Help: E30 Won't start and i'm not a retard

[tune 0]

Hey all

Just went to start the bmw up yesturday midday to take it in for a wof

car would turn over, but not ignite

so automatically i checked the following things

- spark plugs - took out, cleaned up, put back in

- checked all vacuum lines for leaks

- checked all spark plug leads

- checked lead on coilpack

- checked afm plug

Then during all this the battery went quite flat from turning it over so many times

(battery is less than 3months old and is usually mint)

so, recharged the battery overnight on a battery charger

woke up this morning, gave it another go

still no good

its turning over on the key very well (as battery is fully charged)

and is almost igniting

its doing everything fine, just not igniting the fuel

but when i had spark plugs out i checked for spark and there was good spark

funny thing is I bought the car off a guy who "couldn't get it started" and then I had a fiddle with it, couldn't get it going, then one day i tried it and it started and ran fine, and has run fine up untill today. now its just doing the same thing

I was thinking, loose ignition cable somewhere?

But have had a look and everything seems like its in place, except a single thin brown wire thats just hanging under the steering rack but i cant see where its meant to go.

I had a mean search on the net of "bmw wont start" etc etc, alot of the time in other peoples cases it turned out to be ECU related

I cleaned the contacts on ecu plug and pins of ecu, didn't make a difference

Any ideas anyone? any help would be appreciated

ive got the laptop in the garage so ill keep checking back to this thread.

Cheers

[ducatiss 1]

If you have spark then let's assume its not ignition related for the moment. Next step is to see if fuel is getting in. After winding over for a bit are your plugs wet with fuel? Also can you hear the fuel pump presurising the system at the rear of the car when you first turn on the ignition key? If not I would start checking fuses/relay for fuel pump. You could also pull the fuel regulator from the fuel rail to see if the system is pressurized. Note that fuel may spray out everywhere so no smoking and disconnect your battery before you do this! If you have a rag around it as you pop it out then it should be fine. If you have fuel pressure then it may something like a crank angle sensor or similar.

The brown wire may well be your oil pressure switch wire though from memory when this is disconnected the oil pressure light would be on all the time.

The ECU in the e30 are fairly robust and it is more likely to be something else. Swop a good one in though if all else fails and you have checked the above.

Edited August 30, 2008 by ducatiss

[tune 0]

yup, i checked fuel at fuel rail and its good, just forgot to mention it.

pressurised aswel. and yes can hear fuel pump when i turn key to ignition.

oil light goes off after a few cranks...

where is crank angle sensor located? i assume its in the engine?

maybe a wire is loose or something?

where would i find wire for crank angle sensor at engine?

cheers

[Silver Fox 43]

Just had the same problem in my race car and Hotwire got me to replace the spark plugs.

I'd tried everything as you have and Grant said to me that if you have fuel, spark, air, compression and timing then it should go. I had all the above and it still wouldn't go. Even took the plugs out and they were wet, so dried them and left it overnight, and it still wouldn't go. It wasn't until I tried another set of plugs that it went, and it went first time at that, so try another set of plugs.

[pjay 8]

Can test each plug if its sparking on the head. Thats what i usually do to check em.

Or i googled checking your spark plugs and heres a few tips:

http://www.ehow.com/how_2060386_test-spark-plugs.html

[tune 0]

sounds about right, i did clean the plugs up using fine grit sandpaper

its just annoying cos its so frustrating, ive been up to repco like 3times today

wont even start with "start ya bastard" engine spray lol

not that i believed in that stuff to begin with though.

GAHHHHHH

Anyone know what plugs are specified for my car?

cause im pretty sure that the ones that are in there are suited for all bmws, not specificallyfor mine

the plugs arnt that old either although they did look badly fould up when i removed them

[sidewaysnupsidedown 0]

had a similar problem with my old e30

had it hooked up to diagnostic machines and everything.

turned out it was a broken dizzy rotor!

it was still working sometimes but where it attaches to the shaft it was split so sometimes it would move and or jump around.

so have a look under your dizzy cap and check the rotor is not wobbling around.....

my thoughts....

Edited August 30, 2008 by nateE30

[tune 0]

had a look under dizzy cap, everything algd

took the plugs out again and gave them a hardout clean, and tested each and every individual one till they were sparking beutifully. put plugs back in, then ht leads,

started first pop

cheers

all, hadnt driven for 3daysish so maybe they the plugs fouled themselfs?

gonna heap to repco first thing tomorrow and buy some new plugs anyway

might aswell do oil + filter change while im at it

[pjay 8]

Good man.

Love your car, and she will love you back

[bravo 34]

So that's the car sorted. Anyone able to help him become a retard?

Edited August 31, 2008 by bravo

[Katalyst 0]

im having this exact same problem aswel!

and has frustrated the hell out of me for months

sometimes it goes and then not the next time!!

is there a better explanation or solution to fixing it than cleaning/swaping the plugs everytime??

[*Glenn* 854]

Anyone able to help him become a retard?

There are probably quite a few in here that could help him do that Graham

[ducatiss 1]

im having this exact same problem aswel!

and has frustrated the hell out of me for months

sometimes it goes and then not the next time!!

is there a better explanation or solution to fixing it than cleaning/swaping the plugs everytime??

I would hope so....you should not need to be swapping in and out plugs all the time. Obviously there is something else wrong. Also, just because a plug sparks when checked outside the engine, does not always mean that it will spark reliably under compression or load. If in doubt, replace, and if the problem re-appears look to another cause.

Edited September 2, 2008 by ducatiss

[Katalyst 0]

I would hope so....you should not need to be swapping in and out plugs all the time. Obviously there is something else wrong. Also, just because a plug sparks when checked outside the engine, does not always mean that it will spark reliably under compression or load. If in doubt, replace, and if the problem re-appears look to another cause.

the set i have in there are by no means old - and probly every second month would have to pull them out and give them a quik clean up to get her working again

if the plugs are wet does that mean that not all the fuel is being ignited??

so does that mean that you need a hotter plug?

[*Glenn* 854]

the set i have in there are by no means old - and probly every second month would have to pull them out and give them a quik clean up to get her working again

if the plugs are wet does that mean that not all the fuel is being ignited??

so does that mean that you need a hotter plug?

If you have high fuel consumption, which will fowl the spark plugs, check your air flow meter and make sure the vane isn't sticking....failing that, get it checked properly by someone who knows what they are doing

[Katalyst 0]

alrite following my previous post and reading jimmys thread E30 Staring Issue

i inspected the dizzy, coil and rotor and they all look prety wasted - but being no expert i took some pictures to get confirmation

so if indeed they are stuffed!! what can i expect to pay for good secondhand or new ones??

also is the corosion caused simply by age/wear and tear or is something more likely to be doing it damage??

cheers

[CamB 48]

alrite following my previous post and reading jimmys thread E30 Staring Issue

so if indeed they are stuffed!! what can i expect to pay for good secondhand or new ones??

also is the corosion caused simply by age/wear and tear or is something more likely to be doing it damage??

cheers

Well they're not flash...

More concerning, it looks like the end of the coil wire has broken off in the coil - that could be your problem. If you are going to remove it, unplug the coil first before sticking pliers or a screwdriver in there.

Once thats fixed, keep in mind that if you've tried cranking it over a number of times without it successfully running (due to bad spark) it would also be worth checking to see if the plugs are now fouled.

Edited September 9, 2008 by CamB

[Katalyst 0]

yeah end of lead isnt to flash either!!!

have a coil and lead from a facelift (mine being p/fl) was going to try that - and yip plugs are out and been cleaned aswell

do you think the rotor arm of f/l will be the same even tho the dizzys are different??

also on top of the distributor when the cap is off, theres like a thin plastic cover, is that meant to be loose??

[CamB 48]

I don't actually have one so can't comment on those specific questions re: rotor arm and loose plastic bit.

Good idea to use coil and lead (or at least the lead if you know the old coil was good).

[Katalyst 0]

true - im sure someone will tell me or ill ring someone to double check

yeah will clean up original coil and see if that works, kinda handy having a spare car just a pity there pre f/l and f/l - ohwell

cheers for your help will update when i get it all together

[Mike 1]

when my ignition system shat itself (rotor and dizzy cap) I got a fair bit of warning, ie it would started to get really bad at starting until it would only start with a push. Ultimately it wouldn't even start with a push. Rotor and cap were in a similar state to what yours are. Not saying it will always do that but just something to think about.

I wouldn't f**k round with second hand ignition bits (unless you or a mate have them on hand), they are a part that will wear. give one of the forum sponsors a call - gavin at euro-italian will sort you out

[hotwire 352]

yeah end of lead isnt to flash either!!!

have a coil and lead from a facelift (mine being p/fl) was going to try that - and yip plugs are out and been cleaned aswell

do you think the rotor arm of f/l will be the same even tho the dizzys are different??

also on top of the distributor when the cap is off, theres like a thin plastic cover, is that meant to be loose??

From pics - rotor looks very suspect, coil tower not good. Although worn - I doubt the cap is causing the problem.

Scrape the scale off the cap electodes, check for tracking in cap. If badly worn - replace

Coil - Same between pre & F/L - so replace coil & clean/replace HT lead terminal as required

Rotor - different pre to F/L Replace it

[Katalyst 0]

yip was totally the coil, electrode was prety much snaped off

rang round and from BM workshop dizzy cap was like 40ish and rotor arm 20 and about 90 buks for the 2 from bmw newmarket

alot cheaper han i thought!!!!!!!