03 318 Ci Valvetronic Idle Question...

[chriswoodbmw]

Hey, right, ive done loads of googling on this but no luck, maybe 2 out of 5 tyms wen i come to a stop the car starts to shudder, depending on how long im stood for, over 30secnds and it sometimes smooths out again.the revs dont move at all, they hold steady all the time,origionally i changed plugs,then i thought it myt b air flow related, so changed filter, cleaned maf.went to clean icv and the valvetronic enginue doesnt ha e an icv, sooo were next? Im startin to think as the revs hold steady all time maybe its fuel related? Maybe the fuel filters becoming clogged? Cars only do e 38000, the guy at bmw said i shudnt worry coz thers no codes coming up he said its just one of them things, one thing he did say was readings from cylinder 1 were slightly higher than rest, but he sed cud be the coil going,coil on cylinder 4went week before.cud it be a dogy coil? Its just annoying me. Lol.

P.s the shudders not bone ratling, just abit like wen ur in a diesel car.

[Guest Mister Dabsy]

Could be one, or more, of many things...

If a coil was ready to fail it would probably do it sooner rather than later...

Cam Position sensor (CPS) or Throttle Position Sensor (TPS)? Possible but unlikely !

Does your motor have an EGR? This would need cleaning or even "blanking"...

A dirty fuel filter can cause rough idling but you'd notice some poor economy/starting...

Just throwing a couple of ideas at you mate...

[G4VHD]

Are they separate coil packs per plug on your car?

[chriswoodbmw]

i have no ideas wether it has egr? ive just googled it to find out what the hell that is! results coming back are all to do with diesels, mines a 2003 318 ci, petrol. im glad of some info really, e46 fanatics never even replied.

i had a full diagnostics done on the car when i bought it at a bmw specialist and nothing came back at all, he said it was spotless really, any idea how i can tell if its got an egr? and hopw to go about cleaning it?

doubting fuel filter now then, no probs starting at all, did 80 miles yesterday and my petrol miles range gained 45 miles so dont think ive got a problem with mpg either.

EDIT- just found out egr is diesel models only!

could it be the daler ig ot it from put some really cheap poo oil in, New oil and filteR?

[G4VHD]

I'd say throttle sensor mate.

I changed Mart77's throttle cable a while back, on a 2.5 straight 6 mind, weird as fook things on that BMW, could easily be sensor or be traveling back to far.

[chriswoodbmw]

would that not kick up some sorta code to diagnostics? is it a pain in the ##### to change that sensor then? wer is it

?

[Guest Mister Dabsy]

TPS is on the throttle body...

Have you cleaned the throttle body?

[G4VHD]

TPS is on the throttle body...

Have you cleaned the throttle body?

Deffo first port of call...

[Guest Mister Dabsy]

... AND, when you cleaned the MAF you did not poke inside it did you?

[chriswoodbmw]

Nope, used the proper crc maf cleaner spray, i was gona do throttle body wen i did icv. As this engine doesnt hav an icv didnt get to the t.b, how do i get to that on thks engine.

[Guest Mister Dabsy]

It's the next unit after the MAF and before the intake manifold, has a few cables connected too ;)

[chriswoodbmw]

Thats on the valvetronic enginne right? I believe the t.b is dwn near the icv on non valvetronics right? I think ill ha e a bash at cleaning that tomoro nyt, carb cleaner to clean it?

[G4VHD]

Yeah carb cleaner, no rough cloths either mate.

If you can get it off, soak it in thinners

[Guest Mister Dabsy]

I refer the honourable member to the answer I gave a short while ago :P

Use a solution with very-high alcohol content as it strips carbon deposits much quicker... Make sure you drown it in a sealed tub/bag and shake that mother for five good minutes, also let it totally dry before re-fitting...

[chriswoodbmw]

Cool, i bought a can yesterday to clean my non existant icv.lol. at least itll go to use. Shud be quite easy to remove it on this then if its on top. Thanks guys.

[Guest Mister Dabsy]

Good luck fella... Get some work-in-progress pics on here mate B)

[chriswoodbmw]

Hey, ryt took it to garage yesterday, change oil filter and put bmw 5w-30 fully synth in her, and since last night no idle issues at all! hope i havnt jynxd it but he said the oil filter was ruined and the oil was abit sludgy and was prob overdue changing, it had been done at bmws recomenmded intervals which clearly are not enoufh, i think ill do once a year for definate.-