[Columbo]

Hi,

YEAR = 1996
ENGINE = M52
E39 520i

in the last few days I noticed abnormal idle rpm "hang around" 1500 and higher, and then slowly would come to normal idle if I tapped the throttle.

That made me curious to look if the throttle cable was getting stuck from the cold/dirt friction.

I looked and in fact, the 2 throttle cables, the cruise control & throttle pedal had slipped out of the guide rails.

I slipped them back in place, sprayed teflon lubricant on the cables, including aiming into the interior of the sleeve, and went for a test ride.

No longer had a high rpm "hang around" or anything, behaviour 100% normal.



I am writing just to testify that this may happen, or that maybe it is something to look for if you get a strange high rpm that makes you feel like the cable is stuck.

I'm sure this is like nothing new.


By the way, I do use cruise control frequently, and maybe as a precaution, one should try not to mix "pedal" and "cruise control" activation and deactivation too much, maybe it could create a situation where a cable is slack, and could slip out. Even though I suppose they are meant to have independent spring pull that ought to prevent a coupling of pull-&-slack.

I now try to activate/deactivate cruise control without pressing on the throttle at the same time.

The state of these cables is now something I will add to my list of weekly checks.

Add another to the list! :roundel:

 

[Columbo]

I should add that my pedal throttle cable has some slack that ought to be tightened by screwing the adjuster, and that should not be an issue, however, also the Cruise Control cable was outside of the railing, and it shouldn't be because it does not have slack, and so how it came out could still be explained by some coupling between the 2, but I will be taking weekly looks at it, and I will report back if it happens again.