Messages

1

Member Profiles / vfstyles

« on: August 22, 2008, 09:31:35 AM »

worked out most of the mechanical issues, even got the AC to work.  figured id treat my 318 to a special 1 yr anniversary gift.   new paint and side skirts

2

Electrical / Speedo/odo issues

« on: July 07, 2008, 10:54:29 AM »

Im trying to get my speedo/odo to work.  It worked when first got the car but it no longer does.  

I have two clusters.  I've opened them both and inspected the gears, batteries and SI board.  The VDO Si board has battery corrosion

Inside the motometer, the gears spin freely and the board is free of damage.  I checked the voltage of the battery and it was good.

I installed a new speed sensor in the diff and it still doesnt work.  It was a cheap and simple part to install and i thought that it would cure my problem so i tried it unsuccessfully.  This leads me to think that my problem lies within the harness or wires.

My questions:
Can someone explain to me how the VSS and speedo, dme interact?
does anyone know the a/c ouput of the VSS? I checked resistance, but want the voltage outputs when running.  My reading on my DMM was 0-.003v
can voltage outputs be read with a digital multi-meter or is the scale too finite?
i have an osiliscope if needed

3

Member Profiles / vfstyles

« on: May 02, 2008, 02:25:45 PM »

after a saga getting the car aligned<4 shops> it still pulls to the left but is much more tolerable.  i think the difference between left and right front specs are causing the push or pull. this would be more prominent with a LSD which  is equipped in my 318.

on a separate note, the afm from my parts car was giving me the idle issue i had talked about in previous posts/threads.  i swapped in the new'er one from ebay and it idles perfect now.  through all these calamities ive learned that the fuel pump and afm are two things when broken will make your 318 unbearable to drive if at all.  im working on having spares of those two parts or converting the a MAF because not driving the 318 sucks

4

Member Profiles / vfstyles

« on: March 13, 2008, 11:35:17 AM »

more of my car drama here: http://www.m42club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4830

cars been running great as of the last 3-4 weeks.  2 little problems; doesnt like warm starts and noticed a wiff of fuel around the car and found a fuel leak.  

its either the filler hose or the tank.

to save money initially when i bought the car, i repaired the tank.  now it is leaking from an area where im positive i repaired. argghhhh!  ill have to crawl around this weekend and probably drop the tank just to inspect it.

the warm start issue:  after being drove and turned off.  when turned back on again it will fire up and idle fine for a few seconds then stumble pretty badly.  I normally rev the engine and force it to stay running or simply shut it off and restart it.  Usually after restarting 2-3x it holds idle fine again.  

My theory was that it is bleeding off fuel pressure after being switched off.  the car starts up no problems when its cold or after its been sitting for awhile.  this makes me think that it can maintain correct fuel pressure

then i found a fuel leak, which put my warm starts issue on the back burner.  but im thinking that a crack or hole in the tank would allow pressure to bleed off enough to mess with warm starts.

the car doesnt piss out gas when started which usually means that the leak isnt pressurized.  i checked the access under the rear seat for a puddle of gas or residual and found nothing.  the leak is def coming from where the filler hose attaches to the tank.

on a good note:
Im finally getting an alignment for the 318 tomorrow.

5

Engine management / Need some help

« on: March 13, 2008, 11:13:12 AM »

I think you may have isolated the problem to the AFM or ECU. I would replace the following:
1) the old AFM
2) the old ECU
My money is on the AFM. In the salvage business in Texas, they sell all of their old ECU's to a place in Houston. They clean up and test them and resell the good ones. The resell rate (those that pass inspection) is over 90%.

In an attempt to eliminate potential problematic parts I replaced the AFM, intake boot, airbox, and intake tube, fuel pump, fuel filter and ecu last night in the ice covered driveway of my apartment complex

Thanks for the tip.  However I have 2 working AFM's now as i bought one off ebay before i purchased the parts car.

installing the known functional AFM, and ecu didnt fix the problem.  I installed the fuel pump from my parts car and it made all the difference

car has been driving great ever since swapping the fuel pump.  that was about 3 weeks ago and its been starting great and driving strong.

6

Engine management / Tps

« on: February 21, 2008, 09:51:32 AM »

I am sure this subject has been address.  I apologize if I am reviving the topic.  My question is:  What sign does one experience when a Throttle Position sensor (TPS) had gone bad?  I was inquiring about getting one from a local parts store, the first thing the parts guys ask was:  Is it hard to start?  Can someone share their experience when TPS was going bad or is bad.

when my tps failed i was driving down the road and the car died when i tried pressing the gas.  It died in the middle of the road i was trying to cross, luckily  i had enough speed to coast down the hill.  If you are fairly certain that TPS is bad just replace it.  when it finally does fail completely you dont want to be driving, trust me.  started hard but would idle fine.  As soon as you push the throttle it would hesitate to rev or just not rev at all.

like previously mentioned, check the sensor using the process listed in the bentley.  Replacing the TPS kinda sucks because you have to remove the throttle body to get one of the screws out of the TPS because its mounted in between the intake runners of the manifold.  Replace both TB gaskets while you are in there.  Be careful when re-tightening the TB to the manifold.  There are three nuts and a bolt to fasten the TB to the manifold.  I broke the 1 bolt off in the manifold and had to pull everything back apart to extract the broken piece.

7

Engine management / Need some help

« on: February 19, 2008, 08:31:23 AM »

On the way to work this morning i came to a stop on a hill.  Upon trying to start again my car didnt rev, just bogged.  i kept pushing the gas and feathering the clutch trying not to roll backwards. it was acting like the when TPS died. It finally starting driving forward.

I know i have some other issues other than the 1234 code for speedometer.  Just wish i knew what these phantom on again off again problems are coming from.

In an attempt to eliminate potential problematic parts I replaced the AFM, intake boot, airbox, and intake tube, fuel pump, fuel filter and ecu last night in the ice covered driveway of my apartment complex

took all the parts of my donor car. Cleared codes and drove around briefly.  The loss of power was gone as was the stumbling, and surging.

went out this morning and the car started first try:D  First time since ive owned it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I knew that the dam speedo code wasn't causing all the issues i had/have.  The pump i installed in the my 318 last fall was enough to get me by until yesterday when it stranded me.

8

Member Profiles / vfstyles

« on: February 18, 2008, 10:55:13 AM »

Replaced the AFM and some other things and passed NYS inspection

currently DD the 318

picked up a donor 318 to cannibalize for parts this weekend.  Hopefully very soon ill have a n excellent running/driving 318

9

Engine management / Need some help

« on: February 14, 2008, 08:25:15 AM »

On the way to work this morning i came to a stop on a hill.  Upon trying to start again my car didnt rev, just bogged.  i kept pushing the gas and feathering the clutch trying not to roll backwards. it was acting like the when TPS died. It finally starting driving forward.

I know i have some other issues other than the 1234 code for speedometer.  Just wish i knew what these phantom on again off again problems are coming from.

10

Engine management / Need some help

« on: February 14, 2008, 08:19:54 AM »

From what I have been told it is very touchy. Too slow and no go and too fast no go! Try adjusting how fast you push the pedal down...sounds stupid but I have seen this all over.
~Jami~

i adjusted the rate at which i depressed the pedal and it worked! thanks

the CEL flashed: 1234

11

Engine management / Need some help

« on: February 13, 2008, 12:57:09 PM »

havent been able to read the codes

i tried the pressing the gas pedal 5x while ignition turned to "on" but didnt get the flashing CEL

anyway, ive been looking into fuel starve/delivery problems or coil issue

i replaced the fuel filter a couple months ago as well as the pump and repaired the tank.  Ive had some people suggest failing fuel pump, clogged fuel filter/injector

idk

12

Engine management / Need some help

« on: February 12, 2008, 09:52:17 AM »

Thanks

Im going to try and get the codes read tonight.  The CEL flashed on and off a couple of times last night.  One of the more notable times it came on was when trying to accelerate up a hill.  I was in 4th gear just about at 4k rpm and it would not pull up the hill.  I shifted into 5th and the revs dropped and i was able to lug it up the hill.

13

Engine management / Need some help

« on: February 11, 2008, 01:34:51 PM »

Been working on my 91 318is for about 8 months now and finally got most of the kinks massaged out.  The car passed nys inspection and is now serving light commuting duties.  

The car starts/idles and drives ok but has some hesitation on initial throttle tip-in and is unwilling to rev past 4k rpm.

Ive recently replaced the AFM, TPS, plugs, and wires.  After replacing the AFM, the car started easier and drives much better, but now i have this hesitation especially at or near 4k rpm.  I didn't have these issues yesterday when i drove it about 100miles.  Any ideas to what it could be?  I haven't been able to check the codes just curious if anyone had some insight.

Im leaning toward a sensor issue as  the car is getting fuel and spark and drives just has the hesitation and unwillingness to rev past 4k rpm.

idk, please help

14

Member Profiles / vfstyles

« on: January 28, 2008, 12:50:10 PM »

*update*

Car Was Running/driving Well

Took It In For A Nys Inspection And It Failed

So I Bought Some Parts To Make It Pass Inspection And Now It Wont Start

Turns Out The Afm Is Bad.  Looking Forward To Replacing That So I Can Start Driving It Again.

15

Electrical / trouble with horn

« on: January 07, 2008, 08:52:44 AM »

had some time to look into the horn issue further

i opened the hood and pressed the horn and could hear the relay working.  looks like i just need to replace the horns.