Strange startup...

[Ferdinand]

Hmm... serviced my 3.0iA 05/2002 km 86.000km 2 weeks ago as follows.

Changed:
Engine oil an oilfilter.
Brake fluid.
Cleaned and lubed brakes.
Added a can of injector cleaner to the fuel.
Cleaned airfilter (K&N)
12V Battery to 74Amp 740 cca AGM-type (original battery was from 2002)

Did a reset of the service indicator (km, time)

I changed the battery because the car had a funny way of starting a couple of weeks ago - it cranked ok but idle was veeeeery slow - It sounded like starting an old carburettor car - so I stepped shortly a quick touch on the accelerator pedal "to make it up" - and that made the idle rise immediately.

I thought that a new battery remove this problem - but got a Whole lot wiser yesterday - problem was apparently still there - because it did the very same thing again.might be because of an old battery ( it was the original from 2002) so I didn't bother to check it - just bought a new one....

Should I suspect the MAF because of the airfilter? - petrolpump? fuel pressure regulator?

Spark plugs has never been changed - could it be them - the car pulls evenly When it runs - gas milage is as normal.

There are no fault codes. What the h... is going on???

 

[Mr-P]

With 86,000Km on the clock I would have changed spark plugs regardless of what service schedule says. Both my cars get new plugs ever year.

 

[Brian H]

You have nothing to lose by changing the spark plugs, this may help.

Have you checked the air intake hoses at either side of the maf? these are prone perishing and letting in excess air therefore could affect the idle? Have a good root around as there are one or two hoses that can be affected.

 

[EnthuZiaZT]

Ferdinand, I would change the spark plugs too, as a matter of course after 86,000 miles, however if as you say the car runs normally after start up and doesn't stall on tickover, perhaps just one of the spark plugs is past it, and nothing major is actually at fault!
The other area I would look at are the injectors, especially it has been run on Supermarket petrol, try running it on V power for 2 or 3 tankfuls and adding Redex to the petrol.
Hope this helps.
Mike

 

[badman gee]

I've had a faulty plug before.

It was ok on tickover but under load the car was hesitant.

 

[Ferdinand]

Been "away" for a few days.... but here's a quick update:

Filled it with 40L 99 octane Vpower this morning - will give it a good run later today to see it this helps - and hopefully find time to look at/ clean /change the spark plugs this following weekend... Do I need any special tool for this or is it a simple "plug" and play "operation"??

 

[Pep]

Does it almost feel like the throttle cable is too slack?

It should show up on diags but it sounds pretty similar to the Cam Sensor fail I had on mine around the start of the year.

Took it to my local indie and had it replaced for about £60 including labour.

 

[Ferdinand]

There is no throttle cable on a 3.0 - it's a "fly by wire" system. seems like the car is very frugal with the Vpower. Driving 80 - 90 km/h only takes 6,5 - 7,5 L/100km....

 

[Pep]

There is no throttle cable on a 3.0 - it's a "fly by wire" system. seems like the car is very frugal with the Vpower. Driving 80 - 90 km/h only takes 6,5 - 7,5 L/100km....

Sorry for the confusion, I was trying to describe how mine felt when I had the problem above!

 

[Ferdinand]

Sorry for the confusion, I was trying to describe how mine felt when I had the problem above!

No worries

 

[Ferdinand]

Update....

Been running on V-Power for a long time now - unfortunately that car is still the same...

Sparks plugs have been changed a few days ago. The car had NGK in it - and I bought Bosch... A quality plug is a plug to me - did a lot of searching and to my belief, it's about religion whether you choose one above the other.... ( please correct me if I'm wrong)

I've checked the air hoses visually - will do a test with spraying some kind of flammable content onto the hoses while the car is idling to see whether idle increases - and by that I should be able to see whether any airhoses has perished.

ANYWAY: warm startup is still bad - sometimes it starts on less than 6 cylinders with very low rews at idle - exhaust smoke is black - I'm guessing unburned fuel.... as soon as I touch the throttle idle goes up to normal - colour of exhaust fumes gets normal and the cars drives as it should.

Last week I got a fault code P1632 (Throttle Valve Adaptation Condition Not Met) I found this online and will try it today:
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/foru...2-Throttle-Valve-Adaptation-Condition-Not-Met

Although mine is a 2002, and this year should have an improved TB to the earlier models, it could be faulty on mine ;o( I'll probably have to replace the Throttle body - have gotten several fault codes and I'm tired of looking at the orange EML, engine-, brake- and DSC light.

Will also clean MAF again - just to make sure it isn't the culprit


I contacted 2 local stealers - they didn't care 5 seconds about my problem, and I got no help at all That's apparantly BMW nowadays..... I called a company Schmiedmann, and told them about my problems with the car... They met me with a completely different attitude - and though the company is 100 km away and I'll have to pay a fortune to cross a bridge to get there - there's no doubt in my mind that I'll buy whatever I need at they're place to get the problem solved and the car running as intended again, if I can't find the problem myself or with your help

Looking on the internet brings many input - and I'm thinking that the water temperature sensor could be faulty..... Ohh how I hate and love modern at the same time cars!!!.

 

[hard top]

I've had a faulty plug before.

That has been obvious to us all for a long time now..........

 

[Brian H]

Looking on the internet brings many input - and I'm thinking that the water temperature sensor could be faulty.....

What make you think the water temp sensor is faulty? Have you put your speedo head in to test mode? this will tell you the running water temp in degrees, my car runs between 96 - 98 degrees.

 

[Ferdinand]

It' just that lot of hits on the internet leans in that direction....

How do I put the speedo in test mode?? I don't have any fancy gadgets that can "talk" to the car - only a service reset tool.

 

[Brian H]

It' just that lot of hits on the internet leans in that direction....

How do I put the speedo in test mode?? I don't have any fancy gadgets that can "talk" to the car - only a service reset tool.

@Ferdinand no fancy gadgets needed, unless you call your fingers fancy

Test Mode Instructions, you are looking for option 7.0, this will let you see the coolant temp, it can take a few times to get it in to test mode so be patient. If you want to run the car in this mode start it afterwards, do not turn off the key beforehand though or you will have to go through the process again.

 

[FRANKIE]

Update....

Been running on V-Power for a long time now - unfortunately that car is still the same...

Sparks plugs have been changed a few days ago. The car had NGK in it - and I bought Bosch... A quality plug is a plug to me - did a lot of searching and to my belief, it's about religion whether you choose one above the other.... ( please correct me if I'm wrong)

I've checked the air hoses visually - will do a test with spraying some kind of flammable content onto the hoses while the car is idling to see whether idle increases - and by that I should be able to see whether any airhoses has perished.

ANYWAY: warm startup is still bad - sometimes it starts on less than 6 cylinders with very low rews at idle - exhaust smoke is black - I'm guessing unburned fuel.... as soon as I touch the throttle idle goes up to normal - colour of exhaust fumes gets normal and the cars drives as it should.

Last week I got a fault code P1632 (Throttle Valve Adaptation Condition Not Met) I found this online and will try it today:
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/foru...2-Throttle-Valve-Adaptation-Condition-Not-Met

Although mine is a 2002, and this year should have an improved TB to the earlier models, it could be faulty on mine ;o( I'll probably have to replace the Throttle body - have gotten several fault codes and I'm tired of looking at the orange EML, engine-, brake- and DSC light.

Will also clean MAF again - just to make sure it isn't the culprit


I contacted 2 local stealers - they didn't care 5 seconds about my problem, and I got no help at all That's apparantly BMW nowadays..... I called a company Schmiedmann, and told them about my problems with the car... They met me with a completely different attitude - and though the company is 100 km away and I'll have to pay a fortune to cross a bridge to get there - there's no doubt in my mind that I'll buy whatever I need at they're place to get the problem solved and the car running as intended again, if I can't find the problem myself or with your help

Looking on the internet brings many input - and I'm thinking that the water temperature sensor could be faulty..... Ohh how I hate and love modern at the same time cars!!!.

I was reading about your problem. I try as often as possible to repair my own car more often than not. It is difficult to give advice on a BMW since I have just recently purchased an older used z3 and have yet to put it on the road. However, there are automotive problems related to, or are common to many cars regardless of make or model. Once a manufacturer chooses a spark plug for an ignition system, that system is often developed around the function of that plug. I just recently found this out since I had put AC plugs in a Honda Del Sol which ran poorly until I replaced them with the required NGK plugs. What an instant difference! Please don't under estimate the difference the correct plug can make. That being said, I don't think its your problem. The mass air flow sensor is a strong possibility. In my Mercedes, the wire exposed to the air is kept at 392 degrees F. Both the quantity of air and the temp. of the air can alter the temp. of this wire. The changes in temp. of this wire are sent to the car's computer every 4 seconds so fuel adjustments can be made. There are maf sensor cleaners that can be used on the wires. Some people use carb cleaners. Don't touch the wire after cleaning as anything on your fingers can contaminate the wire reducing its function. Let it air dry. Also, there are electronic tests you can do on the maf sensor to see if its faulty. Check the internet for these procedures. Also, some cars use iac (idle air control) valves which have a thermostatic control using water from the engine. You said that you had black smoke out the back during idle. Vacuum leaks can cause high HC readings at idle speed but not evident at higher rpm. Check all your vacuum hoses. Make sure your plug wires are in good condition and are not arcing across another wire or part of the engine. If this car has a distributer cap and rotor and they are old, change them. Good luck with this and let me know how you made out and what the final solution was. FRANKIE from Egg Harbor Township, NJ

 

[Ferdinand]

UPDATE:


Recently got P0221 - P1632 and finally P1638 - as mentioned before the local dealers wouldn't touch the car, so I had to contact Schmiedmann, a well reputated tuning company - I ordered a new throttle body assy, and then he told me, I had to wait..... Hold your breath... 2 weeks to get the car running again... well,I couldn't do anything else but order one.. but kept thinking, now can that be right? So I rang a major BMW dealer i Copenhagen. "Well mate" they said, how about getting it tomorrow?... WTF..... Tomorrow I said, erhhh could you please get that one for me.... I got it a few days ago - replaced it and the car fired up as intended - no funny lights, noises or anything - cleaned the ICV as well - only a bit dirty though.

Found out, that the OBD-scanner I had was dead but I got a new one for free from the shop even though it was more than a year old - very nice people

Gave the car a good wash - as usual by hand of course

So tomorrow (today) I'll give the car a good run tomorrow to check, that everything is hunky-dory - going to a "cars & coffee" gathering 70 km from home - with the soft top down, listening to the lovely straight six - and maybe a bit of Bryan Ferry
Now I have to find out where a clunking noise is coming from.... left front wheel (have checked that it's safe to drive) Suspect: Stabilizer link or rear rubber Mount in the wishbone.... life is never boring with old cars

 

[Ferdinand]

Went to the the weekly "Cars & Coffee" this morning. And tried a very special car - A car based on a 1935 Morris - jezzez - I can' remember when I had so much fun - at least with clothes on.

Dooh!
Here's a picture taken earlier this year with the actual owner behind the steeringwheel - he's a very nice chap
http://youngtimer.dk/Roskilde2013/18-7/slides/DSCN4393.JPG

Anayway - back to the Zed.... Problem not solved. Still have to give it a bit of throttle to start it whem it's warm (parked for 3 hours) - but at least it starts without funny lights etc..... Arghhhh . WTF is going on???? HELP!!!!

 

[hard top]

Love it, love it, love it, I want one........
As I said before. mine dose intermittently when warm but no one can work out why.....!!!!!
I sympathies with you but then again, it is an old bit of kit.
I have heard nothing about problems from my mate, who borrowed the Z for his holiday, which I thought would be in NL. The car is currently in Italy, so I have been told.by another friend........Barsteward...........