Rough Cold Start....Still???

[sneed21]

'96 328iC:

I've been having trouble getting stable idle at startup when the engine is cold. The idle will bounce between 300-800 rpm until I give it gas and then it purrs around 1100 until warm. Taking the advice of this board and Bentley, I removed and cleaned the ICV. Still, the problem persists, only happening when the engine is cold, and smooth idle after I give it gas (never acts up again, until the car has set parked for a few hours). The car acts like an automatic choke (or whatever, the ICV?) isn't working properly. If the ICV was bad, wouldn't I have idle problems when the engine, is cold and warm regardless?

Any suggestions?

Thanks!


Oh, one more thing. Any other convertible owners out there know how to remove the rear speaker? The back passenger's side is blown (the midrange), and it's driving me nuts....

[blkongry]

To get to the rear speaker, rear panel just pops off (I think you have to slide it one way first). Then it is right there in front of you. It's a plate style speaker... tweet and mid integrated side-by-side.

[Wayne 962]

ICV, sometimes also called the air bypass valve that supplies extra air to the engine when it's starting up. When the engine is bouncing, it typically means that the mixture is off, and it is doing what is known as "hunting."

I can't stress how cost-effective owning a code reader is:

http://www.pelicanparts.com/bmw/techarticles/Mult-Code_Reading/Mult-Code_Reading.htm

You're just shooting in the dark if you don't have one...

Could be your O2 sensor...

-Wayne

[Jared at Pelican Parts]

Typically, vacuum leaks can cause a poor idle, however a mal-adjusted throttle switch can also cause the idle to hunt when cold.

You may also want to consider the coolant temp sensor.

If you email me, I can send you tech articles on how to check this. I also highly reccommend you follow Waynes advice and get a code reader, it is a invaluable tool in diagnosing problems with these cars.

[sneed21]

Thank you for the info. Any tech articles would be great. Also, I have a code reader and it's coming up clear.

[Wayne 962]

Do you think it might be the throttle position switch? What happens if you give it a little gas right after starting? Does it still do it?

-Wayne

[sneed21]

I think your right, because (like this morning), I start the car, it's rough, I give it gas, the idle settles and it smooths out right away.....never misses a beat after that.