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re: Starting problem

>I have a little problem that I am sure someone else has had in the past.
>My '88 325i is a bit slow starting (average 4-5 seconds) when the 
>temperature is not too low - 10 deg. C and above-  with the engine cold 
>(stopped for 2 hrs. or more). 
>When the engine is hot it starts normally, in about 1 second.
>If the outside temperature is cold - below 5 deg. C - the engine starts 
>quickly even in the morning. 

That may be me you're referring to.  I have similar symptoms with my 87 325i. 
Three things contribute to my starting troubles:

1) gas tank not full
2) living in Denver (5280 ft. altitude). 
3) temperature greater that ~ 40F (5 deg. C)

When my gas tank is full, it starts quickly.
When I drove to Montana at 3000 ft, I had no starting problems. 
When it's colder than 40F, it starts quickly, due to the cold-start mechanism
which keeps the injectors open longer.

Otherwise it may crank for 4-7 seconds. I was told by the dealer that it is 
a fault in the Motronic 1.1 DME. I think you have the same Motronic version.
I am not concerned about the problem anymore, because it always starts and
I am confident about the durability of the BMW starter.

I did have exactly the same symptoms as you on my VW GTI. Never could figure
it out on that car. It also could have been altitude-related. It always
started eventually, too.

Good Luck.

Matt Graham
[email protected]