Difficult start when engine between cold and hot

[Grumpykeith]

Hi can anyone help? My E30 2.0 litre starts well when cold and OK when hot but struggles when in between temperatures, like when you leave it standing from hot for a while but it has not fully cooled. It starts eventually but turns over quite a while before it fires.

Keith

[Speedtouch]

Welcome to the Zone! Check the blue temperature sensor as a first port of call:

http://www.e30zone.net/e30zonewiki/inde ... emp_Sensor

Also worth checking that the air filter is clean, and spark plugs are of the correct type and gapped properly.

What age is the car - pre-facelift chromie or facelift?

[Brianmoooore]

You need to check the fuel pressure after the car is stopped - a £10 gauge off of ebay will do.
A likely possibility is that an injector or two are leaking fuel, giving a mixture which is too rich to fire, until the leaked fuel is expelled.

[Grumpykeith]

Thanks Brian. Another symptom which I should have mentioned is that when it does start it can often hunt rather than ticking over smoothly. This sound like the same issue?
Keith

[Grumpykeith]

Hi Maurice.

1990 convertible, pre-face lift. We have changed the blue sensor already. Air filter and plugs are new.

[Speedtouch]

Try disconnecting the battery or ECU and leaving it for an hour or so to reset it. Let it idle for at least 10 minutes to enable base idle settings to be learnt. Switch off, then take it for a drive throughout the rev range.

This ensures full transfer of the EPROM data into the processor.

Another possibility, if your car has the 0 261 200 380 ECU, is that the diodes in the idle control circuit have blown - quite a common fault with the 380 ECU. This would cause the hunting. It would also be worth cleaning out the idle control valve (ICV) using carb or brake cleaner.