Car Shuts Down fast and wont start!

[MoJoJoe 46]

Hey Guys, So today as I was dropping some one at the hospital on my way back my 328i just shut down on the highway!, I was able to restart it about 5 mins later and move fast into another little road on the side, and it died again!

I am not sure but I seem to recall this issue since I got the car last month. It only happened one and it was coming out of a corner, as soon as I came out the whole car boggled down and turned itself off. I at the time thought it was a lose vaccume hose going to the airbox and I fixed that and the problem seemed to go away. Now I have been driving the car fine up untill today.

On my way back from the hospital after speding off the motor way as soon as I slowed down to an uphill exit the car started to boggle and the speedo dropped and it just died! Started right back up and I was able to drive it a few hundread meters away before it happened again. Then it wont start again at all, it would just keep cranking and thats it. I waited some 30 mins and it did start and I was able to cover some distance on it, till it broke down right infront of a motel, where I sat for hours tryingto figure out what it was, checked the intake boot and hoses with the few tools I carry in the car but it just wont start up, keeps cranking. then I was eventually able to start it up again only to make it a few hundread kilometers till I stopped at the lights and it shut down! but started up again! and I was able to go a few hundread meters more before it shut down again and I took a corner and came to a stop in a lone road. came back with neighbour it started right up and I kept the thing running while in N and then D. we covered half about a 1KM before the cheap rope snapped and took off my number plate with it. I was able to restart the car and drive it for about a few hundread meters before again it stopped at the lights. restarted and drove and did the same thing again and stopped at another motel just about 2 km from up hill where I live.

I havent really had any chance to see it but I was going to go with some relays and see if it was the fuel relay, but something tells me its the crank position sensor, the 02 sensor or a bad intake boot, notice I also removed the snorkel from my intake so wondering if the extra air is causing it to leak and fail faster somehow.

I dont get it, it did a few hundread kilometer from Hamilton to far north! Just the other day I traveled hundread kilometers in this car, no problems what so ever, and I took it around the neighbourhood (few KM's) for a spin. all the water cooling system was done by the previous owner, I double checked it, he did a new radiator, water pump, tstat, fan clutch. I am thinking its the fuel pump, the fuel pump relay or crank sensor or something.

HELP ME PLEASE!!

Edited March 27, 2014 by MoJoJoe

[euroriffic 612]

That sucks dude! Best bet would be to take it somewhere to get it scanned and see what the issue is. Could be anything from fuel pump, relay, ews, crank pos sensor, dirty fuel who knows. No point throwing parts at it on a hunch

[MoJoJoe 46]

but it wont run more than 5 or 10 mins. and the nearest shop is many kilometers away. whats used to scan it? does anybody here have a scanner I can borrow I will cover the shipping and back. I remember the day after I bought it from hamilton I took it for a ride around the moutains and on my way back I ran into this problem, but it corrected itself. I dont get it. I would hate it to be dirty fuel, I have been trying this stuff since last week. 95 BP. I wonder if its something electronic, its cutting the engine after a while I guess if the engine is idling low or sitting specially at parking or stop lights.

Edited March 27, 2014 by MoJoJoe

[Eagle 1680]

Im surprised you dont have a scanner, get your priorities right lol.

[MoJoJoe 46]

Does the scanner look like some big computer machine or something small that plugs into the reset engine pakman thing? Where do you buy one and how much are they or do you have one I could borrow to pull the codes? never had any problems with my other bmw. this sems to be filled with electronic issues.

and right after it fails, it also refuses to restart, it will keep cranking the engine and never start, unless I wait for like another 10 mins. I am afraid to go pick it up from the motel myself, as I live uphill and if it stops, I will be a world of trouble.

anybody got a scanner I may borrow please or idea whats going on?

Edited March 27, 2014 by MoJoJoe

[RvT 9]

Hi

Love to help but you don't help yourself with your side bar profile saying 'Location .... & car : Racecar !!!' While it may seem funny to yourself, it doesn't tell me what model car you have and age and if you are in Invercargil or Tim buc 2 ... as if you were local, you could borrow my scanner.

Depending which model / series BMW you have, it could be a crank case sensor that when they are hot goes open circuit and when cooled down, the car restarts but this is just a guess from what I read on the www.

Cheers

Ron

[Phil-540i 166]

Its a 3 series thing dude - stops it getting up to frantic speeds & thus it won't get parked in a ditch like the last one................

Have we done any checks on it whilst its in its 'won't start, lets wait 10minutes mode'............???

[Eagle 1680]

A BMW 1.4.0 scanner with a 20-pin adapter(if you got OBD1) will do most things you'd require. Should be able to get one off ebay etc quickly

[hotwire 352]

With respect, you obviously have no idea where to start in diagnosing this, so best you either get it to or retrieved by someone that is able to fix it.

Adding to, unless you know & understand engine management systems - a scanner to those uninitiated can also be a can of worms.

[MoJoJoe 46]

Hi

Love to help but you don't help yourself with your side bar profile saying 'Location .... & car : Racecar !!!' While it may seem funny to yourself, it doesn't tell me what model car you have and age and if you are in Invercargil or Tim buc 2 ... as if you were local, you could borrow my scanner.

Depending which model / series BMW you have, it could be a crank case sensor that when they are hot goes open circuit and when cooled down, the car restarts but this is just a guess from what I read on the www.

Cheers

Ron

Hello, Yes it was funny at the time, sorry I see what you mean. I am in Whangarei. I own a 328i and soon a 5 series DD (540i). If you would be willing I can cover the shipping to have your scanner sent down to me.

I have also updated my original post with the whole ordeal I have been going through the day. The insurence for my other car unlike previous AA wont cover this, so I dont want to call out somebody else to tow me back 2 KM to my home. I am thinking to go try it with a neighbour again with better tow rope and by putting the car on N and engine OFF. hopefully we can tow it back to my home and then I can play mechanic.

Its a 3 series thing dude - stops it getting up to frantic speeds & thus it won't get parked in a ditch like the last one................

Have we done any checks on it whilst its in its 'won't start, lets wait 10minutes mode'............???

Raed my first post again, I updated it. I checked some basic stuff while it was doing it but norhing serious. Too much pressure.

A BMW 1.4.0 scanner with a 20-pin adapter(if you got OBD1) will do most things you'd require. Should be able to get one off ebay etc quickly

thanks I guess, do you have one by chance? I dont want the car sitting in my lawn till the ebay stuff comes in the usual 15 - 30days.

PS: did the previous owner mention anything like this? or did you feel any thing like it while you had it or took it for a drive. finding it real strange, my other cars never had such a problem. I had a bad headgasket in a car but that thing was due to a water pump and would show symptoms when it got warm and then it would overheat. This thing never overheated and for some reason just dies and even refused to start up. Weird since this was a issue I got when driving it the first day I got it, I texted you, remember? but then I thought the lose hose caused it. these stupid little problems really sucks. I was about to go get my exhaust done today.

With respect, you obviously have no idea where to start in diagnosing this, so best you either get it to or retrieved by someone that is able to fix it.

Adding to, unless you know & understand engine management systems - a scanner to those uninitiated can also be a can of worms.

I understand, I may not be well versed with engine management but I am pretty good with cars and mechanically/electronically inclined, I havent done any serious engine work but I am sure I could figure it out once I get it back to my house. I could use the tool to look up the codes its throwing and then google them I guess, It will probably be some little sensor or the fuel system. I dont think I am ready to go pay hundreads to the local shops to check that for me if I can do it myself over a weekend. If we just eliminate the impossible and you guys tell me whats the more common culprit for this issue on these cars then I am sure it would help a lot in my adventure.

Edited March 27, 2014 by MoJoJoe

[hotwire 352]

Go for it, I'll grab some popcorn....

[MoJoJoe 46]

......

[MoJoJoe 46]

My father had a stroke few days ago so I and the neighbours had to call the ambulence and then go find the ambulence going around circles in our rural neighbourhood for over an hour. everything has been going downhill since then. I was on my way back from the hospital and to the shop to get some work done on the car while this happend.

Tomorrow I will see if the car starts up, if it does I will try to rush it back home, will take the neighbours truck, if it fails we will shut the engine down, and put it on N as we tow it up hill and I steer. wish me your best. Thanks for offering your scanner . I much appreciate it, I will write back whan I get the car back home tomorrow. I also finally joined a US forum(bimmerfest) to see if I can get some more help there as some threads with similar issues as mine seem to have collected there..

Edited March 27, 2014 by MoJoJoe

[Eagle 1680]

PS: did the previous owner mention anything like this? or did you feel any thing like it while you had it or took it for a drive. finding it real strange, my other cars never had such a problem. I had a bad headgasket in a car but that thing was due to a water pump and would show symptoms when it got warm and then it would overheat. This thing never overheated and for some reason just dies and even refused to start up. Weird since this was a issue I got when driving it the first day I got it, I texted you, remember? but then I thought the lose hose caused it. these stupid little problems really sucks. I was about to go get my exhaust done today.

As i said the car 100% the 3x short times i drove it, you've had it for awhile now and issues like this can develop anytime. Not sure what overheating etc has to do with anything.

I replaced mates E36 cam sensor a couple of years ago which was showing the same symptoms as yours, once it was scanned the problem was able to pinpointed.

[*Glenn* 855]

Go for it, I'll grab some popcorn....

I'll join you Grant

[yng_750 247]

It sounds similar to crank or cam sensors. In fairness if you let the thing get absolutly dead cold you will prob get a decent drive out of it and get home. Personally i would google how to test the cam and crank sensors with a multimeter. Do this cold and record tge resistances. Then drive or idle till it stops and retest if the circuits with resistances become open you have found the issue.

Sent from my GT-I8160L using Tapatalk 2

[BM WORLD 1286]

my guess fuel pump dying , gets hot and dies ,

maybe the fuel tank been run on empty to many times

burns out the pump when sucking air etc.

but a few simple tests will determain that , when its not running

[nath 134]

There's only so far that people are willing to crystal ball- gaze on this one, they've offered initial suggestions now it's up to you.

Buy a scanner on ebay/ trademe, or get a mechanic to visit you. You'll get what you pay for, and that includes not having to mess around asking people 200km away to send you a scanner they own, wasted time, time without car etc.

[hybrid 1044]

also BMW scanner wont work with e36s

[MoJoJoe 46]

Thanks eveyone, I am just trying to get the usual suspects and possibilities then I will just go test them one by one if they are working or not and hopefully single out the problem. I have a millimeter and basic electronics know how. So far I am checking the Oil Pump, Cam Position Sensor, Crank Sensor, Vaccume leaks on the Intake Boot, Oil seperator, MAF & Oil Pump Relays? If anybody got anything to throw at my checklist.

Yes the first time it happened the tank was 1/2 full. Then I did let the tank go low till the light came because I wanted to use BP 95. Ran fine and I just took another tank yesterday and this happened.

also BMW scanner wont work with e36s

So the BMW Scanner wont work on my E36 OBDII/328i? So how do you scan it and check for codes, I mean didn't Eagle just say he "scanned" his friends one?

There's only so far that people are willing to crystal ball- gaze on this one, they've offered initial suggestions now it's up to you.

Buy a scanner on ebay/ trademe, or get a mechanic to visit you. You'll get what you pay for, and that includes not having to mess around asking people 200km away to send you a scanner they own, wasted time, time without car etc.

if this is a common issue then I just want the common culprits then I can start working. thats all I am asking here. if there is anyone willing to lend me their scanner that may help in my endovour (instead of waiting a month for it to arrive from ebay) then I would be very happy aswell. and I am glad some have come forwards. I dont see how old men monkeying around on the fence or leaving toolish popcorn remarks help my situation (i am not talking about you). Nor do I see how calling out a mac here will do anything but waste my time pay him by the hour to try and test stuff I can probably check myself at home if you would link me to some DIY's. Last garage that I went to guy was a master mac and went through uni for 10 year and still didnt know how to remove my clutch fan.

Edited March 28, 2014 by MoJoJoe

[MoJoJoe 46]

okay, so I changed the fuel pump relay and the one next to it. the one of the legs seemed a bit burned, then I unplugged the maf sensor and drove it back about 2 km, half of it uphil. ran a bit jerkey and rough but thats due to the maf I guess. so now its sitting in my lawn, waiting testing of the parts one by one.

can anyone suggest some spots for vaccume leaks? I am thinking the intake boot and the vac hose leading from it. what else.

[RipJaws 3]

well done mate. In my experiences you can't rely on BMW mechanics. I found it best to consult these forums, get a bit of a direction/consult google and everything goes far smoother than wasting time and money paying for work that never gets done on a 'mechanic'. Main thing is not to let it get the best of you, there is a solution so don't stress. Best of luck

[MoJoJoe 46]

well done mate. In my experiences you can't rely on BMW mechanics. I found it best to consult these forums, get a bit of a direction/consult google and everything goes far smoother than wasting time and money paying for work that never gets done on a 'mechanic'. Main thing is not to let it get the best of you, there is a solution so don't stress. Best of luck

thanks, thats exactly what i meant to say. Most of the times you cant rely on most mechanics to know your exact problem, many years ago I took a car to a father son family owned shop in auckland to fix the spodometer playing up, after nearly $1000 and 7 days he still couldnt fix it and he justified his "service" by replacing some spark plugs. I rather google and consult the forums as you said and go by trial and error route and see what is the failing component. Then i will try replcing those and run a scanner at the end. I am sure I can figure out most of the stuff myself. Just need some good read ups. If possible please link me to some to test the sensors and fuel pump. I am checking for vaccume leaks now. It will take me time but I know I will figure it out and it will be something silly. Will post back and let you all know how things go and any updates. thanks

Edited March 28, 2014 by MoJoJoe

[*Glenn* 855]

also BMW scanner wont work with e36s

Why ?? Our 3 scanners do

Edited March 28, 2014 by *Glenn*

[MoJoJoe 46]

Update and some pictures

I have run the Oil Separator Blockage Test

I took a piece of paper, and opened the engine oil fill cap while the engine was running and then, i saw there was vacuum and the paper was kind of being sucked on. So hopefully that is good. I also removed the fuel pump relay trying to replicate the problem while the engine was running, however and it stopped peacefully but not like how it stopped in the road, as if it was choking.

Intake boot - Fine no Rips or Cracks

There doesn't seem to me any cracks or anything like that on my intake boot after the maf, I took off everything up to the throttle, there seems to be some black oil like dry wet stuff in the manifold. Everything leading from the air box seems to be fine.

Manifold Bad Seal?

However I found what could be a vacuum leak? See the manifolds red gasket rubber seal is coming out as if its torn? I guess I can now do that m50 manifold swap with the eric kit I got. Could anybody tell me where else should I be looking for vacuum leaks?

Camshaft Position Sensor

I removed the Cam shaft Position sensor that's right next to the vanos solenoid. and between the red and yellow (pin 1 and pin 2) I get a reading of 1.4K ~ 1.6Ohms but that drops to around 1.1 ~ 1.2. And between pin 2 and pin 3 I get nothing. Is that about right? Should I replace it?

Also noticed upon pealing the rubber boot on the connector, that the red, yellow and black pvc coating on the wires have actually flaked off apart. an the wires although coated with something seems to be touching one another? could this be an issue? the wires are kinda live and I can read if they are touched by my multimeter leds. Again Does it need to be replaced?



As for now I am not even thinking to check the Crank Position sensor since the car seems to crank and start up fine usually under 2 - 3 seconds of turning the key.

thinking of what else whould I be checking next guys, tomorrow morning. Some suggestion how to test the fuel pump? I kinda think it with some other things may be the issue of otherwise a very good looked after car.