Accelerator Potentiometer? (archive)

The potentiometer (sp?) sends the signal from the pedal to the computer which sends the signal to the throttles. I would suspect that, either the potentiometer has gone bad or the cable came loose. Given that it happened suddenly, I would look closely at the linkage from the pedal to make sure something didn't come off. And check all wiring. Also, as a long shot, turn off the ASC and see if it makes any difference. I've never replaced either, so I'm no help there, but I had the dealer replace the potentiometer. The symptom was a sudden shut down of power, luckily lsting only a moment. My ASC will sometimnes cause the same, but its too expensive to fix so I just turn it off if it acts up. I'm sure either could simply die. Still, if the EML light is on, its probably an internal error. If all looks okay, I would unplug the emls and asc box for an hour or two and see if it makes any difference.
Good luck!
Lin Gilbert
1990 750iL

Hi all,

I have a 1989 750iL, and my EML light just came on. The car won't accelerate at all. I can start the car, but when I push on the gas pedal, nothing happens. Put it into gear, hit the gas, nothing. Rock steady 1000 RPM (it's very cold here in Wisconsin, so I consider this normal RPM for such weather), even with tranny in drive. Is there any way to pull any error codes, like when pulling codes from the Motronic ECUs? Is this something I can fix or is it a "dealer only" thing? Also, does anyone have any info about how the EML system works in detail? I appreciate all posts! Thanks.

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