e30 dying while driving

[tarrbaby 0]

Firstly...Hello. I have recently bought my first e30 and as soon as weather is good and i have time i will take some pics and post them up.

Secondly..my problem. its a 87 325 with 115000miles. the whole car is in near new condition hence why i dont know what the problem could be.

When driving it will occasionally loose all power and te car will die. If you put the clutch in the engine will completly stop. if you crash start it, it will start again but then die straight away. it did this a couple of times and then with an almighty back fire it was back to normal again.

however, yesterday it did it and wouldnt start again. i pulled over and wound it over. it was winding no problems but didnt seam to be sparking. after a couple of minutes it sparked back into life but a couple of hundred metres later it the same. after a while i eventually got it back home and took another car.

it smells stronlgy of fuel at idle and wondering if its running to rich causing problems. its juts had a new fuel pump put in by old owner.

I pulled the vacuum line off the FPR and it was dry. also when i started it this morning no problems idling what so ever.

thinking, faulty coil,plugs,ecu?? not too sure. any ideas or help would be appreciated.

cheers,

ANdrew

[*Glenn* 854]

The AFM (air flow meter ) may be jamming wide open

Please edit your profile (location) so we can help you

Edited January 19, 2010 by *Glenn*

[tarrbaby 0]

cheers Glen,

will pull the AFM off and have a look and also give it a decent clean. hopefully helps with the issue.

[Silver Fox 43]

Sounds to me like fuel issue, maybe relay or pump.

Shouldn't be too hard to diagnose with the car in front of you tho, get a garage to have a look.

[tarrbaby 0]

alright, cleaned up afm plug pins, fuel pump pins and other plug (unsure what it is) underneath the inlet plenum.

got the car started again it was sweet for all of about 2mins then died. now it doesnt start at all.

winds over no problem. has fuel getting to the rail. so im thinking its something in the ignition system.

when coils pack themselves is it an intermittant thing or do they just go as thats my next guess. (imm used to coil on plugs and ignitor packs)

turn the key to on and im not getting any voltage across the coil and when you crank it over you still dont get any voltage.

[hotwire 352]

alright, cleaned up afm plug pins, fuel pump pins and other plug (unsure what it is) underneath the inlet plenum.

got the car started again it was sweet for all of about 2mins then died. now it doesnt start at all.

winds over no problem. has fuel getting to the rail. so im thinking its something in the ignition system.

when coils pack themselves is it an intermittant thing or do they just go as thats my next guess. (imm used to coil on plugs and ignitor packs)

turn the key to on and im not getting any voltage across the coil and when you crank it over you still dont get any voltage.

Are you getting voltage TO the coil - inc when cranking?

Doubt very much it will be a coil problem.

Have you actually checked for spark? Pull coil lead off, hold near earth while cranking - spark?

If so, recheck at plug lead

[BM WORLD 1283]

have you check the crank sensors on the side of the gearbox bell housing in the pre face lift 325i .

the plugs get broken etc .

also can be dry joints in the ecu .

check for spark when it dies

[euroitalian 62]

Engine management temp sensor can cause this type of issue. It is the blue/green one in the thermostat housing. It should have around 2.9K ohm resistance when cold, and this resistance should fall as temp rises.

[tarrbaby 0]

have just pulled out all the plugs and they were all fueld up. gave them a clean and then put them back and it started straight away. left it idling and after about 20seconds it died. pulled the plugs back out and again they were fouled with fuel.

checked the plugs for the crank sensor and they were in good condition. cleaned up the connections aswell.

now it wont start again, just keeps winding over. does this sound like a crank sensor is faulty?

[BM WORLD 1283]

check the fuel pressure regulator. check there is no fuel coming out of the vac hose thats connected to it .

[tarrbaby 0]

the vacuum line is dry. pulled out both crank sensors. the top one was quite dirty so gave it a clean but still nothing.

pulled the plugs out again and now they arent sparking

[BM WORLD 1283]

the vacuum line is dry. pulled out both crank sensors. the top one was quite dirty so gave it a clean but still nothing.

pulled the plugs out again and now they arent sparking

have you checked the dizzy cap and rotor???

if they are worn or cracked you wont get any or good spark.

also check/replace main 2 relays ,

you could try another ecu if all else fails to get it going.

[tarrbaby 0]

have you checked the dizzy cap and rotor???

if they are worn or cracked you wont get any or good spark.

just came upstairs to post and see that you replied with this

pulled the dizzy cap off and sure enough all the points were dirty as hell and some were chipped aswell. the points all looked like some one has previously tried to clean them with a screw driver, I decided to try clean them up anyway as i had nothing to lose. the rotor looks all good so gave it a good clean and put it back in.

put it back together and still no spark but after seeing the cap theres a fair chance thats my issue.

will try track a new one down tomorrow. anyone know if supercheap stocks them?

thanks for everyones help so far. been reading all the overseas forums aswell trying to find a solution and so far its all just repeats of what everyone is telling me here

[tarrbaby 0]

ok, im lost again. replaced dizzy cap ($$$) and both main relays.

not getting any spark now so is there anything else it could be other than ecu now?

[antil33t 90]

ok, im lost again. replaced dizzy cap ($$$) and both main relays.

not getting any spark now so is there anything else it could be other than ecu now?

Did you do the rotor too?

[tarrbaby 0]

nah i didnt do the rotor as it looked in really good cond.

[euroitalian 62]

Do you have any spark at the coil? If so, follow the ign system through to the point where it disappears (spark plugs do not like being drowned). If not, you will probably need to look at the crank sensor or ECU.

[tarrbaby 0]

Do you have any spark at the coil? If so, follow the ign system through to the point where it disappears (spark plugs do not like being drowned). If not, you will probably need to look at the crank sensor or ECU.

yeah i just checked the coil again about an hour ago and it didnt have spark any more. I did some more research and the only thing i could think of was the ECU so i decided to pull it out.

The ecu was in good nick but did look a little dry in some places. I gave it a decent clean with electronic cleaner and put it back together. Plugged it in and what do you, with a bit of a splutter the car started. Just about to take it for a drive now to make sure its all good and then will take some photos and post in the new members section

like to say a big thank-you to everyone that has helped with ideas and input. its great to join a new community and feel welcome right away.

[Carl 3]

Someone has to explain what this DRY means in reference to electrical components, in particular, the ECU.

Are you referring to the soldering of the PCB components? The ECU should be dry as electrics don't like being wet.

I read a lot that it's the ECU's fault for issues but have never personally seen it, usually it's a relay/wiring/sensor that's at fault, and people have spent lots on a new ECU only to find that wasn't the problem - it's an easy test though, just swap in someone elses matching ECU and try it.

E: Have a read of the article in this thread as it pertains to tracking down starting issues which seems relevant. Explains how to check where the issue really is. 

Edited January 27, 2010 by pando

[antil33t 90]

All about dry joints

[hotwire 352]

yeah i just checked the coil again about an hour ago and it didnt have spark any more. I did some more research and the only thing i could think of was the ECU so i decided to pull it out.

The ecu was in good nick but did look a little dry in some places. I gave it a decent clean with electronic cleaner and put it back together. Plugged it in and what do you, with a bit of a splutter the car started. Just about to take it for a drive now to make sure its all good and then will take some photos and post in the new members section

like to say a big thank-you to everyone that has helped with ideas and input. its great to join a new community and feel welcome right away.

With what youv'e done - Im not very optomistic that you have cured the problem. A dry joint is a dry joint & will not fix without resoldering - assumming infact that is the problem.

If plugs are wet - it's either overfueling or lacking spark & variables for each.