cant wont start.

[thesk8nmidget]

ok so in the past two days its been really cold and my car has been acting up at idle and when trying to start.

it knocks and kinda coughs and just doesnt wanna keep running. once up around 2000 rpms its fine again and sounds very healty.

i drove 4 hours last night to houston and it ran great the whole time. just when i first started it and it was having problems once on the freeway it was great not a single problem.
now it also was running fine once i was idling in houston and the car was well warmed up.

well now today i went to start her up and it was acting up again i drove it about 300 ft and it died. and now wont start.

when i crank the motor the car kinda shakes and doesnt have that loud crank noise. more like a wining noise and no vroom vroom noise lol

i hope that makes sense.


a few notes....
i'm using premium gas.
my battery is good.
once warmed up its fine.
seems like its been doing it only when cold.



thanks in advanced

-Josh

[teetime4one]

UGH
i hope you're able to figure this out Josh.
i have no clue

[elchicano]

My Ti does something like that but only when it's really cold outside. But as soon as it warms up it good as new. I don't think mine is a big issue, but i don't know about yours. I think it's due to the cold, wait until it warms up and see if it still does it again.

[thesk8nmidget]

i hope but im kinda shat out of luck if i have to go somewhere when its cold lol.

anyone else have any ideas?

i'm thinking maybe a vacuum leak but i think that would effect the rest of my driving too. not just when its starting up.

[aceyx]

i'm thinking maybe a vacuum leak but i think that would effect the rest of my driving too. not just when its starting up.
When the lines are cold they contract, opening up any cracks. Once they've warmed up, they expand and the cracks are sealed.

The only way to check your lines is to squeeze them along their entire length. Just roll it between your fingers and you will see if any cracks open up. Often, they are too small to simply visually inspect them.


When you start it, does it simply not hold idle well or sputter even while you apply a small amount of gas? Also, does giving it a small blip when the starter is running solve the problem?

[thesk8nmidget]

it doesnt hold idle at all.

and if i give it any throttle it doesnt help. just once it finally fires if it even does then i have to fight the car with the throttle to keep it going then in gives up and dies.

im changing the fuel filter right now.

[thesk8nmidget]

just an update.

so i replaced the fuel filter and it seemed to maybe help a tiny tiny bit but did not solve the problem.

i check the spark plugs and there was oil on the wires on cylinder 1 and 3 that kinda confused me. not sure if that has anything to do with it but seemed quite strange.

[cali-ti]

ICV? did you have any idle problems when the weather was warmer?

[thesk8nmidget]

i didnt have any problems with it when it was cooler. i mean there were a few other cold days but didnt have idle problems just in the past 2 or 3 days.

i know after i drove the 4 hours to houston the car would idle just fine.

i know i need a thermostat. but that wouldnt have anything to do with this would it?

[b.u.ti-ful]

I don't think it is fuel delivery as the car drove 4 hours.

I'm gonna say vacuum leak at the throttle body, intake manifold or associated hoses as it says in the troubleshooting section of the Haynes manual.

Good luck broke back.

[tiFreak]

When the lines are cold they contract, opening up any cracks. Once they've warmed up, they expand and the cracks are sealed.

that's a problem I had with my car, that's why my intake hose is wrapped in duct tape :biggrin: at least until I get the one I bought from Hugo on

[thesk8nmidget]

im pretty lucky if it starts now i need to find this vacuum leak! i searched a bunch and coudlnt find anything.

i'll keep searching tomorrow.


anyone know if there is a way to check the ICV? without remving it because thats a PITA isnt it?

EDIT:nevermind the ICV is not hard on m44's

thank god!

mine is actually buzzing. should it buzz?

[grrrwoof]

mm yes..mine buzzes too
think i read somewhere if it buzzing it means it's working

[thesk8nmidget]

alrighty so i pulled the icv and sprayed a bunch of carb cleaner on it and well the problem is gone!

i said good bye to a stressful few days.

thanks everyone for the help.

we will see if she wants to start a little later and if so then i would say problem solved!!

[ChItalian1027]

if ur car doesn't start would roll start work to get it goin??

what is the ICV??

sorry to hear about that problem!!

[thesk8nmidget]

its the idle control valve.

and push starting it would only work if the battery was dead or the starter was out.

this just controls my idle and wouldnt allow the right amount of air in the intake for my car to properly start/run.

[ChItalian1027]

replacement of ICV?

[thesk8nmidget]

nope just cleaned it out and it is all better.

replacement may have been the better route but i dont have the money to replace and this seemed to work just fine.

[b.u.ti-ful]

Cool you figured it out. I'll keep it in mind.

[gldfshkpr]

alrighty so i pulled the icv and sprayed a bunch of carb cleaner on it and well the problem is gone!

i said good bye to a stressful few days.

thanks everyone for the help.

we will see if she wants to start a little later and if so then i would say problem solved!!
Glad you solved it. I have what seems to be the same condition. I thought the ICV or as Real OEM http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=CC93&mospid=47493&btnr=13_0402&hg=13&fg=15 calls it, idle regulating valve, was an electical device. Where exactly did you spray the carb cleaner. Also, can you tell me the tool you used to remove the valve? Real OEM calls it a fillister-head screw. :confused:

[aceyx]

Real OEM calls it a fillister-head screw.
A fillister is just a type of screw. It's either phillips, flat, torx, hex . . . usually doesn't require a special tool.

[thesk8nmidget]

you have to use a torx bit and once you take the 2 screws out it will pop right off.

then spray it inside the two holes of the part.

[gldfshkpr]

Excellent. Thanks!

[thesk8nmidget]

no problem at all. hope it works for you too!

[ChItalian1027]

wouldn't u have gotten a CEL? if the ICV wasn't workin?

[thesk8nmidget]

i didnt. it may show up if you run for codes but not a cel at least not with me.

mine was working but just not good enough it needed some cleaning.

maybe if it was not working all together it would trigger a cel

[ChItalian1027]

o ok

[teetime4one]

i thought mine was going bad on me too...
then i noticed i had a crack on my rubber gasket that connects to the air intake.
that will be fixed this week.
and yes, it does give me a cel at stoplights.

[thesk8nmidget]

i searched up and down for any air leaks and never found a thing. thats why i had to resort to different things

[teetime4one]

it's good you found the problem yo

[thesk8nmidget]

fooooor sure! it was quite the relief!

[gldfshkpr]

no problem at all. hope it works for you too!
Cleaned the ICV last night. Car ran great until it warmed up to normal orperating temp. After that I have the same symptoms; random misfire with low idle @500-600 RPMs. I also have a Fuel Sys 2 CL-Fault.

The ICV was very dirty so I'm glad I cleaned it. I don't have a multimeter (yet) to test it. I'm about ready to take off the intake manifold and replace every vacuum line I see. Sound like a plan?

[thesk8nmidget]

well if you are getting fuel system fault maybe check your fuel filter its about 20 bucks and if it hasnt been changed in a year or 2 its about time for a change.

that actually helped my car run a lot smoother

[gldfshkpr]

Good call. I don't have a record of the last change. I'll swap it out Saturday and let you know what happens.

[thesk8nmidget]

sweet hopefully thats it. its super easy to swap out and i think auto zone had the cheapest price on it out of the places i called

[gldfshkpr]

sweet hopefully thats it. its super easy to swap out and i think auto zone had the cheapest price on it out of the places i called
Installed the new fuel filter Saturday. Car is more responsive at throttle. I also Sea Foamed it. Cleaned ICV and MAF.

What seems to be the issue is the crankcase valve. I'm letting the motor breath on it's own and plugged the hose from the CCV to the valve cover. Car is running excellent! I'm picking up a new CCV tonight. Somehow the CCV is stuck shut and pressure was building up in the case.
:eek:

[thesk8nmidget]

huh sounds good! glad that all worked out for the better!!!

i also threw in a can of techron today and it seemed to have helped some too with response and smoothness

[ChItalian1027]

glad u guys got ur problems fixed. Any diagrams on how to fix the fuel filter??

[gldfshkpr]

glad u guys got ur problems fixed. Any diagrams on how to fix the fuel filter??
The hardest part for me was locating the thing! It's about middle of car, driver's side under a metal cover. A 1/4 inch drive socket with extension and 7mm, 8mm and 10 I think. Phillips screwdriver for the clamps. It's very simple. Twist the filter if it's stuck to the small hoses that are then attached to the metal lines. Then pull each end off. Be ready for fuel to come out. a small bucket will help. Try and keep the old filter level, it's full of fuel. RealOem is a bit misleading as far as what the metal cover looks like. That's why I had trouble locating it. After that it's cake.

[thesk8nmidget]

um its VERY SIMPLE

heres a quick write up.

pull your fuel pump fuse, then start car and let it run til it dies.
jack up driver side of car. put it on stands.

now there are 4 8mm screws holding a metal plate onto the floor pan right under the driver side of the car.

after that is off then you will see a long cylinder like thing with two gas lines attached. crimp the rear hose and then put a pan under the front hose. unscrew the hose clamp and let the fuel drain out of the line and then take off the rear hose clamp and remove the fuel filter and install new one.

now install in reverse order and once all done put in the fuse and start her up. it will take a second to get the fuel back in the system.

hope that helps.

[ChItalian1027]

thanks josh and gldfshkpr!! i'm goin to do this in spring.

how can i change the ICV?

[thesk8nmidget]

since you have an m42 its a whole new story. much harder.

you have to take off the intake manifold.

i would search on it. im not sure of the process since i have an m44 and its much easier (just two torx bolts)

[ChItalian1027]

thanks josh!!

i will search this

[thesk8nmidget]

no problem