New member intro

[heespaul]

Hello fellow BMW owners. Want to apologize for lengthy writing style. I wanted to introduce myself and show the respect that I believe should be shown to those who have put their hard work and sweat into such an awesome website/ forum. This is genuine. I have only touched the hem of the effort required to do this. For me it is a commitment of selfless giving and the love a superlatively engineered machine. I want those as well as other members to know my appreciation for this as all of those who have made contributions to it's success. I hope to be a help and contributor as well. I have just purchased a very nice 84 318i for my 17 year old daughter. The car has sat in a yard for a long time but has 79k for miles and a small dent on the passenger rear quarter panel. I picked it up for a song. I have gone through most everything and all is well except for 2 minor things. The speedometer and tachometer will not work, and the idle is staying high. As far as the instruments the gauges work fine as do the idiot lights. I checked the wiring as far as I can go. The wiring to the speedometer sending unit is clean and the rubber cover tight. I do not get the tachometer not working. Is the problem with the batteries in the instrument cluster? I checked the voltage and it showed a 2.46 voltage from each. The batteries are $13.00 (for both) at Batteries Plus+. These are for instrument quality lithium. I found several wiring problems and repaired them all. Everything working as a new car at this point except this and the high idle issue. I have replaced injector seals, checked all possible vacuum leaks. Everything looks tight. Timing is on the spot, and I have cleaned the idle valve and checked it's operation. It seems to be fine. But when I turn the set screw on the idle valve it changes nothing. I reversed the connection to see if that changed the idle, no change. The valve opens and closes under direct 12 volt connection. Does this mean that the valve will work in an infinite mode that it takes to maintain correct idle? As well checked throttle cables for any hold open issues. Have slacked out until throttle plate closed. Still no change. I have checked everything out that I can think of. Can the throttle plate sensor be the cause? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance. Paul

[Dan-needabimma]

to the forum!

I don't know that I'll be much help with your problem... For the gauge problem there is a good chance the circuit boards may need to be replaced, a common problem on the older cars; and usually expensive. I assume you have probably already checked the source for those gauges to make sure it is actually sending a correct signal. Also double check a wiring diagram for all signal commonalities, I doubt it is a coincidence they are both out at the same time.

How high does the idle sit? Does it change hot to cold; with the ac on (if equipped)?

* I am not a technician! [/disclaimer]

Oh yeah....

[heespaul]

Thanks for replying and please accept apology for not getting back to you sooner. Allot going on, (single dad). I am not a technician either but have been working on and repairing cars for 35 years with a majority on 1970-90's Mercedes and my love for 1960-70 Ford muscle cars. In as short response as I can provide I have to say first that the idle was all over the place, but worse when cold for about 5 minutes. The car was the victim of a previous so called technician who either did not know what he was doing or was intentionally doing things that would require further attention and more expenses to it's owner. I have found several items that seem to be deliberate by it's nature. After several half hour attempts I found the idle problem. The PVC hose and idle control valve hose were switched at the intake manifold. This seemed to correct idle both cold and at operating temp. But one thing that was interesting was upon I starting the car after correcting hoses, I opened the oil filler cap on the valve cover. I experienced crankcase pressure like nothing I have seen. as well upon the removal of the cap the engine smoothed out considerably. I removed the valve cover to check the baffle on the inside of the valve cover but found nothing. I found no blockage. This is a curious event which I have to dig deeper into as I find it just plain weird. The PVC system is a direct open system from valve cover to intake manifold. Not only does is it seem wrong, I see no way for the design not to work.When I put the cap back on the engine revved higher and ran rough in comparison to the cap being off. This may be an anomaly inherent to this engine. It is the first 318i I have gotten this deep into. It is a really clean 1984, 74k mileage car that has only suffered from neglect. It has made my 17 year old daughter very happy. I am happy for her as I got the car for a song and the repair issues have been simple clean up, fix it type things and lack of maintenance. This idle PVC is the last issue to be resolved.
Any input on the explosive blowing of the PVC system would be appreciated.
Till next time thank you for your replying and I hope to do the same should the opportunity occur. Cheers, Paul

[Dan-needabimma]

Originally Posted by heespaul

Thanks for replying and please accept apology for not getting back to you sooner. Allot going on, (single dad). I am not a technician either but have been working on and repairing cars for 35 years with a majority on 1970-90's Mercedes and my love for 1960-70 Ford muscle cars. In as short response as I can provide I have to say first that the idle was all over the place, but worse when cold for about 5 minutes. The car was the victim of a previous so called technician who either did not know what he was doing or was intentionally doing things that would require further attention and more expenses to it's owner. I have found several items that seem to be deliberate by it's nature. After several half hour attempts I found the idle problem. The PVC hose and idle control valve hose were switched at the intake manifold. This seemed to correct idle both cold and at operating temp. But one thing that was interesting was upon I starting the car after correcting hoses, I opened the oil filler cap on the valve cover. I experienced crankcase pressure like nothing I have seen. as well upon the removal of the cap the engine smoothed out considerably. I removed the valve cover to check the baffle on the inside of the valve cover but found nothing. I found no blockage. This is a curious event which I have to dig deeper into as I find it just plain weird. The PVC system is a direct open system from valve cover to intake manifold. Not only does is it seem wrong, I see no way for the design not to work.When I put the cap back on the engine revved higher and ran rough in comparison to the cap being off. This may be an anomaly inherent to this engine. It is the first 318i I have gotten this deep into. It is a really clean 1984, 74k mileage car that has only suffered from neglect. It has made my 17 year old daughter very happy. I am happy for her as I got the car for a song and the repair issues have been simple clean up, fix it type things and lack of maintenance. This idle PVC is the last issue to be resolved.
Any input on the explosive blowing of the PVC system would be appreciated.
Till next time thank you for your replying and I hope to do the same should the opportunity occur. Cheers, Paul

Explosive? Lots of pressure releasing outward when you remove the cap? Do you have access to a smoke machine to test the vacuum system? Sounds like a heck of a starter car. Mine was a Ford LTD, baby-blue and rust!