random stalling... - BMW Forum

91 325ix · 07-07-2009, 12:56 PM

hey guys, I own a 1991 325ix with almost 230,000 miles and this is my problem.

I've spent hours searching this forum for a fix to the problem still haven't found it, a lot of people with the same problem but no specific fix. My car started stalling out a couple of weeks ago. I was just cruising when the engine stalled. Waited for a couple of minutes and it started again, I drove for about 30 seconds when stalled again, it did that four times till I got home. The next morning same problem, me and my father checked the engine for something loose or disconnected, nothing wrong. Checked the fuel pump, working just fine. Then we switched the fuel pump relay with the one next to it which is similar. The car ran just fine for a week or so. When it started stalling again it would not cut off completely it would just bog off and with a downshift it would run fine again. Yesterday it stalled twice and had to crank it a few times before it started again. Thinking it has something to do with the relays I unplugged the fuel pump relay and the one next to it, let the car sit for a couple of minutes and plugged them back in. It started just fine and got home without problem. Today happened the same thing and repeated the same process and got home with the engine just hesitating one time but it did not stalled.

After reading a couple of threads about this problem I went to check for loose vacuum hoses or loose plugs, nothing wrong. The only thing that I haven't checked yet is the fuel filter.

BTW. The timing belt was changed a couple of months ago, the mechanic told me to take the car back in a couple of months to readjust the valves, could this be another symptom that's causing this problem??

thanks in advance

witeshark · 07-07-2009, 01:43 PM

I don't think valves out of adjustment could cause stalling. How old is the fuel pump?

91 325ix · 07-07-2009, 02:45 PM

not even two months old, the old one went bad because of the old fuel left in the tank went bad and damaged it. The car was at the shop for a long time, so that happened.

silversled · 07-07-2009, 07:37 PM

yeah, the fuel filter sounds like a possiblity, especially if the engine stalls more frequently with higher speed longer runs than just short around town runs...could be a clogged fuel filter...good luck cliff

silversled · 07-07-2009, 07:39 PM

and no, valves won't cause that....absolutely not out of adjusted valves...sounds like your on the right track with the fuel thing....

91 325ix · 07-08-2009, 04:13 PM

as soon as I can I'll change the fuel filter, and post again...
thanks

91 325ix · 07-23-2009, 07:16 PM

Finally changed the fuel filter but the problem continues. Last week the ran car fine with the old filter still in, on the weekend I installed the new one and it kept working well till today. It happened like this, I was about to enter the highway and when I was going to step on the gas I felt the stall coming, the thing that the car does is that it keeps running till you step on the gas. When I press on the gas it makes like a choking sound if I take the foot of the gas it keeps running until momentum is lost and stalls. Then it starts like nothing happened, sometimes it takes like a minute to start again but most of the times it starts right away. Could this be related to the air intake system, maybe the throttle gets stuck or something I'm really running out of ideas. Btw. the air filter is like three months old.

Anything that you guys might think it is??

thanks

seppy · 10-23-2009, 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 91 325ix

Finally changed the fuel filter but the problem continues. Last week the ran car fine with the old filter still in, on the weekend I installed the new one and it kept working well till today. It happened like this, I was about to enter the highway and when I was going to step on the gas I felt the stall coming, the thing that the car does is that it keeps running till you step on the gas. When I press on the gas it makes like a choking sound if I take the foot of the gas it keeps running until momentum is lost and stalls. Then it starts like nothing happened, sometimes it takes like a minute to start again but most of the times it starts right away. Could this be related to the air intake system, maybe the throttle gets stuck or something I'm really running out of ideas. Btw. the air filter is like three months old.

Anything that you guys might think it is??

thanks

hi,
i have the exact same problem on a 93 325i. did you find out what it is thats causing this. thanks