bimmer boy 21 Report post Posted August 19, 2004 okay. so i had a flat battery and i ran out of fuel so i bought a petrol holder thing and got gas from the petrol station (yes it was the right fuel) put in ten bucks worth and now the car wont start its just making the sound it make when i ran out of gas and get a bit of a petrol smell in the cabin so does this mean that the fuel isnt getting to the engine so it cant start so does that mean the fuel pump is f**ked or fuel lines blocked help!!! i want my baby going again (p.s when it did fire up it sounded like a rotory and when u got your foot flat down on the acellerator it goes real slow like 5kms and doesnt get faster and if u release the accelerator the enigne cuts out Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
m325i 709 Report post Posted August 19, 2004 CHeck your leads/plugs Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Carl 3 Report post Posted August 19, 2004 Could be your fuel lines clogged up with the sh*t festering at the bottom of the tank...although i'm sure the fuel filter is supposed to prevent that from happening it's not good to run out of fuel...two cars ago I ran outta fuel, carburettor got farked up from the festering sh*t, although i'm not sure what happens with injectors.. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grant 4 Report post Posted August 19, 2004 I agree with Carl, sounds like a likely explanation. Cheers Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
*sic 1 Report post Posted August 19, 2004 check your filter, seriously it cracks me up when you look at some gunky as f**k ones... hmm i reaaallllly need to change mine, it probly looks the same Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Carl 3 Report post Posted August 19, 2004 Thankfully fuel filters get changed when you get your car serviced properly Can be quite expensive cleaning out clogged parts Just out of curiosity, does anyones FL E30 have a fuel light??? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gus 5 Report post Posted August 19, 2004 fuel light? as in empty tank? or something more sinister Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Carl 3 Report post Posted August 19, 2004 Yes, does the E30 have a fuel light that indicates when the petrol is running low. I've yet to get low enough to test it so wondering if it actually has one Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hartage 0 Report post Posted August 20, 2004 Yep they have light in fuel guage as part of the E, gives about 5 liters to run. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Carl 3 Report post Posted August 20, 2004 Thanks Ian, handy to know, but should this light lite up with all the other dashboard lights when you turn the key to "On" position??? Has anyone tested how far they can get once the fuel light turns on...thinking about Top Gear and the fuel light game..."and if you win, your partner will have to fill the car up for you in the morning" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nath 134 Report post Posted August 20, 2004 That sux ryan- if twas a carbie the answer would be squirt petrol down it!..... not so with injectors. fuel light means 6 litres left, i dont think it goes on when key is on, but i could be wrong Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gus 5 Report post Posted August 20, 2004 no it doesnt go on when you turn key......it goes on when you run low on fuel just dont fill up....when you got light on you still got ages....i think i managed ~50-60K at least? i got an OBC though so i can exactly how much i got left....having said that my fuel light comes on and OBC says ~15L ish Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Andrew Report post Posted August 20, 2004 okay. so i had a flat battery and i ran out of fuel so i bought a petrol holder thing and got gas from the petrol station (yes it was the right fuel) put in ten bucks worth and now the car wont start its just making the sound it make when i ran out of gas and get a bit of a petrol smell in the cabin so does this mean that the fuel isnt getting to the engine so it cant start so does that mean the fuel pump is f**ked or fuel lines blocked help!!! i want my baby going again (p.s when it did fire up it sounded like a rotory and when u got your foot flat down on the acellerator it goes real slow like 5kms and doesnt get faster and if u release the accelerator the enigne cuts out dude that sounds more like ignition to me... you could always test the fuel pump. Have a fire extinguisher handy - leave the battery connected so you don't make any sparks while pulling it on and off. Disconnect the fuel return line after the pressure regulator which is after the fuel rail - front of the engine. Hook something up to where you disconnected.. a bit of hose worked nicely for us. Whip off the fuel relay (near the air filter under a cover) and get setup to jump the connectors 87b and 30 (the numbers are written on the relay) - that will run the fuel pump. (You don't need the keys on) Once you have all that setup run the fuel pump for 30 sec.. and according to the manual it says 875ml of fuel should be expelled.. good luck.. don't blow yourself up - that pic is taken on a pre-facelift m20 b20 so yours should look the same. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
petone 0 Report post Posted August 20, 2004 You can easily get 50k when the fuel light comes on. I was wondering if they had a light for a while as well, the needle has to go past the E. Ryan, it sound fuel related to me. after a lot of rain my car used to run real bad, spluttering etc, it would take ages to start and sometimes when i changed gear the engine would just die, even on full throtlle to try and revive it. I sprayed electrical contact clean on the dizzy and other ignition related stuff and it hasn't done it since. Anyway thats what ignition problem is like. Seeing as your car responds to the throttle, makes me think its fuel. Also what carl said makes good sense. Fuel filter is easy enough to change, not too expensive either. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
martyyn 2 Report post Posted August 20, 2004 I have no experience whatsoever with the e30's so push me back into the corner if necessary but I had this with my old e32 750. I put petrol in after running out (not a good thing in the v12) but it still wouldnt start. Turned out I needed a second filling from the petrol can because of the angle of the tank and that the car was on VERY slight slope, the petrol I put in originally wasnt enough to cover the lip on the hose going out from the tank. Does that make sense Having said that considering some of the gunk that gets left in a tank when you run out there is more than likely going to be some of that in the lines and filters etc so a good clean out is probably necessary aswell. Cheers Martyn Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bimmer boy 21 Report post Posted August 20, 2004 yea i would try that but too tecnical for me i'll get it towed to BMworkshop when my dad gives me some more money for a service Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
petone 0 Report post Posted August 20, 2004 Fair enough, when i did mine for the first time the car was on a hoist with decent lights and stuff so i could see exactly what i was doing. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Carl 3 Report post Posted August 20, 2004 Personally I think you gotta have a go at doing some things yourself, obviously within your limits, as you get a good deal of satisfaction and sense of achievement out of fixing your own problems. I know this ain't the right thread, but Mike, your sig reminds me of no. 5 "no. 5 is alive" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
petone 0 Report post Posted August 20, 2004 I know this ain't the right thread, but Mike, your sig reminds me of no. 5 "no. 5 is alive" I have no absolutly no clue what you're talking about Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bimmer boy 21 Report post Posted August 20, 2004 i dont either as for getting in there and fixing it myself i would love to if i knew how but i think i should leave it to someone whos knows wat they are doing rather than me who doesnt know a fing wat to do Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gus 5 Report post Posted August 20, 2004 dude youve only put 10 bucks in....possible problem? and let this be a lesson that RUNNING OUT OF FUEL IS BAD if you cant afford to fill up dont drive it...simple. Your fuel pump is likely to cavitate and burn out...ask dave and ollie how annoying that is. try putting more petrol in than 10 bucks...thats not very much...fill the tank if you can and maybe add some injector cleaner (basically thin fuel) then attach to a running car and crank that sh*t.....im pretty sure it will work Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bimmer boy 21 Report post Posted August 20, 2004 how much would it cost if the fuel pump is burnt out? and what do u mean when you say "fill the tank if you can and maybe add some injector cleaner (basically thin fuel) then attach to a running car and crank that sh*t.....im pretty sure it will work " do you mean like jump start it? maybe it is a clogged filter? i will have to take it to a work shop Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gus 5 Report post Posted August 20, 2004 dont do workshop! easy steps for ryan 1. take one green e3o 2. fill the petrol tank (with containers if it doesnt move) 3. go to repco, buy $10 bottle of injector cleaner 4. add to fuel tank 5. get another car running near yours 6. attach jumper leads to your battery (the proper terminals) 7. try and start your car EASY! if that doesnt work there could be another problem but i think that will solve it. a new fuel filter is somewhere round $50 from bmw Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bimmer boy 21 Report post Posted August 20, 2004 hahaha thats buddy why do i hav to attach the battery things? wow only $50 i was expecting like $400 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bimmer boy 21 Report post Posted August 20, 2004 wat about wat everyone else is saying about the fuel filter . do you fink it would b wise to get that changed aswell? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites