Re: Who will be first

[Paul Dunlevy <betafsys@xxxxxxxx>]

Check your air flow meter - it sounds like it might be dying.

>
> Date: Wed, 30 Jun 1999 11:59:38 -0500
> From: Robert Phelan <centuri@domain.elided>
> Subject: Who will be first?
>
> Ok, this phantom problem is getting more annoying and more dangerous
> everyday.  Let's see who can get the right answer first.  Maybe they'll
> even get a little certificate or prize of some kind :)
>
> Car Info
> 86 325es
> 5spd
> Fuel hoses good
> Fuel Pressure Regulator just replaced
> Fuel Filter Just replaced (Thanks for all the advice)
>
> Symptoms:
> Problem 1:
>     Throttle is jumpy, if I accelerate with my foot 70% to the floor the
> car will run at 70%, then suddenly drop to about 40%, then to back to
> 70%, then to 20% then to 60% then to 30%, all while I have the
> accelerator at 70%.  Basically the car lurches and draws back as though
> my foot were having muscle spasms!  The most annoying part is that some
> days it will only lurch once, some days not at all, then some days it's
> horrible, with no noticeable pattern.
>
> Problem 2:
>     Car will randomly die.  This is no sputtering, stalling death, it
> just dies!  It is not affected by speed, throttle, or engine revs, as it
> will die at any point (including idle).  The tach will drop like a rock,
> you could be at 5000rpms, and if you blink at the wrong time, you'll
> miss it falling to 0.   It's just -JOLT- (depending on your previous
> throttle, if you're just coasting it wont jolt) and then you're looking
> at you panel with the tach at Zero.  Sometimes it takes a few seconds
> for all the warning lights to come on (just as it would if you stalled
> the engine), but it will usually start right back up, with two
> exceptions.
>     1.  When you put the clutch in (hopefully you're going down-hill),
> and turn the key you hear a grinding noise, the same kind you'd hear if
> the engine were running and you tried to start it.
>     2.  You crank the engine but it wont start, the tach remains at
> ZERO, usually even if you're having problems starting the tach will
> raise to 200 or so.  In cases such as this it wont start for a good
> minute or more.
>
> The other odd thing about this problem is that the brakes and power
> steering seem to work to an extent, not like an american car when it
> dies (nih impossible to turn or stop).  This problem is also annoying in
> the fact that it's completely random.   The only pattern seems to be
> that it dies in groups.  It'll die 7 times one trip and be perfect the
> next.  You rarely will have it die just once, it will do it a few times
> in a row, and then stop when the car has been running a while.  Even
> when the engine is warm though (say I came in for a quick lunch and left
> again) it will die.  It just seems that once you've been out for a while
> it doesn't die.
>
> Any ideas folks?  Questions?
>
> Thanks,
> Robert Phelan
>
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> End of bmw-digest V9 #1144
> **************************

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