e21 newbie! car wont start please help!!!

[polaris323]

Hello fellow E21 lovers. I bought a 1980 323i a little over a year ago and i love waking up and getting in this car, but i have recently encounterd a problem. last year i changed the fuel pump, fuel lines, many hoses and vacuum lines etc... its been about a year since then and driving ok with the exception of a rough idle when warmed up. about 2 days ago i went to start her up and all i here is CRANKING . today i am going to change the spark plugs and get a volt meter and see if my fuel pump is working but if you guys have any suggestions as to what i can check it would be more than greatly appreciated. side note: i dont know if this can be relate but for awhile now, my ignition seems to be a bit "glitchy"? when i turn the key everything seem regular but sometimes when i turn from II to start it wont do anything. no click, no crank absolutely nothin. then ill let go and do it again and then the engine will turn and start. sometimes, if it doesnt do anything at the turn of the key and i hold it there for 2 seconds all of a sudden it will crank and start (ignition problem)?

i am glad to be part of the forum and any assistance in my situation would be greatly appreciate.

POLARIS323

[Jeroen]

With the additional info it looks to me like the electrical part of the iginition switch is broken hence also the intermittent operation of the starter motor I guess. There's a dutch topic on replacing it, the pics might already be enough of a help, see here:
http://www.bmwe21.net/forum/viewtopic.p ... ot#p133020

Did u check the plugs in the meantime? Were they dry or wet?

[polaris323]

i checked the plugs and they had little wetness but the prongs seemed to be pretty worn out. i changed them and the car started. im still going to check the ignition switch and the connections to see if there is an issue down there. wish i could read dutch hopefully i dont end up causing more issues. on another note, my car idles very rough when warmed up. its never died on me but my cousin says it has on him when he borrowed the car. it drives great when cold but as soon as i take her for a short trip through town or on the freeway as soon as i get to a stop the idle starts dropping very low and bounces between 100-900 RPM. think any of this is related?

thanks so much for the response.

[Jeroen]

Doesn't sound related to me. Pls have adjustments (co/O2/mixture) tested as well as static ignition timing (with vacuum hoses for ignition advance adjustment disconnected from ignition distributor)

[polaris323]

well, this is starting to become a bit too technical for me. i may have to wait to pay someone to check this out or if there is anyone in the sacramento or northern california area that can bless me with their assistance? thanks for the response again. i will do more research and see if i can figure these things out but with my limited and knowledge i may have to seek help from someone local

[polaris323]

So the funny idling of my car has gotten really frustrating to me since I moved to sacramento from San francisco which is sometimes of 30 degrees difference so I decided to check for vacuum leaks just as the forums state. This may seem ridiculous but I can't seem to locate the icv in the e21 m20. I've looked at many posts of the Ltronic systems but the look a bit different.
Can anyone show me it as on the 323 a picture would be great!!! thanks in advance

[Jeroen]

K-Jet doesn't have an idle control valve or ICV like L-Jet and Motronic have. K-Jet uses a warm up regulator WUR located at the front of the engine (next to alternator, two small black fuel hoses running to it and connected with banjo bolts) which triggers an aux air valve. This valve raises cold idle and returns to base/rest position after warm up. Can be operated electrically or by coolant temp and is located under the intake manifold near the firewall.

Additional info in the official K-Jet manual here:

[polaris323]

Oh wow that makes sense as to why I couldn't find it. Could this component be what's affecting my idle issue?