FredK, you win. Or, am I on the right track?

[matt]

Lol. Nice one.

That kinda shit happens to everyone. Did you know if you pop your cigarette lighter fuse on an e36, the starter won't turn?

[Farbin Kaiber]

Yeah, that sounds like a fun diag. The real fun is when someone pulls a hacked harness off a 24v swap when you are not there, and then you have to figure out where the whole harness goes.

Glad to hear you got to hear it.

[FredK]

Jesus. Fucking. Christ.

Can you say mothafucking noobtastic?

There are no stupid questions. Just z31maniac.

jk

I'm glad you found the culprit, and I'm glad it was a simple fix! Just going through the chain of how things work is definitely the way to troubleshoot a no-start. It feels awesome, no matter what the engine is, to get it running.

[z31maniac]

I was pumped I wired it up correctly from the get go! Thanks to all those who helped by linking threads and answering questions!

[m_dudey]

hmm, I'm gonna hijack this thread since z31maniac got his car started. I tried to start it tonight but with no luck. I have the same exact symptoms up to post #12 of this thread.

I'm sure I have my fuel lines hooked up correctly. good ground between chassis and block. I wired up a direct ground from the DME housing to chassis.

when I turn the key to the ON position in the ignition, I don't hear the fuel pump in the back seat buzz. The fuel pump is good because it buzzes when I jump 30 to 87 on the fuel pump relay. the relay itself is good because when I apply 12v to 85 and 86, the relay clicks. and then I measured the voltage at pins 85 and 86 when the key is in the ON position. I get 12v on pins 86 AND 85! so somehow, the DME is not pulling pin 85 to ground to switch the relay. I don't have to crank the engine to get the fuel pump to run, correct? when the key is in ON position, the fuel pump should turn on and prime the engine with fuel, correct?

any ideas?

oh yeah, I should also mention that I get the check engine light, and my ICV buzzes when key is in the ON position so I know DME is getting power.

[m_dudey]

hmm, been reading some more and some say it can be an EWS issue? forgot to mention that I have a silver label 413 and a TRM chip that should already have EWS removed. when I bought the TRM, I specifically asked Matt at TRM if it matters what DME I have, and he said no, EWS will be removed for all chips.

[m_dudey]

whoohoo! I got the car fired up!

the fuel pump does NOT prime for 2 seconds in the ACC ON position. I was looking out for something that wasn't supposed to happen. but before I tried to fire it up, I checked the crank position sensor, 514 ohms or so. Not what is spec'ed out in the Bentley Manual. so I checked the other CPS I had laying around, same thing, 515 ohms or so. can't be such a coincidence that both are bad, plus I've read others have gotten 500 something ohms also. I also added another ground from block to chassis on the driver's side. but I think my original ground was good already.

anyways, last night when I shorted the fuel relay, I guess I primed the fuel system. today, I decided to measure voltage while cranking at the fuel pump relay pin 85, the signal to the DME. when I cranked, it roared to life! I didn't expect it so it scared the shit out of me. after a couple seconds, it died. looked around and my fuel pump connection wasn't even hooked up yet. guess it was residual fuel from last night in the fuel system. anyways, I hooked up the fuel pump connection, started her up again and it idled beautifully!

now it's time to think about exhaust!

lesson learned?
-fuel pump only turns on upon cranking, does not prime for 2 secs when key is in ON position
-prime your fuel system first by running the fuel pump by itself!

whoohoo!