318i just quit running randomly

Well here's yet another thread about my 318i that I just snagged. r3vlimited and e30tech have a questionable signal to noise ratio so I figured I'd ask all of you distinguished automotively inclined chaps.

She was running beautifully all day. Just an hour ago I decided to start tracking down a water leak I have that's getting into my rear driver's side foot well. To do this I drove the car on ramps. I noticed that as I was riding up the ramps there was a very light, high pitched, howling noise (although very quiet). Kind of like an eeeeeeEEEeeEEeeeEEeEeeee. Possible fuel pump?

Anyhow. I ended up fixing my sunroof drains (bonus!), and while I was down there I noticed that the AC compressor bracket was broken, so I decided to snip off the AC compressor belt. Job done, go to start the car to drive it off the ramps.

Well, it wouldn't start.

I figured fuel starvation? But my gas meter is right at the halfway point. My speedometer and SI board don't work anyway though so I have no idea if the gas meter works.

I pushed the car off the ramps and tried again. No luck. Still the high pitched noise.

I decided to go get some gas from the shed. It's one of those brilliant new safety gas tanks that saves me and the earth from the toxic gasoline. It also saves me from being able to pour it with any kind of accuracy. On top of that it saves my gas tank from being filled with gasoline because it can't articulate the safety flap in the filler neck. Luckily, it finally demonstrated it's undeniable safety by delivering gas to all over the side of my car, my pant leg, and the driveway.

I ended up transferring the gas to another can, and used the old unsafe, environmentally unaware gas can to spill not a single drop while effectively delivering the gasoline to the tank.

Car still wont start. If I whack the throttle wide open and crank it will start but it will miss and stumble and as soon as I take my foot off the throttle it will die.

Battery voltage is 11.5v with the car off. Battery light turns off when the car is above cranking speed. I tried 'flashing' accessories with the key to prime the pump. It seems the howling has subsided.

Anyone want a free gas can?

I just put another 1.5 gallons in the car and no dice. Also, the howling was the auto antenna.

Is it possible that removing the AC belt did this? I am totally puzzled if this is the case.

Which 318, E30? Take this worth a grain of salt, as I've never so much as driven an E30, but I know the coolant temp sensor is a big issue on these. Give it a wiggle, see what happens.

I can't help you with your engine problem, but I thoroughly understand your thoughts about the newer "safety" gas cans. I ran out of gas a few years ago (I have a very bad habit of filling the tank then driving until I'm on fumes) and had to buy one of those stupid gas cans. I am sure they must be made in a country that does NOT have cars that must run on unleaded gas as otherwise the fuel filler neck(?) wouldn't be so poorly designed as to only put fuel ON your car instead of in it.

Speaking of which....do we still need "restricted" filler necks on vehicles in this country? I mean, is there any fuel pump still in existence in this country that is able to dispense leaded fuel? And if folks still put diesel in gasoline powered cars (I passed a "fleet", diesel powered BMW 3 series this past week with no fewer than 5 signs on it DIESEL FUEL ONLY) why do we still need those tiny filler necks?

Yep it's an e30. I'll check that.

I should note that before this happened, if you let it drop to idle from about 2k it would bounce up and down what seemed like indefinitely. If you slowly let idle down it would idle just fine.

Had the car sat for a while? You could check for a plugged fuel filter, but it sounds like you'll be better off just going ahead and replacing your dead fuel pump. I remember last summer at an autocross at Crooker, a friend's E30 had a fuel pump just up and die in a similar manner.

Check the fuel pump.

No, I had driven it around the neighborhood probably ten times over the last couple days and once today. Put it on the ramps, snipped the belt, then it stopped running altogether.

Also the howling was not the fuel pump, it was the power antenna. Fuel pump sounds totally healthy and normal.

Also Josh, do you still have my number? Long time no see. Text me your number if you do.

i know it sounds stupid, but if you are only getting 11.5 volts, you have an electrical problem. you should be at 12.5 or better at all times. check the battery connections, then check the battery cable where it passes through the rear seat bulkhead to the passenger cabin for any abrasions. low voltage will stop an e30 in its tracks. and the long trunk to engine bay cable in an e30 is prone to problems at 20 years old plus!

A couple common causes for a no start condition are either the main relay or the fuel pump relay going bad. They can be intermittent as well. They should be on the side of the fuse box, although I'm not sure of the exact position on a 318i...the location may be different than on a 325i.

If you haven't bought one yet, get a Bentley repair manual - every e30 owner should have one.

Taiden wrote: No, I had driven it around the neighborhood probably ten times over the last couple days and once today.

I meant had it sat for a while before you bought it. I'm not saying it's likely, but it's possible if it sat for a while before you picked it up that the last few days of driving it around, probably on the old gas, has agitated all the rust, dirt, and gunk that had settled in the tank while it was sitting, and plugged up the fuel pump. In any case, I think I'd want to replace the fuel filter sooner rather than later in a car that had gone unused for an undetermined amount of time before purchase.

Plenty of things for me to tinker with on Memorial Day. Thanks guys, I'll keep you all updated.

Well, this is interesting. I just went outside to check a few things.

First off, there is negligible current draw across the battery ground with the key out of the car. Good.

Second, I pulled all the plugs and checked them. Black with signs of fuel. This is what I expected, and I like it when things go as expected.

I cleaned up the plugs and gapped them to the larger side of OEM specs and put them back in.

Car started right up without any fuss and proceeded to run terrible like before.

It's running like it's only got a couple cylinders firing, but it would hold an idle.

I was walking around the car trying to figure out what was going on, listening to the operation of the engine for any clues. No clues to my ears, wish I had a second opinion... and then all of a sudden I noticed I was standing in a cloud of smoke that smelled like a LOT of gas.

?????????????

How does one experience a catastrophic failure by putting their car up on ramps? Or maybe I'm totally missing something.

I'm not sure, but before you start the car again I'd be sure it was WELL away from being inside a building....especially a wooden building, and try to have a LARGE fire extinguisher on hand or several buckets of sand.

Only party related to this topic...

I was at harbor freight last week and saw that they carry the dumb safety gas cans... as well as the old school metal gerry cans for future reference.

Taiden wrote: Well, this is interesting. I just went outside to check a few things. First off, there is negligible current draw across the battery ground with the key out of the car. Good. Second, I pulled all the plugs and checked them. Black with signs of fuel. This is what I expected, and I like it when things go as expected. I cleaned up the plugs and gapped them to the larger side of OEM specs and put them back in. Car started right up without any fuss and proceeded to run terrible like before. It's running like it's only got a couple cylinders firing, but it would hold an idle. I was walking around the car trying to figure out what was going on, listening to the operation of the engine for any clues. No clues to my ears, wish I had a second opinion... and then all of a sudden I noticed I was standing in a cloud of smoke that smelled like a LOT of gas. ????????????? How does one experience a catastrophic failure by putting their car up on ramps? Or maybe I'm totally missing something.

Weird, these were exactly the symptoms I experienced when I cleaned the carb on my lawnmower and accidentally swapped the linkages for the choke and the throttle when I put it back together. I'm positive this information doesn't help you, but it made me chuckle.

Alright, a little more testing today...

With voltage across the BMW's battery at 13.4 volts (jump start) there was no difference.

I removed all the plugs to all the coolant related senders (about thirty five in total) on the thermostat. Previous owner put di-electric grease on all harness plugs. Nice! Wiggled them around for good measure anyway. This changed nothing.

Pulled the cap off and inspected all the wires. Plug wires look hardly used and the rotor doesn't show any catastrophic wear.

I don't know where my check engine light is, but supposedly the 1.1 Motronic ECUs automatically flash the CEL with the key on accessories to give codes. I saw nothing.

I'd like to once again stress that the car was running amazing, rolled it up onto some ramps, and now it's running pig rich and like it's missing a lot. It's totally undriveable. All I did was pour water down my sunroof drains and cut the AC belt.

I'm very tempted to go get another belt and put it back on... wouldn't it be weird if it started again?

Oh actually I just thought of something. When I turn the key on I can hear the cruise control motor doing some bizarre things.

You've probably checked this already, but, are you sure you haven't bought an old Jaguar?

To get your codes, turn key to on position (not started), and pump the accelerator pedal 5 times - then you can start counting flashes

oldtin wrote: To get your codes, turn key to on position (not started), and pump the accelerator pedal 5 times - then you can start counting flashes

Sadly my 85 318i is L-Jetronic, so this doesn't work for it. :(

I figured i'd do the rounds. so far compression is fine. 165 - 165 - 165 - 165 (cold at WOT, because I can't warm her up)

i'm about to do valve lash just because. Wish I had a 30mm socket.

I highly doubt it's anything mechanical since it didn't fail while running. It failed instantly between starts.

What about a vacuum leak? I know chasing those things down can be a PITA, but I'm still in favor of checking the cheap stuff first..maybe the thing about the ramps was just a coincidence.

god darmn it. I don't want to chase down vac leaks, especially since all the vac hoses on this car seem to be very BMW specific. I have a snap on vacuum gauge with hand pump. Is there an easy way to check for vac leaks with this doohicky? (I personally just use it to operate my vac/boost gauge while I make blow off valve noises)