erratic idle on 320i

[privateer63]

hiya..took my 320i into the local garage yesterday to have a new battery and alternator fitted,when i collected it the engine was cold and i drove it home with no problem,but when i got it home the idle was surging up and down and i couldnt get it on the drive with out stalling the engine.i took it back this morning and i told the mechanic he must of left something unplugged.anyway i left it with him and collected it tonight and he said he richened it up a bit and cleaned the idle screw but found nothing wrong with it.but im not convinced its obviously better but thats because its running abit richer.it wasnt like it i told him when i took it there....any idea lads

[cro320]

just wait few days...should be fine...after removing battery, motronic ressets parameters. If continues to idling bad change iCV

[privateer63]

cheers mate i will see what happens in a couple of days

[E30BeemerLad]

I didn't think Motronic was a learning style ECU

[massive]

I didn't think Motronic was a learning style ECU

me neither

leave it a couple of days anyway then start looking for the problem. check all jubilee clips on hoses and all hoses are sound with no cracks letting in unmetred air.

I have a spare ICV you can have if required - just pay couple of quid post.

[privateer63]

ok thanks for that.. just seems strange that the garage specialises sorting out injections on german cars, and didnt give me back the car running properly as it was working perfectly when i gave it to him!!.the thing is hes richened it up abit just to make it idle...but i will check around the pipes looking for cracks if not ill take you up on the icv im in somerset where are you

[massive]

ok thanks for that.. just seems strange that the garage specialises sorting out injections on german cars, and didnt give me back the car running properly as it was working perfectly when i gave it to him!!.the thing is hes richened it up abit just to make it idle...but i will check around the pipes looking for cracks if not ill take you up on the icv im in somerset where are you

So does it idle properly now its been richened? Do you know exactly what he did, not sure what is meant by 'richened'....

I'm in Hereford which is about 50miles from Bristol. Not worth collecting an ICV

[cro320]

well...I had same problems with my 320i. Idle was surging all the time, so I decided to do the job at bmw workshop.
when car was ready to go, I was told to expect that few days will die at stopings, or will idle too slow, because it was disconnected from battery.
Indeed, two days driving was , I needed to hunt for the rpms...and then car started to idle smooth and RPM's were steady at 650rpm.
How great...idles like bought one

[privateer63]

he adjusted it to run alittle richer??? and he ran some injection cleaner through the system ,when the car is cold it runs on the choke so its ticking over a little faster making it easier to control the accelerator to clutch .it is driving better but it does hesitate when you put your foot down to pull away from a junction ,its not the same as it was before .if you imagine coming up to a junction on a slight hill you would find it hard to catch the revs right to to pull away clean as the revs drop away very quickly and you sort of lerch away i just think hes done something to it because it was so good before.he would have had to remove all the connectors and pipe around the afm to get to the alternator so i would imagine hes split/ or not tightened up a clip somewhere.so if i drive it around for a couple of days will it reset it self because i must admit i dont have much trust in it...

[E30BeemerLad]

it is maybe worth having a look at the rubber inlet pipe between the airflow meter and the throttle body, check it for splits etc, also check the other plumbing connected to the throttle body as there are a number of small vacum hoses which may not be on tight or well sealed. Finally, with the car switched off, put your ear to the throttle body and manually open the throttle a fraction by using the linkage, you should hear a "click" sound just as the throttle is opened.

Just some things to eliminate really.

Worth checking the tension of the alternator belt also and if you have a multimeter check you are getting 14V across the battery terminals with the car ticking over.

[gixxertrix]

Hi guys,

I found the same with my 1988 320 this afternoon after (stupidly) leaving the lights on while going away for a few days this week. I recharged the battery and everything had changed. I took it out for a 20 mile drive (not too hard) and went up and down the revs alot but slowly and it's better than it was (possibly) before.

You could also be finding as you've already been told, that the air inlet hose to the injection vacuum sensor may not be air tight. When you throttle the engine the opposite happens and the engine dies.

By the way anyone know why my power steering works intermittently and under heavy lock it makes a noise (a 'hydraulic' noise as if the pump is under extreme load). I have fluid, a good belt but I don't know if that's making the noise. Thanks


Jason

[tezk]

What year is the car? I'm guessing the later model if its got the ICV fitted?

Most likely culprit is a tear in one of the hoses, as mentioned. Out of the 4 e30's I've owned, 2 came with bad inlet hoses! They're not too expensive from the dealers.

[privateer63]

hi...ive checked around the pipes and the one around the idle control valve has very small perish/tears signs around the rubber pipe when you give it a squeeze.the car is running better as predicted ,but it still doesnt feel right when pulling away in first gear.today pulling away from the traffic lights in town i ended up slightly slipping the clutch to be assured of getting the revs up for a clean gettaway.i do think the guy in the garage has sqaushed a pipe somewhere it just a case of where? dont know any way of checking and i domt think its a good idea bending them looking for cracks....that steering prob is very similar to mine at some stage nearly at full lock it almost feel as if the steering wheel is turning .but the wheels dont .is the steering light or a slightly heavy steering car