After DME wet (dried and fixed) car now running eratic
 

93 325is

If you read my previous post on the DME getting wet, and its subsequent fix by drying...it did run great for two days, the engine is having a major backfiring problem and the engine "cuts" out for a second and then revs back up. Again with a muffled backfiring sound, when i accelerate the engine will run pretty except with the inconsistent "cut out" of all power and then back on.

I am thinking maybe the DME could be shorted somewhere but maybe it is the coils that were damaged from not having a DME and cranking over endlessly in its down time.

Any help would be appreciated.

Pelican...looks like I am ordering some coils from you guys.

Dude... Ad Hoc is probably the guy to talk to about this. I can add the input of over the day or so since you dried your DME, some corrosion and resistance could have formed in the electronics, causing everything to be skewed and whacked out. Trying to track that down could be a nightmare... ya might be better off looking for a replacement DME from www.car-part.com or getting something like this... http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=2479942287&catego ry=6755&sspagename=WDVW

Darnit.....but thanks blkongry

yeah dude, these things happen. At least you didn' drop a grand on a tranny replacement and find out the new tranny rumbled like a freight train... like I did :(

I would try the diagnostics as described in the Bentley manual and see if it has any effect..

Have I become that infamous for having my DME fry? I actually shared some info with haberman on his other post with respect to the less than perfect design of the location of the DME in relation to the inability of an early to mid '90's E36's to effectively drain water away from the DME housing.

I have seen them remanufactured for $500-$600. I also know that bad coils can have adverse effects on your DME. I'm sure someone else in this forum can elaborate - I'm not sure why - I just know they can.

I take back my cost estimates. Blackongry's links prove you can get a DME pretty cheap. I was new to the E36 world when mine fried so I spent over $800 on one (my insurance company did, however, cover it).

Not to stray from the subject, but blkongry, you seem to have a great nose for inexpensive parts. I've followed some of your links in the past and have them saved in my favorites.

In an earlier post, you discussed finding a Vortech supercharger for $1900. I have searched far and wide with no luck. Any thoughts?

Yeah, somebody else asked about that. I went back and looked for the link again, but I couldn't find it. What I found that I think is the link now doesn't publish the price... they want you to call.

Thanks anyway.

Well....I dried out my old DME with the heat coming off of the heatsink in my computer and the next day when i reinstalled the car fired right up without missing a beat. All operation seems to have returned to normal. I am HAPPY...although i probably just spoke too soon!

Glad to hear it. Now how to prevent it from getting wet again. Run your hand behind your valve cover & pull off the rubber spout (that's most likely clogged) coming from the firewall and toss it out. This will help keep the water out off of your DME.

Yeah, sounds like you caught it early enough to be lucky. I tried looking for that drain spout... right up behind the valve cover, right? Nothing there on mine... the previous owner must have beat me to pullin' it off.

Sounds like it may have already been removed. I remember reading (I believe on a Pelican post) of an additional modification that could be done to the drainage system. Even though the drain spout is out, there's still not a very large hole for any serious amounts of water to drain through. I recall the post discussing the modification required drilling, but I chose just to seal up my DME compartment and stay out of car washes.

cleaned out drain..............beyond clogged, im surprised it didn't happen sooner.

Thanks for the help bimmerpeople

Here is the article I discussed that describes additional modifications that can be made to improve drainage:
http://www.geocities.com/e36rulz/DMEflood.html

Here's a better one on the DME repair and water fix:

http://www.pelicanparts.com/bmw/techarticles/E36-DME-Repair/E36-DME-Repair.htm

-Wayne

Thanks Wayne you provide top notch service with Pelican and I want to congradulate and thank you for such a great business.

Hey, thanks for the feedback. Our biggest problem is that no one knows about the BMW side of things, so please, please, please help spread the words and tell all your friends!

-Wayne