Annoying idling problem on 318i

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Bharat
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Post Sun Mar 05, 2006 1:00 pm

Seem to be having a bizarre problem with the car.

Sometimes, it idles too high (1300 to 1500 rpm) and at other times, at about 1000.

So I took the top half of the inlet manifold off, and removed the idle control valve, throttle body and air flow meter, and cleaned them all up.

Noticed the big hose going from AFM to TB has a small crack UNDER the jubilee clip bit, so not too concerned.

The thin hose that goes from the TB to the fuel regulator looks in poor shape, but no cracks.

The breather hose going from the top of the rocker cover to the underneath of the TB had a crack near the rocker cover end, so sealed that up temporarily.

And finally, the little rubber/plastic cap type of thing on the end of the thin hose (on the other side of the TB) was cracked, so taped it up as well.

Now, when I start the car, it starts idling at 2500 or so and keep climbing up !!!

Disconnecting the AFM wire brings it down to about 1300, and the car is lumpy, and seems to be smoky, burning oil or fuel ?

Anyone have any ideas what the damn thing is doing ?

Shall I disconnect the ECU for a while and try again ?
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Gwynleym10
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Post Sun Mar 05, 2006 3:20 pm

have you tried a different ICV? my old one did loads of silly things and I "thought" I cleaned it properly.. giving it 12v also made it "look" like it was working... but as soon as swapped it with anotherone it was fine!
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Bharat
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Post Sun Mar 05, 2006 3:45 pm

Gwynleym10 wrote:have you tried a different ICV? my old one did loads of silly things and I "thought" I cleaned it properly.. giving it 12v also made it "look" like it was working... but as soon as swapped it with anotherone it was fine!
That is one of my suspicions.

But what has baffled me is why it's become worse. Spoken to a couple of people since, and there may be an air leak from somewhere.

Have gone and bought new gasket for the inlet manifold and the big rubber hose for AFM to TB. That's all I could find on a Sunday at EuroCarParts :evil:

Will attempt to change that hose tomorrow, although I have my doubts about that being the only reason for this problem.
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325i Motorsport Edition convertible - gone, but not forgotten.