RE: Motronic problems

["Fadeev, Alex" <Alex.Fadeev@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> I'm having an intermittent problem with my 88 325iC.  The 
> problem is not dependent on weather, speed,  amount of
> time the car has been running, or time of day :)  The
> car can go for a couple months with out seeing the problem,
> and then have it happen a couple times one day, then it won't 
> happen again for weeks.  I'll be driving the car and then the 
> engine will just shutoff.  I'll wait 10-15 seconds and it will
> start right up like nothing ever happened. There has been one
> or two instances where the engine just "blinked" off, for less
> than a second and then kept running. There have also been a
> couple instances where the car would not start (from being 
> parked), and I had to wait for a couple minutes, then it 
> would start right up.  This behavior has been going on for 
> probably a year and a half.
>    When the engine cuts off, the tachometer drops to 0 almost 
> instantly, even if the clutch is engaged and the engine is still 
> turning.  

Keith,
	Your DME is dying. You have an intermittent connection that is
randomly shutting down the fuel injectors. Some day (soon) you will be left
stranded on a side of the road like I was with my '89 325i a year and a half
ago. It was on a cold and rainy November night and the only good news was
that I was within 1/2 a block of a gas station. My 173 DME had expired. 
	I had exactly your symptoms for about 8 months before the meltdown.
Within 1 month of the DME departure the "tech drops to 0" started happening
weekly. You can do all sorts of electrical tests crawling all over the car
with a voltmeter and you will not find anything. Welcome to the definition
of an intermittent problem.
	Do yourself a favor and replace the DME ASAP. The towing from a
middle of nowhere alone will cover the price of a used replacement DME
($250-300). 

alex

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