topless 5 Report post Posted September 30, 2005 Just thought I would bring up the subject of fuel line maintenance and offer possible solutions to other problems I have seen some of you having recently. I have just acquired a F/L E30 325 and it was having some problems with starting, idle being erratic and temp gauge playing around, so I went looking for the cause. I had had this particular problem with a previous F/L, and had solved it after much hair pulling, so I immediately looked for the bast*rd plug which sits under the inlet manifold just in front of the starter. (Only some later F/L cars have it.) Found the bast*rd and tried to open it to clean the terminals and see if it had water in it. Got it apart eventually and discovered that all the terminals were badly corroded and, in the process of cleaning, a wire broke off, it was so badly corroded. I decided to remove the plug completely and replace it with these crimp male/female electrical terminals. Did this, used some heatshrink on each wire to waterproof it and taped it all up. In the process of doing this, I had to remove the airbox, so the fuel lines were then obvious. I immediately noticed that a T piece in the fuel line had no clamps on it!!! After some members' recent car fires, this was just a fire waiting to happen. I pulled this main fuel line to the pressure regulator off to put a hose clamp on, and noticed that what had appeared to be a perfectly good fuel line, had signs of fine cracks on it. I then totally removed it to more closely examine it and found it was in fact just about to split open.... bending it sharply produced some scary big cracks, and in the process of trying to photograph it, one split right through. So what had appeared to be good at first glance, was in fact ready to pack in, and probably ignite the car in the process. I then examined all the other fuel lines and found them ok. I replaced this line, reassembled the airbox and started the car. No more hard starting, idle good and temp gauge steady. No slight misfire anymore on hard acceleration. (I had put this down to spark plugs probably past their use by date). This is the second time I have had problems with this plug, so would suggest that those of you who have F/L cars, check it out closely especially if you are experiencing the problems I described above. I have attached a photo showing the guilty plug (now removed) and the fuel line showing the deep cracking that wasn't obvious on first glance. Just really posted this in the chance it might be of help to some of you with starting/idle problems, and encourage you to check your fuel lines for possible disasters. Good luck... (sorry for the essay..) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Andrew Report post Posted September 30, 2005 good write-up william. good to see you have got the car fixed also - another e30 saved. Did you find out what that strange vacuum line running into the cabin was? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
topless 5 Report post Posted September 30, 2005 It is some sort of breather system for the fuel tank. Havn't figured what it does though. Still some way to go with the resto... made some changes though... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
318i Turbo 0 Report post Posted September 30, 2005 thats one thing ill always be looking at with my cars from now on, id much rather have new hoses and spend the $$ and have no problems than have the fuel lines split and a fire start and go through all the sh*t again, great write up Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Andrew Report post Posted October 1, 2005 It is some sort of breather system for the fuel tank. Havn't figured what it does though. Still some way to go with the resto... made some changes though... Mtech1 wing looks badass on pre-FL. Looks like it cleaned up quite nicely. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Carl 3 Report post Posted October 2, 2005 (edited) How much for the plug and new hose? Edited October 2, 2005 by ///Carl Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ED1RTY 2 Report post Posted October 3, 2005 I have a pre f/l have no trouble starting but my temp guage plays tricks on me and my idle sometimes gets very low, also of late my speedo has been randomly stopping then coming back on.... any ideas? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
topless 5 Report post Posted October 3, 2005 How much for the plug and new hose? I discarded the plug and used those male/female crimp on couplers in case I wanted to separate the looms sometime. I also used heat shrink over the couplers to waterproof them. $5 for connectors?? Havn't a clue what a plug with all the bits would cost, or even if it would be available. As it seems to be a faulty design prone to leaking and corroding, I thought it would be better to remove it and replace with something that would be waterproof...I had some hose (gen BMW) over from a previous job, probably $20 worth. Only one of the hoses was badly cracked, the others were good, and all were genuine BMW hose... wierd??? I have a pre f/l have no trouble starting but my temp guage plays tricks on me and my idle sometimes gets very low, also of late my speedo has been randomly stopping then coming back on.... any ideas?There is a plug that sits under a cover on the side of the fuse box in some of the earlier pre F/L that can cause problems with the temp gauge, not sure about the idling though. (check for air leaks that affect idle) The speedo is on another circuit altogether so I suspect maybe your dash cluster has a problem on the circuit board inside. It could either be a bad battery that has leaked causing corrosion on the circuit board, or just a bad connection between the board and the gauge cluster. The fact that it is intermittant suggests that it is a bad connection rather than a faulty circuit board. Check the pic of this SI board, the batteries (arrowed) and the connectors (circled) are the places to check. This board has had the batteries replaced by some genius (std batteries are much shorter) and has managed to destroy the board by cutting off some bits to make the larger batteries fit! Use some electrical contact cleaner on your connections to get them clean. (Dick Smith has this). Also use it on the plugs in the engine bay to get them clean. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Steve K-B 51 Report post Posted October 3, 2005 Talking about erratic idle.... My car starts fine when cold, then revs up and down about four times before it finds a good idle rpm. When its hot it starts fine, revs up then comes back and stalls. I have to give it a little bit of throttle for a few seconds and after that its fine. Any hints as to what it may be?? Thanks Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
topless 5 Report post Posted October 3, 2005 Not sure, had this a few times and fixed it but can't put my finger on what caused it each time. I assume you have motronic ign and an idle valve? I check for air leaks (cracked rubber boot etc) and open and clean all electrical contacts, (idle valve, air flow meter etc. This normally sorts it out. So I am never sure what I did actually fixed the problem. Could possibly be the the idle valve sticking. If you suspect this, just swap with a mate and see if it sorts the problem and gives the problem to your mate... Is your car in good tune? Air/fuel mix good? Plugs gapped properly? HT leads have correct resistance? fun, fun, fun... :banghead: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gus 5 Report post Posted October 3, 2005 air/fuel mix in the AFM? that bug got me for ages, and annoyed the sh*t outta me steve, when you next at puke? 24th? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ED1RTY 2 Report post Posted October 4, 2005 Done the circuit board thing, problem is fixed, just took out the two batteries and wired up the terminals which seems to have fixed the problem but otherwise no corrosion there, AFM is fine and engine was fully tuned at its last service (2 months ago), its just really annoying when driving in traffic trying to keep my foot acroos the brake and accellerator keeping enough revs so it doesn't cut out, quite a pain in the a$$ I have been told by German Automotive that it is probably a small switch thing under the manifold that maybe clogged or not push through gas when idling who knows....... i need a newer model car, its petty things like this that are driving me insane :drugs: :drugs: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Steve K-B 51 Report post Posted October 4, 2005 I assume you have motronic ign and an idle valve? Is your car in good tune? Air/fuel mix good? Plugs gapped properly? HT leads have correct resistance? Im not sure how to tell if i have motronic ign and is the idle valve the thing that connects the two hoses either side of the butterfly? Also has the three wire plug attached to it?And I havnt checked the HT leads, plugs etc. Will get on to it this week. I wil also get some one to look at the mixture as well. Thanks Gus: The 24th is a monday?? And its not listed as a track day. Im keen to get out there as soon as, but the targa is coming so will have to be next month. I really want to get out there more often. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
topless 5 Report post Posted October 4, 2005 I have been told by German Automotive that it is probably a small switch thing under the manifold that maybe clogged or not push through gas when idling who knowscould be this, it needs to be set so it is closed when the throttle is on its stop and open when you just touch the throttle. You need a multimeter set to ohms and undo the 2 screws under it and set it up. Will see if I can find a pdf doc on how to do this.Im not sure how to tell if i have motronic ign and is the idle valve the thing that connects the two hoses either side of the butterfly? Also has the three wire plug attached to it? motronic ignition has the flat distributor on the front top of the cylinder head. Sounds like you have the idle valve there, will take a pic when I get home and post it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
topless 5 Report post Posted October 5, 2005 Pic shows pre F/L with motronic ignition with idle valve circled (lhs motor) and rhs shows F/L motor with motronic ign with the idle valve circled. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nz320i 0 Report post Posted November 12, 2005 (edited) yeah im not the only one with a silly idle , mine sounds as if it could be an air leak but where are ALL the air lines i can cheack photos anyone?? did my spark plugs and it runs smoother now good gap etc, my dizzy caps seems stuffed though.. take a look. how much are these to replace it looks expensive?? Edited November 12, 2005 by nz320i Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
westy 614 Report post Posted November 13, 2005 lol Its been a long time since I saw a dizzy cap look like that. :drugs: Replace that sh*t quick.Shouldnd be expensive. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Andrew Report post Posted November 13, 2005 yeah im not the only one with a silly idle , mine sounds as if it could be an air leak but where are ALL the air lines i can cheack photos anyone?? did my spark plugs and it runs smoother now good gap etc, my dizzy caps seems stuffed though.. take a look. how much are these to replace it looks expensive?? less than 200 including a new rotor Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
