1969 BMW 1602 won’t idle

[rtgorham]

Hi, all of a sudden yesterday the car kept stalling every time I take my foot off the gas, like when slowing for a stop light, and it won’t idle. The L warning light goes on each time it stalls. It starts up again each time with no problem. I’ve been told The points are worn. Could that be the problem? I’m new to this forum and not a lot of mechanical knowledge. Thank!

[steve k.]

Does it idle after you restart the car? Or do you need to massage the throttle to keep the revolutions above idle?

 

steve k.

[Mike Self]

  Bet it's a plugged idle jet

  Remove, blow it and its orifice out with carb cleaner and reinstall.

mike 

[rtgorham]

It does not idle after restarting. As soon as I take foot off the gas, it stalls. It was idling just fine yesterday morning, but not now.

[steve k.]

The answer does lead me to the Idle Jet issue. It needs to be cleaned, and then find out why you have crap in your fuel.  Most of the time, it is due to low fuel in the tank or a really bad filter.

[rtgorham]

Thank you for the input, much appreciated.

[John76]

What carb do you have on your 1602 ?

If you have a Weber 32/36 then here's a picture of the idle jet on the primary side.

 

 

[rtgorham]

I checked the idle jet and it’s clear. This is a Weber 34 ich 

Edited March 12, 2023 by rtgorham

[Son of Marty]

It's hard to tell in the picture, but is the idle cut off wire shorting against the jet holder body?

[Mike Self]

To check for idle jet solenoid operation, turn on the ignition, then disconnect the wire.  You should hear a click.  No click = no idle.

mike 

[rtgorham]

Happy to report I was able to figure it out. The throttle connection to the carb was really loose. The throttle adjustment screw wasn’t even touching the prong. It was obviously not tightened up properly months ago when I had some work done it because I noticed then that the choke wasn’t as effective afterwards, but the car was running much better overall so I didn’t pay much attention. It must have finally loosened up enough over time that it began stalling. Something so simple.  Thanks again for all the feedback. Pic of our baby.

[Mark92131]

That's a beauty!  I could never get the Weber 34 ICH to run on my 1600 Cab, the Solex one barrel carb was bullet-proof.  Went through a number of carb changes to eventually this setup.

 

Mark92131

[rtgorham]

Thank you. This was my wife’s first driver when she was a teenager in the late 80’s. We bought it from her Dad and have been restoring it over the past couple years.