics im afraid im going to have to bite the bullet as they say and have a technition look at it that has the right gear rory i think you may be right cause everything else seems to be ok but i supose we will have to start at point 0 and work our way up problem is everyone around here is closed for another week or so ah well just have to wait and see but i will keep you all posted thanks to all for your valuable advise and have a happy new year cheers

muzz wrote: just is no one arround here that dosnt use the oh it might be that aproach and 2 weeks and 2000 dollars later it might be fixed or not so id rather do it myself with the zones help

There are at least three specific questions asked by willnz and I that you haven't answered! These are extremely simple engines, with only a limited amount of things that can be wrong with them. Neither will or myself can see, touch or hear this engine, so you have to do these things for us, exactly to instructions, and pass the information on.
This kind of remote fault finding can be long and slow, but, as long as you do your part EXACTLY, we will get there in the end.

brian you are right they are fairly straight forward engines and this is the first one to give me so much grief over 12 years of owning e30s i will get on the fault finding tomorrow i will check th c192 plug and do the light globe on positive on the coil and earth and the throtle positioning sensor and post tomorrow with results thanks for your patiece and help

ok i did 2 of the tests c192 plug is ok and the positive of coil and earthon a light bulb light stayed on when the engine cut out ok what now guys thanks

hi everybody took the throtle body off the car and cleaned it and checked the tps seems ok so what now boys.

Just to clarify is the problem at idle or when you try to drive the car?

the problem is when i start to drive away but still stalls when it is out of gear and is reved the problem band is between 700 and 1000 rpm it idles at 700 and revs past 1000 but inbetween will stall actually it sounds like the engine in choking i dont know what to make of it any sugestions dont be shy i will listen to all thanks

ok today i replaced all the h/t leeds the fuel regulator still the same cutting out what am i missing

please help as you can tell im desperate

muzz wrote: checked the tps seems ok

What exactly does this mean, and you still haven't answered one of my questions?

brian i thought i did answer questions as best i could anyway all plugs are clean and look good i did the test on the positive of the coil and earth with a light bulb when the engine cut out the bulb stayed on as per your last mesage it means that the throtle positioning switch works although it does idle a bit better cold rather than hot,now also as per previous mesages ive replaced the h/t leads plugs rotor disributor cap pulled off the throtle body and gave it a good clean replaced the fuel regulator.
now brian what specificly have i missed or what is my next step and pleasetell me what im looking for on the c192 plug i did inspect it and looks good to me nice and clean no corosion and yes the car did sit with no battery for a few months.you mentioned the ecu loosing the idle settings how can these be restored.thanks for taking the time out to assist me in this and i will wait to hear from you cheers

The question you haven't answered is does the car have a cat?
The TPS has to be tested using a meter. 2 pins short circuit with the throttle closed, all pins open circuit with it up to two thirds open, and 2 other pins short cicuit at full throttle.
C192 needs to be inspected under the lower rubber cover - it's a water trap, and severe corrosion can occur.
Idle settings are restored simply by driving the car.

thanks brian i will have a better look at the c192 plug tomorrow and the car looks like it did have a cat but has been removed prior to me owning it and a fairly new exhaust was fitted from headers to the tail and yes it still has the oxygen sensor in place.
as far as the tps goes yes i have a meter but am not sure what you mean about the procedure for testing do i test with ignition on not engine or with the engine running

To test the tps the engine can be off mate. Disconnet the loom from the tps and use a multimeter set to buzzer. Pins 1 & 2 should buzz with the throttle closed and stopped buzzing as soon as you open the throttle. Pins 2 and 3 will start buzzing at about 2/3's throttle.

With all these electrical tests its worth doing at the tps (or air flow meter, temperatire sensors etc) and at the ecu connector too to tell you if theres a break or fault in the loom somewhere.

thanks kman if i dont have a buzzing multimeter what readings am i looking for

muzz wrote:thanks kman if i dont have a buzzing multimeter what readings am i looking for

zero and infinity.

ok did the electrical tests and all is good with the tps also tested the throtle body and got readings of 565 so what do you think my next step should be,
it realy sounds like the timming is out what is your opinion on this

ok any more tests i can perform as per my previos posts

everybodys gone quiet i hope this hasnt stumped us all any more advise would be apriciated

muzz wrote: also tested the throtle body and got readings of 565

I've know idea what you can test on the throttle body to get this reading, however it would be an acceptable result for a crank position sensor! A small point, but things like this have been a characteristic of this thread (ignition coil power test, cat or no, etc.) and does nothing to inspire out confidence that you are testing properly and giving reliable results.
You say the cat. has gone, but the lambda sensor is still connected. I doubt if it's the problem, but we're running short of options, as you are describing a fully working engine! Try unplugging it (under the front battery tray), and see if that improves things. The ECU will recognise that it's gone, and use a default lambda value.
As regards timing; I take it you haven't done anything with the timing belt? Anything more than a tooth or two out and the valves are going to hit pistons. How do you think it could be out?