E30 Zone

as some of you may know-my neighbour and i acquired a 325i touring as a general runner/project..the car has a couple of probs though that im having difficulty with.once the car is warm it runs lumpy on idle..even vibrating the whole car..had a mess about with some wires etc and it just had plugs,leads.rotor not that long ago.anyone any ideas?

the next issue is a wet drivers carpet.the car is solid and i cant find where it is coming from.scuttle etc seems fine.any popular faults around this matter? many thanks

Heater matrix, sunroof drain tube, thats for the leak mate. Try a search for both probs but dare say someone will
be along to suggest some other things soon.

Test/replace the blue temperature sensor, if this is faulty it will make the car run rich when warm as the ECU thinks it's cold. This could explain your poor idle.

Water in passenger footwell could mean the heater matrix is leaking if you haven't got any holes anywhere.

HTH

the passenger side seems bone dry..where does the sunroof tube go to??i just put a heater motor in it but i cant see any way in which water can get to that side?

Sorry mate, misread original post.

Not sure where the sunroof drains to, I'm sure someone who knows more than me will be along shortly with a proper answer!

no worrirs mate-appreciate your input

Take you idle control valve off and give it a damn good clean with carb cleaner ( I'll bet anything that it's well gunked up ). Also clean around the intake just below the throttle body, but don't let carb cleaner get into the intake !! Just use some cleaner on a rag. Also check for any burst / split / loose hoses connected to the air intake system. I'd probably try this before changing the blue temp sensor, although it may well be the cause of your problems.

your drivers footwell - for the sunroof drains, not sure where they lead but poke a length of coax cable down the drivers side drain channel and check for any blockages. Also check the "elephant trunk" on the bulkhead, this can get clogged up.

I've had a soaking drivers footwell for a while and tried these but eventually found that the plug in the bottom of the footwell had come out. You'll need to pull the carpet out of the way to have a look. I had to cut mine out as it was so wet, and when I did, found a bit of rust around the drain hole and the plug had come out. Sealed it up and problem solved.

HTH

Si

thanks for all replies .where is the temp sensor located??

Blue (and brown) temp sensors found on the thermostat housing. Gently pop the fuel injector rail up with a wide flat lever of some sort to gain access and then unbolt the blue sensor and replace


I'd try cleaning the idle control valve first. If still lumpy check if there's an air leak in the throttle and breather hoses by spraying around the area with wd40 or brake cleaner to see if it sucks any in through a split and makes the engine note pick up when you spray.

The wet footwell - have you looked at the front jacking point - the area underneath the accelerator peddle to see if it's rusty?

i plan to get the carpet up tomorrow-im thinkin the bilkhead plug may be the culprit-but if not the jacking point will be the next assessment.many thanks for all help.

i should also add maybe that it is using excessive fuel and smelling as if its overfuelling-however the co2 is ok...

squeal wrote:i should also add maybe that it is using excessive fuel and smelling as if its overfuelling-however the co2 is ok...

That sounds like you have a loose or split air intake hose dude. When I cleaned my idle control valve out and had the intake system to bits, I forgot to tighten a jubilee clip on one of the hoses. The stench of overfuelling was unreal !! Check ALL intake hose very carefully fella..

will do mate-that shall be my task tomorrow-much appreciated mate

the sunroof drains on the front come out behind the front wings behind the sh1t guard (wheel arch liner).
have a look at the sunroof inner appature see how rusty it is, mine has rusted thru and i get a wet passengers seat if its parked downhill where it drips in.

stripped the air intake etc n cleaned it all.to be honest it wasnt that dirty so i checked the air pipes n found a minute split in it so ordered a new 1 and a temp sensor.....
then i went on to find the water prob..put a wire down the sunroof tube and it appeared clear..then decided it was time to take out the carpet and assess the floor and bulkhead.only prob is i cant get the carpet up-a novice error i know but i cant see how to get it up withouteither taking the seat out or breaking something.any help always appreciated.

the carpet is and all-in-one design....

Firstly, if the top is soaking you can bet there is a sizeable puddle underneath...The back is fairly thick foam and soaks up loads of water before the top becomes damp!

As to where it is coming from:
Some ideas already covered (elephants trunk, sunroof drain), but also check the door liner isn't leaking...Winscreen seal may also be a culprit...Finally worth peeling back the carpet behind the pedals and check for any rusty patches...

If you need to get the carpet out altogether, then you will need to remove both front seats, the centre console (both bits) and the sill trims and the front kick panels...After doing that you may still find it a b*gger to remove, especially if it is soaked through as it will weigh a ton!
A tip is to make a cut from under the heater to the gearstick aperture...Makes it much easier to remove without ripping the carpet over the transmission tunnel and when you put it back in the cut can be taped up and remain unseen under the console...

If it is anything like mine was, you will need it out for a week or two just to get the thing water free!

right-never got the carpet up this wknd as i was more concentrating on the annoying vibrating idle.the car is still shuddering on idle..u can actually feel it vibrating-this is after changing any dubious air hoses and re tightening jubilles and also i changed the blue temp sensor.sorry to be a pain guys...any other ideas-its still using plenty of fuel and smelling rich despite a fine co2 reading.many thanks again

Copied and pasted from another thread I answered about ten minutes ago: On the M20, there's a plug and socket that connects the injector loom to the main engine loom, that can be responsible for some odd effects.
This connector is like a miniature version of the diagnostic socket, or the main C101 engine loom plug and socket (by the fusebox), and can be found fixed to the metalwork directly under the middle of the inlet manifold.
Water has been known to get into this plug and socket, and, not only corrode the pins and buckets of the connectors, but also to collect inside the rubber boot of the lower half and corrode the wires, as well as causing strange electrical leaks between pins.

is this the small loom under the inlet manifold?i could shake these wires before and it would kill a misfire the car had at low revs so i chopped them and put a new plug on them to no avail-should i strip all these wires back?

If moving the wires affected the engine in any way, god or bad, you know there's a fault there!!!!
It's a common cure to remove the plug and socket completely and solder the two halves together, making nice, waterproof joints, insulated with heat shrink sleeving and silicon grease.