I have a 77 320i that has an intermittent cold start problem. To start it, I need to hold the throttle wide open and then crank it. It sounds like it is flooding but eventually clears itself and then runs fine. Any leads on what might be causing the problem would be appreciated.

Thanks

yeah :-) Probably flooding.

Umm, basically, if it doesn't start, opent he fusebox and take off the big black relay thats attached to the engine wiring harness, and try starting it without the throttle open. It may take about 5 seconds of cranking, but if it fires up with the relay off, it's flooding.

To fix it, and I almost dont reccommend you do this mainly because you can mess up your car. Adjust the fuel mixture screw with a 3mm allen wrench.. turn it ever so slightly ccw, maybe 1/8 of a turn ccw, and if it keeps flooding, keep turning it a little bit.

If worst comes to worst, you will have to rebuild the fuel dist, but thats a last resort kind of thing.

Make sure your cold start injector is not leaking, and its working properly. You can remove it on a dead cold start, crank and make sure its spraying.

If it's not spraying or you have no fuel pressure it could be a bad or dirty connection on the fuel pump relay. I'm totally newbie on bimmer - this worked on another car

A bad TDC Sensor will sometimes result in the injectors not firing or misfiring- does it stall out when cold or only a hard start?