Strange Idle Incident

TG-2002-320i-328ci

TG-2002-320i-328ci

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I took my E9 (CSi) out for the first time in about 10 days today (I've been away).

I started heading up into the hills behind my house. While in between gears, clutch engaged, the RPMs dropped to zero and the engine quit.
I was able to get it to restart by keeping pressure on the accelerator, but that only worked for a few seconds, and then it died again.
Luckily, I was uphill from my house and was able to coast a quarter of a mile back to my driveway.
Once there, I lifted the hood and could not see an obvious signs - no loose hoses or connections. Also, the electrical system seemed to be functioning perfectly fine.

I let the car sit for 10 minutes, and sure enough, it started right back up and idled steadily at 1,000rpms. I pulled the car back into the garage and let it idle for 20 minutes without any further issues.

Any thoughts?

Sign of a dying fuel pump perhaps?
 
D-jet is great when it works...when it doesn't there could be many things wrong as I am finding out now. Check out the info SFDon has linked in my "Specific D-jet Question" post herein. Good luck. If you figure it out, I could use your input.
 
TG-2002-320i-328ci said:
I took my E9 (CSi) out for the first time in about 10 days today (I've been away).

I started heading up into the hills behind my house. While in between gears, clutch engaged, the RPMs dropped to zero and the engine quit.
I was able to get it to restart by keeping pressure on the accelerator, but that only worked for a few seconds, and then it died again.
Luckily, I was uphill from my house and was able to coast a quarter of a mile back to my driveway.
Once there, I lifted the hood and could not see an obvious signs - no loose hoses or connections. Also, the electrical system seemed to be functioning perfectly fine.

I let the car sit for 10 minutes, and sure enough, it started right back up and idled steadily at 1,000rpms. I pulled the car back into the garage and let it idle for 20 minutes without any further issues.

Any thoughts?

Sign of a dying fuel pump perhaps?
Click to expand...

Several things to consider. If you were proceeding uphill when the engine stalled, could you possibly be almost out of fuel, so that the fuel level was below the tank pickup?

If your vehicle was operated in the humid-rainy tropics engine operation hiccups might first be explained by moisture-compromised electronics, including the ignition system and relays and wiring connections related to your fuel injection system. However, your vehicle is likely subject to extremely warm conditions, just the opposite of the tropics. That extra heat might induce some issues with ignition and/or fuel injection wiring and/or connections. I recall a similar situation where another similar car had a stalling issue sourced to part of the wiring loom where it passes from the engine bay through a frame rail to the vehicle’s rear. The wiring was brittle and the insulation was broken, so that wiggling the wiring could cause the engine to misfire and stall. Loose or compromised fuel injection system wiring and wiring connections to the pressure sensor, throttle position switch, distributor injector points and relays (especially the one mounted near the brake booster), among other things, are all potentially suspect for an intermittent stall condition.

You might also examine some ignition-related components, including the coil and ballast resistor. While these parts are ordinarily “go or no go,” in terms of their function, both can exhibit failure symptoms, and in particular, a failing coil can mimic a failing fuel pump.

You mention your fuel pump. What is the condition of the flex hose connecting the tank and hard lines to the pump? Old braided flex hose may look A-OK, but that does not guarantee against pinhole leaks that can be exacerbated by ambient heat. This is admittedly "a stretch," but if the fuel hose and hard line connections are compromised, your fuel pump may be drawing/sucking some air along with fuel from the tank - and the pump may momentarily lose its “prime.” The small tank adjacent to the pump is intended to prevent dry starts and, indirectly, the above described scenario - but . . . things happen. Another thought is to check the fuel filter that typically resides under the battery tray in the engine bay and feeds the injector rail. One test might be to remove the filter and blow through it in the direction of the flow and check for significant resistance, indicating . . . a filter due for replacement.
 
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I preface this by saying I know ZERO about D-jets but if this were an E24, I would go with a main or fuel pump relay.
 
My E24 had an intermittent fault that drove me crazy and ended up being bad ignition switch. It caused warm no starts with cold always being fine.
Had the same problem on the Fulvia, traced back to switch failing when hot.
At least on the E24 a failed in tank fuel pump did not bother the car too much, the fuel was being pulled by the mechanical pump. I must have driven years with a broken in tank pump...
 
Fuel tank is at 75%. I believe the car was level when the ignition dropped out.
I'm going to test again tomorrow.
Thanks for the tips.
 
Are you running a Pertronix in the stock distributor?
If so that is your problem. Go back to points.
Took weeks for us to figure that one out.

Check the ground at the fuel pump relay under the back passenger seat attached to the bulk head.
If that loses ground the car will suddenly cut out & stall.

Those two issues caused my CSi to exhibit what you describe.
 
My car has a the original Bosch distributor.
I gave the fuel and ignition systems another inspection and then took it out for a drive but didn't make it out of the driveway. Once I revved the engine up a bit in first, RPMs quickly fell to zero and the car died. It would not restart even after sitting for a bit.
Even though my first visual inspection of the rotor and cap looked okay, I pulled them out and cleaned all of the contact points. Car started right up and idled after that.
I've ordered a new rotor and cap - but this seems a little too simple as the fouling was minimal.
I'll report back.
 
This stuff is so common with older cars. See, you disturbed the cap and wires to do the cleaning, that re-oriented and perhaps corrected conductivity of the ignition, but still could be other things. Many of us have stories of the same frustrating symptom, tales of trying everything, replacing buckets of parts, then after weeks of angst, discovering that frayed wire that just could not make reliable contact any longer. Or other worn out part. Your car runs great, but for 1 broken link in the chain. It is at-the-same-time frustrating and rewarding once you find the source of the problem. Just as important, the solution helps the rest of us. Good luck, do not give up, and keep us updated. You will solve this! :)
 
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