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#1. RE: [e36m3] [E36M3] AC-Associated Power Loss - from Marco
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Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2006 11:58:51 -0700 From: "Marco" <m3driver@iname.com> Subject: RE: [e36m3] [E36M3] AC-Associated Power Loss There is a switch that tells the dme that the AC is on and the idle should bump up at the same time. The aux fan should also come on. So maybe the dmw isn't getting the signal saying the ac is on. I'm on vaca in europe and not near my bentley to check the wiring diagram. Marco -----Original Message----- From: Shane Kleinpeter [mailto:sak335@yahoo.com] Sent: Tuesday, June 20, 2006 6:07 AM To: E36M3 Subject: [e36m3] [E36M3] AC-Associated Power Loss Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2006 06:06:25 -0700 (PDT) From: Shane Kleinpeter <sak335@yahoo.com> Subject: AC-Associated Power Loss It's summer again, and my AC issues from last year have reared their ugly head once again. I had this problem last year and thought I had it kicked, but apparently I was wrong. Bear with me. When running AC (and only when running AC), , mostly around town, the car will sometimes suffer what appears to be a "power loss" on the circuit that contains the AC, the radio, and a couple other dash functions. Basically, the car will nearly die, the radio will turn off, the lights on the HVAC, Computer, etc. will die, and then everything will come back on. Also, the headlights will dim if they are on. This power blip will last about a second. From what I can tell, this happens when the AC compressor kicks in. I focused pretty hard on it last night and this almost always happens when sitting at a light, but every so often it will happen when driving. The revs drop and then the power goes, then comes back up as the computer pushes the revs up. The engine never dies. My initial thought was that maybe there is supposed to be a switch that increases revs when the AC is on, like other cars I have owned in the past, and that maybe that switch is not working. The car idles at about 600 rpm with the AC on and drops to 500 when the compressor comes on. Anybody else experience this or am I the only lucky one? I'll admit that electrics are not my strong suit and I'm at a loss for how to diagnose this. But I'm also a stubborn SOB and hate to have to bring the car in to an actual mechanic. Any ideas? Shane Kleinpeter http://www.justracing.com/homepage/sak335 '96 M3 '94 325i #76 ITS / #335 JP __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ************************************************* Please help support the E36M3 list by visiting our sponsors: Bimmerworld http://www.bimmerworld.com Turner Motorsport http://www.turnermotorsport.com Eurosport High Performance http://www.eurosporthighperformance.com Rogue Engineering http://www.rogueengineering.com Treehouse Racing http://www.treehouseracing.com Elephant Motorsports Inc. http://www.elephantmotorsports.com DIGEST INFORMATION: http://www.bmw-m.net/resources/digest_info.htm *************************************************
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#2. Re: AC-Associated Power Loss - from Shane Kleinpeter
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Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2006 12:20:58 -0700 (PDT) From: Shane Kleinpeter <sak335@yahoo.com> Subject: Re: AC-Associated Power Loss Alex, I'd say 95% of the time this occurs at idle, on rare occasions it happens at speed under power. I was convinced it was an idle-only situation until it happened pretty consistently on a trip to the beach on a very hot day. > Do you experience these symptoms only when your foot > is off the gas > pedal or put another way, have you ever experienced > these symptoms while > your foot was on the accelerator pedal? Shane Kleinpeter http://www.justracing.com/homepage/sak335 '96 M3 '94 325i #76 ITS / #335 JP __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com
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#3. RE: AC-Associated Power Loss - from Avedis, Alexander (US SSA)
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Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2006 15:25:00 -0400 From: "Avedis, Alexander (US SSA)" <alexander.avedis@baesystems.com> Subject: RE: AC-Associated Power Loss Shane, How's the A/C performance? Cold? Any strange noises out of the compressor? Can you spin the compressor by hand with the engine off? If above checks out ok, the first thing I would check for is current draw from the compressor and grounds. HTH Alex -----Original Message----- From: Shane Kleinpeter [mailto:sak335@yahoo.com] Sent: Tuesday, June 20, 2006 3:21 PM To: Avedis, Alexander (US SSA) Cc: M3 Digest Subject: Re: AC-Associated Power Loss Alex, I'd say 95% of the time this occurs at idle, on rare occasions it happens at speed under power. I was convinced it was an idle-only situation until it happened pretty consistently on a trip to the beach on a very hot day. > Do you experience these symptoms only when your foot > is off the gas > pedal or put another way, have you ever experienced > these symptoms while > your foot was on the accelerator pedal? Shane Kleinpeter http://www.justracing.com/homepage/sak335 '96 M3 '94 325i #76 ITS / #335 JP __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com
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#4. Thermostat options - from Matthew Teel
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Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2006 11:34:16 -0800 From: "Matthew Teel" <mteel@beluga.com> Subject: Thermostat options It looks like there are a lot of options on thermostats. In short, I can go with the stock 88C/92C thermostat or a "higher performance" thermostat of 80C, 75C or 71C. As I mentioned, I am planning on doing the fan delete, but I live in a very cool climate (Alaska). The absolute hottest temperatures that I am likely to encounter would be around 80 degrees F. It's possible to see 95F in the interior, but I have had my car there only once during summer since I bought it new in '98, so realistically this car will spend the remainder of it's life here in South Central where a warm day is 72 degrees F. I just can't imagine that I need either a "high performance" thermo or secondary switch for the auxiliary fan. I don't even think the thermostat hardly opens during winter as the heater struggles to warm the interior of the car. But the last thing that I want to do is set myself up for overheating. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Matthew 98 M3/4
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#5. Dinan Sale - from M540
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Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2006 16:01:01 -0400 From: "M540" <m540@bellsouth.net> Subject: Dinan Sale I know Dinan isn't everyone's tuner of choice but just in case someone is in the market for a chip, Dinan has all of their performance software/chips 50% through August. http://www.dinanbmw.com/ No affiliation, recommendation, etc. and apologies if this is old news. Kevin
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#6. RE: Temp gauge just a bit to right....was Thermostat just a titch to the right - from Burgess, Kim L
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Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2006 13:16:35 -0700 From: "Burgess, Kim L" <kim.l.burgess@boeing.com> Subject: RE: Temp gauge just a bit to right....was Thermostat just a titch to the right I'm guessing you meant to say 'gage' not T-stat. Sounds like T-stat is sticking and needs replacement - best done before the engine overheats. Water pump (is a time bomb), radiator and _all_ the hoses need to be changed - upper and lower at least. Lots of folks replace the T-stat housing to aluminum. I did and I have had two (2) that leaked - bad die cast parts leaking though casting voids. There are two brands Ranok and Ranol, as I recall. Look closely at the housing when you purchase and reject any with small cast voids or 'creases' in the body casting, or buy the OE plastic housing. If your coolant is two years or more old, it too needs to be replaced, with BMW brand coolant. KLBurgess -------------------- 4 -------------------- Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2006 10:39:56 -0700 From: "Gus Iverson" <gus.iverson@gmail.com> Subject: Thermostat just a titch to the right This is new, it's reading 1-2mm to the right of dead center which I *believe* is a change. I checked the fluid level and all seems fine but IIRC I should be concerned about something. Car has 70k on it with the OEM cooling bits. Thoughts?
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#7. RE: Stewart WP....was Water pump Question - from Burgess, Kim L
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Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2006 13:32:02 -0700 From: "Burgess, Kim L" <kim.l.burgess@boeing.com> Subject: RE: Stewart WP....was Water pump Question The BMW Stainless Steel water pump impeller that replaced the plastic impeller pump was a beautiful piece of art. I have it setting on my bench at home, I just cant part with it!! Introducing 'The Stewart' - These guys have it too! http://www.stewartcomponents.net/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Cate gory_Code=BMWHPWP I have no experience with it but it is right up there with my Zionsville alloy radiator for overkill (in price)!! KLBurgess -------------------- 10 -------------------- Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2006 13:45:12 -0500 From: "Goss, Patrick - PA" <Patrick.Goss@GMACM.COM> Subject: RE: [E36M3] Water pump Question I'd love to hear about this too, as I am pondering the same pump for different reasons. I am still on the original pump...having the sexy spot welded one with 97K on it so far.
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#8. RE: AC-Associated Power Loss - from Burgess, Kim L
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Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2006 13:39:08 -0700 From: "Burgess, Kim L" <kim.l.burgess@boeing.com> Subject: RE: AC-Associated Power Loss Battery needs water? Bad ground connection at battery? KLBurgess ------------------- 3 -------------------- Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2006 06:06:25 -0700 (PDT) From: Shane Kleinpeter <sak335@yahoo.com> Subject: AC-Associated Power Loss It's summer again, and my AC issues from last year have reared their ugly head once again. I had this problem last year and thought I had it kicked, but apparently I was wrong. Bear with me. When running AC (and only when running AC), , mostly around town, the car will sometimes suffer what appears to be a "power loss" on the circuit that contains the AC, the radio, and a couple other dash functions. Basically, the car will nearly die, the radio will turn off, the lights on the HVAC, Computer, etc. will die, and then everything will come back on. Also, the headlights will dim if they are on. This power blip will last about a second. From what I can tell, this happens when the AC compressor kicks in. I focused pretty hard on it last night and this almost always happens when sitting at a light, but every so often it will happen when driving. The revs drop and then the power goes, then comes back up as the computer pushes the revs up. The engine never dies. My initial thought was that maybe there is supposed to be a switch that increases revs when the AC is on, like other cars I have owned in the past, and that maybe that switch is not working. The car idles at about 600 rpm with the AC on and drops to 500 when the compressor comes on. Anybody else experience this or am I the only lucky one? I'll admit that electrics are not my strong suit and I'm at a loss for how to diagnose this. But I'm also a stubborn SOB and hate to have to bring the car in to an actual mechanic. Any ideas? Shane Kleinpeter http://www.justracing.com/homepage/sak335 '96 M3 '94 325i #76 ITS / #335 JP
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#9. Re: Water pump Question - from Neil Maller
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Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2006 16:54:15 -0400 From: Neil Maller <neil.maller@gte.net> Subject: Re: Water pump Question on 6/20/06 1:07 PM, Matthew Teel <mteel@beluga.com> wrote: > I'm wondering if anyone has experience with BMW High Performance Water Pump > by Stewart Components. > Any thoughts? > > Matthew > 98 M3/4 I installed one at the beginning of this season on the general principle that flowing a bit more coolant can't be a bad thing, and the hope that this ought to be the last water pump I ever have to buy for this car. It's part of a program of longevity related replacements and upgrades I've been doing (e.g. RE finned diff cover). Since a successful result is that nothing happens, it's hard to gauge success. Certainly the Stewart water pump seems nicely designed and made and I'm basically glad I did it. Neil 96 M3
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#10. Re: Temp gauge just a bit to right....was Thermostat just a titch to the right - from Gus Iverson
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Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2006 14:06:03 -0700 From: "Gus Iverson" <gus.iverson@gmail.com> Subject: Re: Temp gauge just a bit to right....was Thermostat just a titch to the right Guage, yes - sorry. Considering I've got a 3 day driving event at the end of July in Spokane, I should probably replace all those bits, eh? *sigh*... On 6/20/06, Burgess, Kim L <kim.l.burgess@boeing.com> wrote: > I'm guessing you meant to say 'gage' not T-stat. Sounds like T-stat is > sticking and needs replacement - best done before the engine overheats. > Water pump (is a time bomb), radiator and _all_ the hoses need to be > changed - upper and lower at least. Lots of folks replace the T-stat > housing to aluminum. I did and I have had two (2) that leaked - bad die > cast parts leaking though casting voids. There are two brands Ranok and > Ranol, as I recall. Look closely at the housing when you purchase and > reject any with small cast voids or 'creases' in the body casting, or > buy the OE plastic housing. If your coolant is two years or more old, it > too needs to be replaced, with BMW brand coolant. > > KLBurgess > > -------------------- 4 -------------------- > Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2006 10:39:56 -0700 > From: "Gus Iverson" <gus.iverson@gmail.com> > Subject: Thermostat just a titch to the right > > This is new, it's reading 1-2mm to the right of dead center which I > *believe* is a change. I checked the fluid level and all seems fine > but IIRC I should be concerned about something. Car has 70k on it with > the OEM cooling bits. > > Thoughts? >