E30 S50 obd1 NO START has FUEL HAS SPARK

[e30m20TurbO7]

Really stumped on this. I have a 1988 325
it has a built s50 motor, it has ran perfectly a while ago.
I was trying to figure out why my other e30 wasn’t starting Soo I had removed the ECU, and the MAF. To use to test on my other car
I then brought the ecu back and the car would turn on.
I tried starting it and it was misfiring from an unplugged IAC, the car then I took home and the next day I couldn’t get the car to start
it would try to start but would just fire here n there but wouldn’t stay running.
before it wouldn’t run at slll I would hold the throttle down and the car would try to run. But wouldn’t .
I am stumped because I basically have no clue why the car won’t turn on at all.
It cranks
it is getting fuel and is getting spark.
I’m not sure if the ecm has some sort of bad circuit
in fairly positive it’s getting fuel to the combustion chamber because the plugs get soaked with fuel when u crank it.
Soo I’ve tested the relays
checked the grounds
front of the engine / ground strap at block
im going to retest the ecm on my other car to rule that out.
whether I cooked the ecu.
Or not.
im thinking maybe I have a bad tps or iac but I would imagine it would run even if it didn’t have it plugged in
I’m not sure if they’re any other fuses I should check
a buddy was saying it could be the OBC
THE Car is a non 13 button OBC it has the clock. Style.
As of right now
there is spark
and I believe fuel going through the injectors
feelinf like I’m getting more fuel than I need maybe
brcsuse when I take the plugs out they’re wet
when I cranked it this morning after letting it sit over night it fired one little combustion maybe on one cylinder
I’ve tried different coils
Snd I’ve tested the resistance in the cps and it has 830 oms
not sure if that is to much.
it has a 450lph fuel pump

whatbwould make the car have fuel and spark but not start
anything I should check
Can a ecu make that happen if it has something fried in it
need some direction
I’ve checked resistance from engine to chassis and 0 is across the board
lmk if anyone has any advice
If I need to check my wiring again lmk I’m stuck

[e30m20TurbO7]

Has fuel and spark but Onky running off of number 6
only
I have spark when I remove a plug and a coil
but when unplugging each plug. Only the number 6 is firing

[ForcedFirebird]

What happened when you used the ECU in the other car? If the other car you tested the ECU in had a short, you might have blown the ignition or injector drivers. I have an ECU here that has a dead # 2 ignition driver - I just use it to test if the ECU is bad in other cars.

[e30m20TurbO7]

Okays ok so I took the ecu from other car
and basically cars doing the same thing
it’s getting fuel and spark
but only spark plug number 6 is firing when the coils are in the head
what could cause the coils to only be igniting one coil
I’m loosing my mind I’ll pay someone to help me
ir if someone is in so cal I will take it to a shop
I’ve been stuck on this for weeks and don’t know what to try at this point.
mysterious as f%#k I hate this f$cking car rn spend all this money on a turbo set up
it ran perfectly then one day decided to just be a pos

oekase help ANYONE PLEASE
3102996047
Name your price

[moatilliatta]

Try new genuine crank sensor then cam sensor.

[ForcedFirebird]

Dang. I had a car like this once. We could never figure it out, the client gave up, sold the e36m3 for like $2k, turned that and bought an authentic e30m3 for $10k. Two years later, the same VIN shows up on the e36, and it's running, yet only the actual chassis remained.

I wish you the best, but unfortunately, we can only do so much as a forum based on description and results.

[e30m20TurbO7]

So tried a known working cps sensor. And I used a known working ECU.
quite odd it fires on one cylinder .’_#6
which happens to be closest to fuel line
that end of the fuel rail is closest to the entry for fuel.
Things I’ve tried
different ECM’s
teo different CPS SENSORS
Ive tried usiing a different injector on number 6 cylinder
I’ve checked under the fuel injector / coil pack plastic cover to look for any broken wires or burn out resistors.
I’ve checked the fuel pump I think it’s priming the fuel pump when starting in accessory positions will do 🫡 iiî
When I have had the most success of getting it to fire on multiple cylinders
I had removed each spark plug as they were soaked with fuel and the tips were black.
Soo when I took them out and wiped them off completely I got it to. Fire when I have the pedal slightly pressed to give it air
it wanted to start for one crank rotation
then after that It would only fire one cylinder on every other rotation m.

[e30m20TurbO7]

I’ve checked the injectors to see if they’re firing
in my honest opinion it seems like I’m flooding the engine
snd I’ve checked my. Grounds
distribution block
msin engine chassis.
front of the head ground wire
The caRS cel is illuminate
one of my mechanic friends think it’s the OBC
Thus Car us a factory SETa Sith a clock not a 13bttoon
He claims there is s BLACK OBC box under the kickppanel which I can’t seem to locate
he says he’s had Ann e3@ come in shrug sparks n fuel but this OBC wouldn’t allow the engine to idle or run.
im about to fucken give up on this thing as I’ve been chasing my tail.
ICV hums
the card 02 sensor is not plugged in
the intake temp sensor is plugged in
the CAM SENSKRis plugged in
the coolant temp sensor is plugged in
the. blue sensor is plugged in
I have pulled the valve cover to check the timing. It appeared to be correct but I ddidnt turn it exactly to TDC
ive looked at the c101 and checked the wiring
in thinking there is some sort of grounding issue
ehrn I crank the car I noticed the coils drop in voltage to around 8-9 volts when cranking
the main relay I’ve checked voltage and it’s right under 12 volts after cranking a lot
is it possible that the plugs could go bad from to much fuek.
I noticed the only time I’ve gotten it to run since it stopped running is ehh I’ve cleaned the plugs.
in thinking maybe I have a wire grounding out on another
or something electrical I’d causing this issue .
will pay someone if I can get it running
or if they have an extra obd1 wiring harness or if someone does custom wiring harnesses not adapters
i would be interested in buying one as I think it has to do with my harness more than any thing I’ve done countless hours of diagnostic
but I’m about To give up do any input would help
can A ground only ground half or more than half the coils
very intermittent issues
.Can a bad maf or IAC cause any of this ?
or bad gass
Or the plugs taking a shit seems like the plugs aren’t grounding out

[moatilliatta]

What’s is your fuel pressure?

[e30m20TurbO7]

I’ll check fuel pressure haven’t checked that yet

[e30m20TurbO7]

Just confirmed. Fuel coming out of injectors

[moatilliatta]

Id check actual fuel pressure.

What faults are you getting?

[ForcedFirebird]

Check the crank hub. Recently the spec e30 guys have been having issues with the reluctor wheel slipping on the dampener. There's only rubber attaching the toothed wheel to crank pulley, and that's where the ECU gets timing from.

[e30m20TurbO7]

That’s honestly what it seams like because I’ve made that mistake before clocking it wrong Maybe the balancer failed

[moatilliatta]

It’s pinned and only orientates one way. NV engine have different timed missing tooth compared to the pin and isn’t interchangeable for reference.