BMW E30 1990 strange engine poblems...

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Bastian Scharre - 17 Nov 2005 10:47 GMT

Hi,

my BMW e30 316 from 1990 has a strange problem:
when changing gear and giving it about half throttle, the engine sometimes
stalls for a very short time (about a tenth of a second). It is so bad it
feels as if the pistons got stuck. Apart form taht the engine is fine, does
not use up any oil and starts very quickly.
Then its back to normal. This does not occur if I give it full throttle.
Does anyone have any idea what could cause this?

Thanks,
Bastian.

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John Burns - 17 Nov 2005 11:22 GMT

> my BMW e30 316 from 1990 has a strange problem:
> when changing gear and giving it about half throttle, the engine sometimes
> stalls for a very short time (about a tenth of a second). It is so bad it
> feels as if the pistons got stuck. Apart form taht the engine is fine, does
> not use up any oil and starts very quickly.
> Then its back to normal. This does not occur if I give it full throttle.

Possibly a vacuum leak. Slim chance it's low fuel pressure. Not a
problem I've heard of before.

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Malt_Hound - 17 Nov 2005 15:48 GMT

>>my BMW e30 316 from 1990 has a strange problem:
>>when changing gear and giving it about half throttle, the engine sometimes
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> Possibly a vacuum leak. Slim chance it's low fuel pressure. Not a
> problem I've heard of before.

Really? Sounds more ignition / electric control to me since the
duration is so short. Ina ny case, certainly not enough info to
diagnose it remotely

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-Fred W

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John Burns - 17 Nov 2005 16:37 GMT

> > Possibly a vacuum leak. Slim chance it's low fuel pressure. Not a
> > problem I've heard of before.
>
> Really? Sounds more ignition / electric control to me since the
> duration is so short. Ina ny case, certainly not enough info to
> diagnose it remotely

I thought about a fuel pump bad relay. But I'd expect that to happen
more often than he describes.

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Dave Plowman (News) - 17 Nov 2005 16:10 GMT

> my BMW e30 316 from 1990 has a strange problem: when changing gear and
> giving it about half throttle, the engine sometimes stalls for a very
> short time (about a tenth of a second). It is so bad it feels as if the
> pistons got stuck.

Auto or manual?

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Jack - 18 Nov 2005 02:04 GMT

It sounds like you may have an intermittent connection in the ignition
circuit.
My 318i developed a very severe 'bucking' stall like this when my
distributor wore to the point that it would whirl in the housing at high
rpms and the ignition would stop working abruptly. It could be that the
torque of half throttle is moving your engine just enough to cause the
wiring to the distributor to short or open. Your car is old enough that
some wiring may have worn through it's insulation or broken from fatigue.

> Hi,
>
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
> Thanks,
> Bastian.

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frischmoutt - 18 Nov 2005 18:54 GMT

Water in the tank ?
I had problems with a carb. Dunno with an injection.

> Hi,
>
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
> Thanks,
> Bastian.

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