1992 E36 325i Cold Start Problem ????

[komet]

Hi there, just wondering if anyone has experienced a problem i am having ?

This problem started a few days ago, i went out in the morning to start my car to find that it was cranking over just fine and would start, but would not idle, it seems if you keep the revs up it splutters and spits but as soon as you take your foot of the accelerator it will stall, once the car has warmed up it is fine and drives totally normal, it hasnt stopped doig it since and seems to do it everytime the car has cooled down and is started or first thing in the morning. does anyone have any insight into this problem ? thanks in advance !!!

[bimmerbill]

check your spark plugs. my car has done this twice to me, however its when its hot not cold. my plugs only last about 25-30k miles so depending on when you last had yours replaced it might be a good place to start. I'm partial to NGKs.

[Manolito]

The key difference between hot and cold idling is that hot idling is closed loop (the oxygen sensor feeds back info to the fuel injection system) and cold idle is running on default settings. That leads us to look for failures that are minor enough that the system can compensate for them once it gets warm enough to go closed loop.

Look for cracks in the air tubes between the mass airflow sensor and the throttle body. That includes the tubes that go to and from the idle air control valve.

If you have never cleaned your throttle plate or idle air control valve, now might be a good time.

If that doesn't help, check for vacuum leaks. Pull off every vacuum hose and suck on it to see if air is leaking in to the vacuum system. There can also be vacuum leaks at the gasket between the intake manifold and head, but I have not seen this on e36s (happens a lot on my 4 cyl Volvos).

Could be lots of things, but this will get you started.

[villlein]

Yeah, manolito has the idea, I would first check vacuum hoses (as long as battery/alternator is good), then work through the rest of the air sensors to make sure they're clean.

Its generally a cracked hose, especially if you havent had all your hoses changed in a while.

[komet]

Thanks for the replys guys, the problem has stopped after i replaced the fuel filter after i found out that my girlfriend ran the car out of fuel, so im guessing it may of been some crap in the fuel line or something the likes, i checked everything you mentioned Manolito and it all seemed ok, once again thanks for the help !!