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My 1987 325e E30 will only start when it wants to... Please help...



 
 
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  #1  
Old February 1st 05, 05:32 PM
Chutluck
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Default My 1987 325e E30 will only start when it wants to... Please help...

Gentlemen (Sorry.. Not sure if there were any lady pro's who
participate ;-)



I just got a 1987 325e E30 that seems to start only when it wants to.
Can someone please direct me to the right direction? It's driving me
crazy.

Here is the situation:

I get in, in the morning, put the key in, turn it over and it starts.
Next a few times (a few, maybe any number within the same day) it
starts with no problems. When I get in the next time, it will turn on
forever, but will not start. In this case, I have two choices.

A. Leave it alone for a few hours and check back to see if
it's done throwing a fit.

B. Attach a piece of wire to the negative end of the coil
and touch it to the ground until it sparks while the engine is turning
over. (May take a few tries)



I put a new wire set, new plugs, and new rotor. It drives excellent
(When it does). But it won't start everytime...

I tried a different ECU, which did not make any difference. L



The only other thing worth mentioning is that driver side lock does not
operate properly.

When I turn it to the right one time, it will lock the driver door.
When I turn it horizontal, it locks all the doors and trunk at the same
time. So far so good, but when I unlock the driver door. It will only
unlock the driver door and nothing else. Also trunk will lock/unlock
both trunk and passenger side only (Not the driver side).
Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Ads
  #2  
Old February 1st 05, 05:48 PM
John Burns
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Default

Chutluck wrote:
>
> Gentlemen (Sorry.. Not sure if there were any lady pro's who
> participate ;-)
>
> I just got a 1987 325e E30 that seems to start only when it wants to.
> Can someone please direct me to the right direction? It's driving me
> crazy.
>
> Here is the situation:
>
> I get in, in the morning, put the key in, turn it over and it starts.
> Next a few times (a few, maybe any number within the same day) it
> starts with no problems. When I get in the next time, it will turn on
> forever, but will not start. In this case, I have two choices.
>
> A. Leave it alone for a few hours and check back to see if
> it's done throwing a fit.


I'd try new fuel pump and Motronic relays. Often a good tap on the relay
will temporarily cure it. They live under the black plastic strip in
front of the windscreen.

--
Who needs a life when you've got Unix? :-)
Email: , John G.Burns B.Eng, Bonny Scotland
Web :
http://www.unixnerd.demon.co.uk - The Ultimate BMW Homepage!
Need Sun or HP Unix kit? http://www.unixnerd.demon.co.uk/unix.html
  #3  
Old February 1st 05, 11:39 PM
Al
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Default

> I get in, in the morning, put the key in, turn it over and it starts.
> Next a few times (a few, maybe any number within the same day) it
> starts with no problems. When I get in the next time, it will turn on
> forever, but will not start.


Fuel pump? Do you hear it go 'whirr clunk' when you first turn the ignition
on?

> I put a new wire set, new plugs, and new rotor. It drives excellent
> (When it does). But it won't start everytime...
> I tried a different ECU, which did not make any difference.


Sounds like it's fuel related then.

Al.
  #4  
Old February 2nd 05, 05:55 AM
Michael Low
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It does sound fuel related but would anyone else suggest trying a new
fuel filter first?

BTW, the 1987 E30 had 2 pumps in its fuel system, a transfer pump in
the tank plus a main pump under the left rear of the car. In the
'84-'87 E30s, fuel pump problems usually happen to the main pump and
not the transfer pump - which is good news because the main pump is
cheaper and much easier to replace.

When the main pump starts to fail you will hear a medium frequency buzz
come from under the left rear of the car when you step out on the left
side.

  #5  
Old February 2nd 05, 04:12 PM
Chutluck
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I truly appreciate all the suggestions. No I don't hear any sound at
all and yes I replaced the fuel filter (it was full of fuel). Also if I
it doesn't start for a few minutes, I can kinda smell the gas in the
engine compartment. This led me to believe that the gas is getting
there. Could it be related to crank case sensor or some kind of sensor,
that takes part of starting process??

  #6  
Old February 3rd 05, 02:19 AM
Michael Low
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Well, in that case, maybe the problem is still possibly in the ignition
system.

Did you check the distributor cap for cracks and worn contacts/centre
brush? Maybe you should wait till the car acts up again and then pop
the hood and start tracing back the problem from each system involved -
spark, fuel and air. I suppose the battery is healthy? After the car
has sat for a while, do a quick open-circuit check of the battery.
First remove the surface charge in the battery. Then disconnect the
negative ground cable and test with a digital voltmeter - don't use an
analog meter, I believe it draws too much current to be accurate.
Battery should read 12.4V or better. If your battery is low have it
recharged with a proper battery charger - the car's alternator won't
necessarily do it because it is not designed to recharge a deeply
discharged battery. A battery at 12V may not recharge at all.

 




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