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That’s kind of strange. I would just start out by cleaning the idle control valve and throttle body. Check for any loose wires behind the obd port. Maybe give the harness a wiggle to see if you can duplicate the issue. Check your battery terminals. Clean them. Make sure your battery is in good shape. Check your alt. To make sure the ac voltage is low and charging dc voltage is high. Between 13.6v and 14.5v ish.
when you plug in the obd scanner it’s bringing a circuit from open to closed position. So you need to do some digging around with a multimeter or test light. I would start out by getting a wire diagram for that car and find power and ground to that circuit. Then start eliminating circuits that have no continuity to the idle speed circuit. If you find some that do…you need to gear your investigation with those system (s). Electrical work can be tricky, so for things like this I usually write down the things I test and verify to help the processm
I’m assuming it’s a mechanical fan. Basically those have a clutch and when it gets hot it’s supposed to engage and make an audible wind noise while you drive. Kinda like a ups truck. If you don’t hear the fan kick in when your idling in traffic or when it gets hot then it’s probably just free wheeling and not really pulling any air. The fan can be spinning and not do a damn thing if the clutch isn’t activating.
You can get a pyrometer…The little laser pointer thermostat and you can judge where your bottle neck is on the cooling system. The hottest temps should be where the coolant is coming out of the engine and back into the radiator to be cooled. Usually the hose on top for most cars.
Two things to help narrow down your issue. Vacuum guage and fuel pressure guage. You should have good vacuum at idle. The needle should be steady between 18 and 20 ish only a healthy motor with stock cam. See if it changes when it starts to act up. Next is fuel. Let’s see if your pump is keeping up with your fuel demand. I don’t know the spec on your carb but generally around 5 psi is in the ballpark. Is it mechanical or electric??
I was going to say fuel boiling in the lines but if the hood is open that may not be the issue. Especially if u have an electronic pump. I hope this helps or gives u a new idea.
I don’t have experience with this but can offer you some advice. Turning the engine over by hand is okay. As long as your rotating the engine in the direction it’s supposed to turn. If you rotate in the wrong direction your going to skip teeth as the belt or chain is no longer being driven at its most stressed fulcrum point.
In the past I’ve actually had customers bring their bmws in the shop with chains flopping all over the place lol. Needless to say the guides were trashed.
Does the fan operate when it gets hot?? Next question. How old is the radiator cap? Something as simple as a bad cap can keep the system from being fully pressurized. The next thing is not so good. Sometimes the coolant passages inside the engine just get too contaminated to provide adequate cooling…I’ve seen this on an occasion. Is the outside of the engine block caked with oil and dust? Clean it off to bare iron. How is your heater at the vents? Try temporarily bypassing the heater core to see if that resolves your problem. Those can clog.
I hope this helps.
I had a neighbor who worked for Ferrari after leaving the navy. He said he loved every bit of it. Being a Ferrari tech is on a whole different scale. The level of attention to detail you must have is crucial. He told me the techs there polish their wrenches when they get scratched up if that says anything.
What’s up Eric! I’ve been watching your channel since you started. Love it.
Well onto myself: My name is Abdul I live in PTLD Oregon. My automotive background started at an early age of 13. My dad was always fixing his race cars and doing things to them. This sparked a passion for all things automotive and have been obsessed ever since. I studied automotive technology in high school for 4 years. It’s a program kinda like a skills center or elective class. Due to my ADD i wanted to learn something new so i graduated with an associates degree in electronics engineering. Later on I was hired at Intel corp as a full time manufacturing tech.
Most of my automotive experience comes with backyard knowledge and practices. I didn’t know how to use a lift until about 5 years ago when I started working professionally part time at an indy shop. I can say I learned the most doing it as a job but decided it wasn’t for me as I didn’t want to kill my obsession. I still occasionally get a call about a BMW specific problem or do an odd job here and there.
I’m 31 years old now and spend most of my free time building my 1971 datsun 240z into a HPDE track day race car. My specialized knowledge base is with datsuns and older bmws…pre 2005. However I do have a lot of general knowledge with other makes and models. I have a lot of respect for the full time mechanics, I had a small taste and I just couldn’t hang I guess. Well that’s it. Thanks!