TriggerFish

Good stuff! Glad it's working for you

General consensus for troubleshooting this sort of thing is to swap the bulbs from side to side, and see if the problem moves or not. If it does, then the bulb is at fault, otherwise it's the ballast (or, on mine, there's another igniter inside the headlight, but I've seen much talk of them failing). Unless you change the entire headlight unit, it'll have to be another xenon bulb (D2S, I think, for the bi-xenons, but not sure about the earlier cars). These can be obtained cheaply on eBay - if they'll last or be very bright is another matter... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2x-D2S-Xenon-Hid-4300K-Lamps-Burner-Bulbs-Tuv-E-Authorized-E11-Mini-Seat/362518063915?hash=item5467c2ab2b:g:ndkAAOSwDNdV4IlJ:rk:6:pf:0 Or a much nicer Xenarc bulb for only £33: https://www.amazon.co.uk/ORIGINAL-headlight-66240-folding-Packaging/dp/B003VNP4WM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1546104345&sr=8-1&keywords=osram+xenarc+original+d2s (This is from a good make, and should be fine quality wise. I'd have no problems in buying these for myself. I've got a set of their Nightbraker D2S bulbs, and they've been faultless.)

Not that it's much use, but I'm pretty sure I've got a prefacelift coupe headlight sat spare in my garage (I've defo got the housing, I think I've got an appropriate lens too). If you fix it up yourself, let me know, and I'll send it over... Sorry to see that though - but glad you're ok!

Nice and simple fix! I did the same too - on the M20, the throttle position sensor and ICV are next to each other, come off the same spur of loom, and have identical plugs... yep... That took way more time with a mutlimeter to pin down than I'd have liked!

Hmmm, possibly not the ICV then, as I'd doubt it'd ever idle if that was at fault. Sorry I can't help further - I don't know these petrol engines at all!

ICV could certainly cause the starting! On my E30 (different engine, but still uses an ICV), I didn't get the ICV in correctly, and it would crank, splutter and die with a loud whooooshing noise. It would run if I used the throttle though. Turned out the ICV wasn't sealing with the intake manifold/throttle body. Pushed it, and sorted. Does it idle on its own, once it has started? Maybe the sluggishness is due to the excess air leaking by the ICV? (I don't know the M52 engine at all, so just guess work I'm afraid).

Both of mine had DSC (2002 184 manual, and 2003 204 manual). Are you sure it's defo got ASC, and not just had the button replaced with the wrong one? Neither had tyre pressure checking either A check of the VIN should reveal all... https://decoder.bvzine.com/

My spreadsheet said I got £100 for mine(!), with an aux cable included. It had been modified for pre-amp RCA outputs though, but I don't think the guy bought it for that. Near-perfect cosmetically too - no scuffs/marks or nicks to the volume knob

Changed the front disks/pads/calipers (after I rebuilt a spare set). Put the jack through the sill that had rusted out. I'll add that to the list of repairs needed then!

I think it was 5w30, maybe. Mine's a 330d though, so not comparable

I shop around - ECP (but they're getting worse with their constant sales), eBay (for branded stuff, not the cheap/unknown makes), and HotUKDeals (I got 7l of Castrol oil for £10 through Tesco thanks to HUKD and a mistake by Tesco).

I believe it's a 184/204 thing. My 184 didn't show boost/MAF/data etc. in Torque, but my 204 does. I've heard others with the same situation. (Or I've totally misread your post, in which case, ignore me!)

FWWI, there's a lot of cheap ones on the various E46 facebook groups. They could well be cheap for a reason, but it might be worth a look? Mine is in for arches (with a friend) at the moment. What started off as some bubbling has turned into basically all of the inner arch being replaced. I'd dread to think of the labour costs for making and welding in new panels. Fun times(!) I found mine needed work just by poking the inside by hand, and it crumbled. If it's soft under there, walk away.

I'd be interested in knowing this too!

You can unplug the vacuum line to that flap which should then leave it open all the time (assuming it hasn't seized, in which case, it might need hammering open). It's worth trying before spending any £££!