The BMW UUC Digest Volume 2 : Issue 851 : "text" Format Messages in this Issue: Re: Even More NOxious E30... Re: Even More NOxious E30... Re: E-32 740i tansmission problem Re: More problems E30 Re: More problems E30 <LONG> Re: <E36> euro headlight pins Re: [E36] ECU gone mad? What else could it be?/ 90 525iA engine missing
---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 31 Oct 2005 19:11:41 -0600 From: "Craig Robson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, "bmw list" <[email protected]> Subject: Re: Even More NOxious E30... Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Joe: I would suggest replacing the O2 sensor and also, if you have the time, pull the injectors and check the flow pattern and amount. Have you also checked the fuel pressure? If everything else checks out fine on the ignition and air side, then that leaves the fuel, and from the sounds of it, your O2 sensor may be getting out of tune. But this is all a guess, others may know better. Craig Robson 01 M3 ----- Original Message ----- From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "bmw list" <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, October 31, 2005 6:29 PM Subject: [UUC] Even More NOxious E30... >I was able to put a meter on the O2 sensor and I either found the problem, > or am really confused... > > Engine fully warmed up and idling, I disconnected the sensor and measured > the output. I got about .2v and fairly steady. When I shut down, the > output > went to about .002v by the time I got over to the meter. > > I hooked up the sensor and back probed the connnector. With the engine > idling I saw it slowly clocking up from about 0.4v and up and up to about > 0.8 where it sat. I blipped the throttle and it shot up to 1.1v and then > started fluctuating between 0.4v and 0.8v. I opened the oil fill cap (at > which point the engine almost died) and the reading fell to 0.5v and then > started slowly clocking down, taking several seconds to reach 0.3v. When I > placed the oil cap back on the engine, the reading shot to 1.1v and then > fell to 0.5 where it paused for a second and then started fluctuating > between 0.4 and 0.8v again. > > A fast idle blip wouldn't do anything to the fluctuations (my meter may > have > been too slow to see it). I thought it was supposed to drive the readings > lean then rich. I didn't see it. > > Sooo... > > The fluctuations I am seeing sound like the sensor is good... except that > they are sitting on the high side... but the part where the sensor seems > to > get stuck and respond slowly, that doesn't seem right. I also thought that > with the cap open I should have seen less than 0.3v and with the sensor > disconnected, I should have seen more than 0.45v. > > Is this sensor good, bad, contaminated, slow, or possessed? > > -- Joe > > -- > Joseph M. Krzeszewski Network Operations > [EMAIL PROTECTED] Worcester Polytechnic Institute > Search the ARCHIVES:http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] > > > __________________________________________________________________________ > In memory of Michel Potheau - friend, enthusiast, founder of the BMW CCA. > > UUC Motorwerks - BMW Performance Fine-tuning and home of the Ultimate > Short Shifter - accept no substitutes! > 908-874-9092 . http://www.uucmotorwerks.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 31 Oct 2005 18:26:25 -0800 From: John Bolhuis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [email protected] Subject: Re: Even More NOxious E30... Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> On Mon, Oct 31, 2005 at 07:29:30PM -0500, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > I hooked up the sensor and back probed the connnector. With the engine > idling I saw it slowly clocking up from about 0.4v and up and up to ..etc I did a similar experiment for fun on my e30. I built a little meter our of LEDs that was easy to see. What you're seeing sounds normal based on what I saw. At idle, my sensor fluctuated very slowly around the setpoint, or almost not at all. You need to be under some load at non-idle speed to watch it work well. It will tend to fluctuate faster at higher speeds, unless you hit WOT, then it will sit at some high reading as the system is open-loop and slightly rich. The fact that the voltage reading fluctuates tells you that the sensor is putting out voltage high enough for the ECU to readjust up and down. The actual voltage readings are less important. If the sensor was broken, you wouldn't see voltage fluctuations from it - the ECU would go open loop and cry foul, lighting the CEL and setting the mixture based on a best guess. If the sensor is worn or fouled, its response could be slow, hindering the ability of the ECU to adjust quickly enough to maintain proper operation. HTH -- "It is an honor to be Cookie Monster." -Sesame Street spokeswoman Audrey Shapiro ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 31 Oct 2005 19:36:41 -0800 From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [email protected] Subject: Re: E-32 740i tansmission problem Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Ed, One of two things, the tranny controller on the E32's is very sensitive to voltage. does the warning reset itself after turning off the car? If so, your battery may be on the outs. Second, be sure fluid is at recommended level. When was the last time the fluid and screen filter were changed? It's also a good idea to clean and condition the connector going into the tranny. On the E32 750 it's on the passenger side right under the seat in the tranny tunnel. I used contact cleaner and then DeOxit. -Kevin ---------------------------------------------------------------- This e-mail communication is confidential and is intended only for the individual(s) or entity named above and others who have been specifically authorized to receive it. If you are not the intended recipient, please do not read, copy, use or disclose the contents of this communication to others. Please notify the sender that you have received this e-mail in error by replying to the e-mail. Please then delete the e-mail and any copies of it. Thank you. ---------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 31 Oct 2005 20:46:05 -0800 (PST) From: "Ryan Simmons" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "John Bolhuis" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: [email protected] Subject: Re: More problems E30 Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Hi all! I took the advice of an off list suggestion to replace the boot going from the air flow meter to the throttle body. Since it was cheap insurance and I work near the autoparts place that would sell it (live forty miles away) I bought and replaced it. Now this seemed to help, (the boot was worn where the vacume hose that goes to the valve cover connects)but the problem still exists. Althought the car is much more responsive then before I am still getting a violent hesitation WHEN the car is warm and WHEN I am accelerating under 2000 rpm's e.g. accelerating from first to second, third to fourth or just accelerating in a gear when under 2000 rpm's. It doesn't seem to occur above this range. Because it occurs when it is warm, it seems to me to be a vacume leak. I experienced so much of this with my 320i, the symptoms seem similar. I checked all of the hoses I could find and they all seem ok, although I didn't use any soapy water or carb cleaner. So at this point the o2 sensor has been changed, fuel filter, air filter, cap, rotor and plugs are all good. Could it possibly be the temp. sensor? Jeff suggested this of list, and I suspected it this summer, but never acted on replacing it. I did replace the temp. sender since the gauge was erratic. To you guys does this seem like a vacume leak, or atleast characteristic of one? Or possibly fuel related? I have not checked the air flow meter and won't be able to until this weekend (midterms this week), but I will do that for sure. A new one is about $270 so I would like to rule out all other possibilities first. It is interesting that the problem worsened when this weekend I replaced the o2 sensor, and I was messing with/checking/cleaning the air flow meter and the hoses around it. I did not check or clean the internals of the meter i.e. the potentiometer or any other related part. I only cleaned the temp sensor and the housing inside, and made sure the door was opening properly whith out any binding. Everything was ok there. Thanks in advance...really, Ryan- > On Sat, Oct 29, 2005 at 08:25:56PM -0700, Ryan Simmons wrote: > >> I suspect the air flow sensor is bad. Has anyone had a similar >> problem? Any ideas? > > People used to talk about the old barn door AFMs more often. Oh the > poor old E30s... > The working guts of the AFM are just a temp sensor and a potentiometer > that reads the position of the barn door. Like any potentiometer, they > can get worn and/or dirty, producing erratic readings. You can often > extend their life by opening it up and cleaning it carefully with some > electronic cleaner. Others have reported success carefully bending the > wiper so that it takes a slightly different track across the surface of > the circuit board. > Proper bench measurement can tell you if you are getting a good signal > from the unit. Simply hooking a DMM across the appropriate terminals > and attempting to measure resistance as you move the mechanism has never > worked for me. Jumpy readings result even on a working AFM. > You need to apply 5V across the 2 ends of the potentiometer, and then > use your DMM to measure voltage at the wiper terminal. This should > produce a smoothly increasing/decreasing reading as you move the > mechanism. > The exact pinout of the AFM escapes me, but if you pry the plastic > cover off, you can see what to do. Be sure to seal it up properly when > you're done, and don't monkey with the adjustable spring. > > Newer BMWs use hot wire MAF technology and just aren't as much fun to > monkey with, what with the lack of moving parts. :) My Subaru has gone > even simpler, ditching the MAF sensor for an even simpler MAP system. > > -- > "It is an honor to be Cookie Monster." > -Sesame Street spokeswoman Audrey Shapiro > Search the ARCHIVES:http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] > > > __________________________________________________________________________ > In memory of Michel Potheau - friend, enthusiast, founder of the BMW CCA. > > UUC Motorwerks - BMW Performance Fine-tuning and home of the Ultimate > Short Shifter - accept no substitutes! > 908-874-9092 . http://www.uucmotorwerks.com > ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 31 Oct 2005 22:14:44 -0800 (PST) From: Brian Ruiz <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: Ryan Simmons <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: UUC Digest <[email protected]> Subject: Re: More problems E30 <LONG> Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Ryan, I've been following this closely, and this last email here reminded me of a very weird problem I had quite a few years back with my 318. This may or may not sound right to you, but check the wiring to your alternator. Make sure the metal connectors are clean and all the wires are bound well to the connector itself. If the insulation is worn through and some of the wires are showing/broken (and dirty), cut off the end and resolder a new tip to the cable and seal it up well with heat-shrink tubing (or better yet, replace the cable). When you mentioned that you were "messing with/checking/cleaning the air flow meter and the hoses around it", and that the problem was worse afterwards, that immediately reminded me of the problem I had, and made me think that you might have bumped the wiring while you were cleaning everything up in there. Mine had an extremely violent hesitation such as you describe. This happened to me while I was in school too. ;) And it would always seem worse while I was driving back to school from being home for the weekend. Sometimes my car wouldn't even start, but if I slammed the pedal to the floor a couple times and then tried to restart it, it would start right up as if nothing was wrong. Turns out the vibration of the throttle body opening and closing (which is vertically mounted to the intake manifold on the 318 and thus very close to the alternator wiring) was enough to jar the connection to a working state. It took me about 2 months to track down the problem. I had even picked up a replacement L-JET ECU from (I think) Ed MacVaugh that he had lying around and wanted to get rid of, in the thought that the problem, as transient as it was, might be the ECU. My Dad and I had spent quite a bit of money on random parts trying to get it fixed. I did end up replacing the AFM, as well as the ICV. :-/ After replacing them, (they were generic "Python" I think, rebuilt units) and it still not working, I started to attribute it to the fact that they weren't genuine Bosch/rebuilt BMW units. It was really irritating. Then one day, my Dad was just messing with/checking/cleaning connections in the engine bay, and noticed that the alternator wiring was old and insultation worn. He cleaned it up, resoldered a new copper(?) tip to one of the wires, not even thinking that it would help anything, just out of general maintenance principle. It fired right up, and the problem never reoccurred. I really hope this is your problem, so you won't have to go spending more money chasing problems you don't have. I consoled myself with the fact that at least all those components are nice and new, and I had good peace of mind about the state of the engine electronics and reliability of the car. :) HTH, Brian 95 M3 RIP 84 318 "Cassie" ;) --- Ryan Simmons <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Hi all! > I took the advice of an off list suggestion to > replace the boot going from > the air flow meter to the throttle body. Since it > was cheap insurance and > I work near the autoparts place that would sell it > (live forty miles away) > I bought and replaced it. Now this seemed to help, > (the boot was worn > where the vacume hose that goes to the valve cover > connects)but the > problem still exists. Althought the car is much > more responsive then > before I am still getting a violent hesitation WHEN > the car is warm and > WHEN I am accelerating under 2000 rpm's e.g. > accelerating from first to > second, third to fourth or just accelerating in a > gear when under 2000 > rpm's. It doesn't seem to occur above this range. > Because it occurs when > it is warm, it seems to me to be a vacume leak. I > experienced so much of > this with my 320i, the symptoms seem similar. I > checked all of the hoses > I could find and they all seem ok, although I didn't > use any soapy water > or carb cleaner. So at this point the o2 sensor has > been changed, fuel > filter, air filter, cap, rotor and plugs are all > good. Could it possibly > be the temp. sensor? Jeff suggested this of list, > and I suspected it this > summer, but never acted on replacing it. I did > replace the temp. sender > since the gauge was erratic. To you guys does this > seem like a vacume > leak, or atleast characteristic of one? Or possibly > fuel related? I have > not checked the air flow meter and won't be able to > until this weekend > (midterms this week), but I will do that for sure. > A new one is about > $270 so I would like to rule out all other > possibilities first. > It is interesting that the problem worsened when > this weekend I replaced > the o2 sensor, and I was messing > with/checking/cleaning the air flow meter > and the hoses around it. I did not check or clean > the internals of the > meter i.e. the potentiometer or any other related > part. I only cleaned > the temp sensor and the housing inside, and made > sure the door was opening > properly whith out any binding. Everything was ok > there. > Thanks in advance...really, > Ryan- > > > > On Sat, Oct 29, 2005 at 08:25:56PM -0700, Ryan > Simmons wrote: > > > >> I suspect the air flow sensor is bad. Has anyone > had a similar > >> problem? Any ideas? > > > > People used to talk about the old barn door AFMs > more often. Oh the > > poor old E30s... > > The working guts of the AFM are just a temp > sensor and a potentiometer > > that reads the position of the barn door. Like > any potentiometer, they > > can get worn and/or dirty, producing erratic > readings. You can often > > extend their life by opening it up and cleaning it > carefully with some > > electronic cleaner. Others have reported success > carefully bending the > > wiper so that it takes a slightly different track > across the surface of > > the circuit board. > > Proper bench measurement can tell you if you are > getting a good signal > > from the unit. Simply hooking a DMM across the > appropriate terminals > > and attempting to measure resistance as you move > the mechanism has never > > worked for me. Jumpy readings result even on a > working AFM. > > You need to apply 5V across the 2 ends of the > potentiometer, and then > > use your DMM to measure voltage at the wiper > terminal. This should > > produce a smoothly increasing/decreasing reading > as you move the > > mechanism. > > The exact pinout of the AFM escapes me, but if > you pry the plastic > > cover off, you can see what to do. Be sure to > seal it up properly when > > you're done, and don't monkey with the adjustable > spring. > > > > Newer BMWs use hot wire MAF technology and just > aren't as much fun to > > monkey with, what with the lack of moving parts. > :) My Subaru has gone > > even simpler, ditching the MAF sensor for an even > simpler MAP system. > > > > -- > > "It is an honor to be Cookie Monster." > > -Sesame Street spokeswoman Audrey Shapiro > > Search the > ARCHIVES:http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] > > > > > > > __________________________________________________________________________ > > In memory of Michel Potheau - friend, enthusiast, > founder of the BMW CCA. > > > > UUC Motorwerks - BMW Performance Fine-tuning and > home of the Ultimate > > Short Shifter - accept no substitutes! > > 908-874-9092 . http://www.uucmotorwerks.com > > > > Search the > ARCHIVES:http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] > > > __________________________________________________________________________ > In memory of Michel Potheau - friend, enthusiast, > founder of the BMW CCA. > > UUC Motorwerks - BMW Performance Fine-tuning and > home of the Ultimate > Short Shifter - accept no substitutes! > 908-874-9092 . http://www.uucmotorwerks.com > __________________________________ Yahoo! FareChase: Search multiple travel sites in one click. http://farechase.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 31 Oct 2005 21:52:49 -0800 From: "J. Ochi" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [email protected] Subject: Re: <E36> euro headlight pins Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> At 08:38 AM 10/31/2005, Thomas Philip wrote: >On Oct 31, 2005, at 10:34 AM, Marc Plante wrote: > >>I just ordered a Plug and Play connector from a vendor for my E36 >>ZKW Ellipsoids. >>Some potential options that I located are Umnitza and >>Understeer.com. My connectors cost $235 delivered. Figure it >>savres ugly splicing into wiring. > >Did your connectors come with the factory twist-lock connector? The >PnP connectors I got from understeer.com were simply insulated pins >that friction fit the pins on the headlight connectors. It seemed >less than secure, so I'm trying to fab up a PnP connector that would >be a bit more ideal by using stock-style parts. I built a set of plug and play adapters when I put ellipsoids in my E36 back in 2001. It was pretty easy to do - my ellipsoids came with the correct connectors (thanks, Eurosport!), so all I had to do was build a cable that would go from the stock 9005/9006 connectors to the euro connector. On one end of the cable, I used the euro headlight connector (talk to your favorite BMW parts house, or to your local dealer for these...). For the other end of the cable, I couldn't get any suitable connectors, so I made some out of old 9005/9006 bulbs. I removed the glass parts, trimmed some of the plastic so that I could get to the conductors in the base of the bulb. Since solder didn't stick to the conductors, I used a small torch to put a thin layer of silver braze onto the conductors. The silver brazing compound let me solder wires to the conductors in the base of the bulbs. I insulated the connections with some heat shrink tubing, then potted the connections using JB weld to insulate/weatherproof them, and to give them some mechanical support. Pretty easy to do - made my set in about an hour or so... Jim Ochi ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 1 Nov 2005 10:11:37 +0200 From: Pavel Tcholakov <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "[EMAIL PROTECTED]" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: "[email protected]" <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [E36] ECU gone mad? What else could it be?/ Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> No, I really think it was in fact the ECU. It has been running fine since Sunday - that's 3 days now. The tachometer still over-reads by about 4-500 RPM though - any ideas how to fix that? Even when the engine is not running, when I turn the key to position 1, it goes to just under 500 RPM. Pavel On 10/31/05, [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Just throwing out ideas: > > Ignition switch? > > -Kevin > > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------- > This e-mail communication is confidential and is intended only > for the individual(s) or entity named above and others who have > been specifically authorized to receive it. If you are not the > intended recipient, please do not read, copy, use or disclose > the contents of this communication to others. Please notify the > sender that you have received this e-mail in error by replying > to the e-mail. Please then delete the e-mail and any copies of > it. Thank you. > ---------------------------------------------------------------- > > > > > Search the ARCHIVES:http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] > > > __________________________________________________________________________ > In memory of Michel Potheau - friend, enthusiast, founder of the BMW CCA. > > UUC Motorwerks - BMW Performance Fine-tuning and home of the Ultimate > Short Shifter - accept no substitutes! > 908-874-9092 . http://www.uucmotorwerks.com > ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 1 Nov 2005 08:07:10 -0500 From: "Beaudette, Roland SIKORSKY" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "UUC (E-mail)" <[email protected]> Subject: 90 525iA engine missing Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> All, The 5er's engine has started to miss on a few occasions lately. It is akin to when the tank runs dry. The engine is very sluggish and no amount of throttle input will increase revs. The engine has not actually died so far. It just cuts out for a brief part of a second often enough to affect road speed. The electrical items in the car do not show signs of cutting out. It has been cold during the times when this occurred, about 35-37 deg F. I have recently replaced the coolant temperature switch (blue which I believe is the ECU input). Suggestions? Cheers, Roland ------------------------------ End of [bmwuucdigest] digest(8 messages) **********
