engine troubles

[mcharringont08]

ok so heres my problem, i have a 1988 528e and every time i start it, it runs great, but only for a few minutes after that it stops idleing consistently and when i press the gas the rmp's either dont move or sky-rocket back and forth and it sputters...

anyone who knows what might be wrong with it please contact me

thanks...:)

[Narbeh07]

I have a very similar problem with my car... i have a 1986 535i. does the same thing but mostly at acceleration after a red light and stoping for a red light . Rpm goes up and down rapidly and turns of. I yet havint found the problem... i took it to a mechanic he said something like a idle adjuster or controller and costs about 500 buks but i didnt do anything about it untill i got another mechanic to check it out ..

[mcharringont08]

i found out if you take the little blue cap off of the intake and adjust the little hex-screw, it'll fix it right up - for FREE!

[jimoreno]

Sorry for the repeat post!

Good Luck!

[jimoreno]

What you guys are referring to is called the Idle Control Valve or ICV. Its a black cylindrical shaped part that allows a certain amount of air to go into the engine when the trottle body is closed. What usually happens is that it gets stuck open so the engine would rev up and the computer would try to control it by cutting gas so it then goes down and it might do this in a cycle (up, down, up, down,...) The first thing to try is to remove it and clean it with carburetor cleaner. You'll be amazed at the gunk that gets accumulated in it. If that doesn't work you might need to replace it. The additional complication is that some engines had a separate Idle Control Module (ICM) which is a small brain that controls this valve so getting it to work properly might cost you some money. I've had good luck with finding part in Ebay or you can try this sites:

http://www.autohausaz.com (http://www.autohausaz.com/)

http://www.stevehaygood.com/

Good Luck!