I'm going to solve the misfire and cold running issue

[soul4t]

Ok Guys,

Here are some videos! Please ignore any murmerings from me...

Ok first of all, before I did the video I decided to try blocking the ICV vac hoses and looking at what the ICV was doing...or trying to do. I found that when I started the car, it stalled...Ok..it's supposed to do that...then I set the throttle open off the tps to allow some air in so it could run...and I saw the ICV behaving as it should, open about half way...more open when I decreased the air in through the TB, and less when I allowed plenty of air in. So it appears the ICV is getting correct signals from the ECU. So if the rpms are low with the ICV connected...very lean condition? Then when you unplug the ICV it CLOSES slightly allowing less air in and creating better combustion? This would also tie in with why when I richen the idle CO mixture at the AFM it improves combustion and smooths out the idle and rpm...you'll see in the CO vid. This would tend to indicate a fuel problem no?

The YouTube embeding thind doesn't seem to have worked, so I've put the links incase it's just my comp it doesn't work on.

First Video is of the car startup from cold (about an hour after my ICV test...didn't allow the car to warm up)



[youtube][/youtube]

Then the car just started to hunt...when it was getting to the end of the blue area on the temp guage:



[youtube][/youtube]

And here's my CO adjustment:



[youtube][/youtube]

Theres quite alot of wandering around and the sounds not great, but I wanted to get accross what was/is goin on!

[mcbonio]

You sure you don't have a badly adjusted AFM? Can you swap it with a known working one?

[soul4t]

Yep I've tried 2. ..No difference. I've also moved the wiper arm to fresh track...no kangerooing in traffic!

[Speedtouch]

Have you tried disconnecting the battery or ECU, leaving it for an hour or so to reset, then let it idle for at least 10 minutes to enable base idle settings to be learnt, switch off, then go for a drive throughout the rev range.

This ensures full transfer of data from the EPROM to the ECU.

[soul4t]

Hi Speedtouch, I have tried this previously, and when I think about it, when I did the timing belt I had the battery disconnected for about 3 hours, then had to let the car warm up to bleed the coolant, then went for a drive, so I guess yes.

I've decided to eliminate fuel supply problems so I'm swapping out the injectors, fpr and fuel rail...the upper intake is off and I'm having lunch...I'll fit the replacements in an hour or so! I'll let you know how it goes!

[soul4t]

Alright people! Rain tried to stop play again, but an umbrella tied to the engine bay allowed it to continue!

So I fitted the replacement fuel rail, injectors and FPR...cleared the ICV code...as it's been unplugged lots of times!

No Change...all the same! I think the replacement injectors are a little quieter...mine were ultrasonicly cleaned about a year and a half ago, they were surprisingly dirty near the tips...carbon build up...the replacements came off a newer touring model, the tip design was different, like 3 holes instead of the yellow tip with one centre hold.

Hmmm, where next!

[Speedtouch]

Ditch the M40 and get a proper engine!

[soul4t]

If I could get a guarenteed M42 engine and all other bits for cheap enough I would consider it...but it just feels that I should be able to fix this!

I just met a guy down the road who gave up on his e36 with an m40 316i engine in it...he'd had the head rebuilt cause it overheated, then didn't replace the viscous fan, when it still overheated he gave up! I'm gonna see him again next week and grab any parts that are worth keeping off him...fuel pump and sender for 1!

[Speedtouch]

I take it you've seen this ad:

http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... 02&start=0

[soul4t]

Na, just had a look tho...what are you thinkin? If it's the engine head you're thinkin, the e36 down the road should fit shouldn't it?

[Speedtouch]

Well, I was thinking of the whole engine as a replacement, but if you reckon it just needs a head, then fair enough.

I'm not sure if the E36 heads are the same - someone on here, such as Andyboy, will probably know for sure.

[soul4t]

Ah I see, maybe I should check compression...should have done it a while back, but it drives smooth on acceleration and when warm it'll drive to 6000rpm with no stuttering and a nice kick of power just beyond 4000rpm...it feels good and smooth, it's only at the cold start, during warm up and feathering the throttle that I have any probs.

[lemmy99]

Ha,

Yea I noticed your conversation on another thread, nicely conducted

Another helpfull zoner who thought it could be the cam belt sent me a cam locking tool that he had made up to spec's, so I'm lucky to have one!

I've just bought a Cam belt kit and rocker cover gasket, just need to buy a spring balance (probably from amazon/ebay), then get hold of a tourque wrench, or buy one.

Thanks for the input, I'll keep you posted!

You need 2kg of force, to set the cam tensioner.
This is what i did

1. wrap allen key with masking tape and mark the specified distance with pen.
2. insert into cam tensioner at the nearest correct angle to vertical
3. fill a 2ltr milk carton with water = 2kg
4. tie a length of string to the milk carton
5. tie a loop in the other end of the string
6. rest broom handle from the exhaust manifold to over the front of the car
7. with the milk carton resting on the floor, under the broom handle, loop the string over the broom handle and on to the allen key (obviously string need to be the correct length to suspend the milk carton of the floor a few inches)<-- old person
8. you now have exactly 2kg of force applied to the allen key and the cam-belt tensioner.

You now have both hands free to loosen the cam sprocket and let the cam settle in the correct place and tighten all the bolts up without having to pull that spring balance at 2kg, watch it wobble about and curse because you don't have 3 arms.

[soul4t]

Ha!

Hi Lemmy! Long time...sounds like an ingenious setup! Luckilly my wife was willing! I cut a small groove in my allen key so that a spring balance could stay in place. The Cam sprocket was spot on! pics on one of the pages on this thread. Isn't it crazy that this is still going on!

[lemmy99]

Ha!

Hi Lemmy! Long time...sounds like an ingenious setup! Luckilly my wife was willing! I cut a small groove in my allen key so that a spring balance could stay in place. The Cam sprocket was spot on! pics on one of the pages on this thread. Isn't it crazy that this is still going on!

So you wife pulled on your spring and you torqued up your nuts, sounds like a fun afternoon.....

Sorry i can't offer anything in the way of a fix, i will re-read the topic again and look at the vids.

So the wife hasn't convinced you to buy the Astra diesel estate and the labrador yet?

[soul4t]

Ha, yes mate...thats how it went down!

No worries...no Astra diesel estate! Or labrador!

I have just had a thought...one place I haven't thoroughly investigated is the dipstick seal...I'm gonna get on that!

[mcbonio]

I admire your persistence soul4t, it's the only way to sort these kind of problems out.! You'll get it in the end I'm sure.

[soul4t]

Thanks mc, indeed! The dipstick is quite firm to get out, I stuck some insulation tape round it and went to pick up the sis in law so had a good drive. No change. There's some sort of seal down the bottom of the dipstick, I'll look into it!

[parkin10]

the servo
run the engine then stop it leave it 5 minutes then press the brake pedal you should hear a hiss and feel some assistance
i would think that if its faulty it would lose its vacuum in 5 minutes

im not saying that its the answer to your problem though

[soul4t]

Well it's worth a shot! Thanks for the input! I don't suppose you know why they use different hose clamps on the servo hoses? Could I replace them with jubilee's?

[parkin10]

i have used jubilees get good quality ones though
i also changed the braided hose i got that from Hose Lines cost me £5 thats for the proper hose

http://www.hoselines-catalogue.co.uk/default.aspx

[soul4t]

Ah nice one mate...I'll look into it...
I find that when cold and coming up to junctions its more prone to stalling...when i'm using the brakes...

[parkin10]

its been said

but
blue temp sensor and wiring
air leaks
have the injectors serviced

i know that mines a different engine but its allways a bit flat when its cold though
good luck i am interested i what you find

[soul4t]

Thanks parkin, yea, I keep going round those circles!...The only thing I have doubt over are the vacuum leaks...when I pull the dipstick it doesn't change rpm at all, but the 2 rubber seals on the dipstick are a tight fit to the dipstick channel. On realoem I can see a seal near the bottom of the dipstick channel...I'm going to look into this, does anyone know how to change it/test if it's leaking?

If I undo the oil filler cap, the vacuum keeps the cap in place, then when I pull it away slightly, it sucks in air and lowers rpm and rumbles about. I did all this when it was warm, so I'll do it again when it's cold as it runs pretty smoothly when it's warm.

[mcbonio]

I'm sure if it was a crankcase vacuum leak then it would run rough when warm too. The issue seems to be with the engines cold start procedure.

Did you test the blue temp sensor resistance at the ecu plug?

[soul4t]

Hello mate,

Oh, cool, yea I tested it when going through all the continuity checks...the ECU was getting a reading, can't remember what it was, could check again tomorrow...off to work soon. The blue sensor was one of the first things to be replaced, I checked the old one against the new one, in cold and warm water and they both showed similar values. But yea, the ECU should see that signal...

What if the condition is the same cold or warm...or similar, but the engine being warm meaning that the air going in (if it be excess air) is getting warmed up and therefore more combustable even though it's lean?

I do remember someone somewhere saying that their brake booster 1 way valve wasn't 1 way anymore...next time I do a cold start maybe I'll disconnect the brake booster and block the hose, that should test it's air tightness...

[mcbonio]

It could be an incorrect fuel/air mix when the engine is cold.? As you say it runs great when warmed up, any other malfunctioning part would give you problems when the engine is warm too.?

[soul4t]

Yea true...it does miss a bit through the rev range when warm, at idle, it's near enough fixed at idle by adjusting the idle CO screw...

[soul4t]

Update:

I double checked the blue sensor resistance at the ECU plug:

2510 Ohms when cool (4 hours after switch off)
252 Ohms when warm, then I watched it as it slowly increased for a few minutes to 270.

While I was there at the ECU plug, I checked all grounds and the TPS Closed, open and fully open positions. All ok.

The brake pedal was firm after about 10 minutes, no hissing. I pulled off the vac hose from the servo grommet, hissing until the air (went in?)

The Vac lines to the servo are still firm, couldn't pull em off (clipped on).

One thing I've noticed is that when coolish, if I use the throttle, then come fully off the throttle, the rpms drop to just below 500, it almost stalls, then I can hear a noise like a rush of air (ICV presumably), it recovers nicely, sits at the correct 800 odd rpm, stays for a few seconds, then slowly grumbles down, hunting between 550rpm and 750rpm.

Ok, so fuel delivery fine, CTS fine, TPS fine and AFM fine, the only thing left is vac leaks, long shot, ECU. Speedtouch did mention getting a genuine fuel filter, but surely it can't be temperature dependant? They're about £32! I'll do some research into whether the e36 ECU should work in my car, the only thing I can think that might cause concern is that it'll have a Cat...

[Speedtouch]

2510 ohms when cool may be a bit on the low side; normally when cold, they are at around 3300 ohms or so.

[soul4t]

I'll check it before it's started tomorrow, then we'll be sure!

I sprayed liberally around lots of possible vacuum leak areas...not a inkling of change!

[parkin10]

if its got a cat what about the lambda sensor

[soul4t]

Unfortunately not...but sometimes I wish it had, then the ecu would have some idea! It wouldn't fix the source of the problem though! I'm wondering whether I didn't fit the gaskets properly when I replaced them and maybe the brake cleaner isn't getting into the right place to get sucked in?

[soul4t]

Just been out to check the true cold reading from the CTS at the ECU plug, it reads 3520 Ohms, glad thats out then!

[Billwill]

I seem to recall that you did check the Gray/Black wire is connected in the tray underneath the windscreen which is for non-cat fitted cars!