E30 M50 swap

[Danny]

Check for spark before you replace the CPS. Also, do you have a check engine light when you just turn the car to "on"?

[rosphill]

"this thread would be awesome if i didnt have to click every pic"

I can get one pic to show up in a thread reply, but not multiple pics.
Not sure how to get them all to show up like I wanted so this is how it has ended up...but it kind of keeps the whole thread more concise in a way, otherwise you would be scrolling through 32 pages of pics.
I work in IT so I'm good with tech but I've been burning the candle at all three ends for quite some time now...
Between my crappy phone and laptop flaking out it is a constant struggle to make some semblance of a cohesive swap thread.
If I ever get more than an hour sleep a day sometime soon might get ambitionus and try to re-edit it all out.
Glad tho that you find if somewhere near the potentiality of awesomeness.
Whew really fvcking tired :crazy:

[rosphill]

warning lights

I noticed when I turned the key to the on position that ALL of the red warning lights across the bottom of the instrument cluster lit up red all the way across like a set of Christmas lights all the way across. So oh yeah, definitely some check engine lights on. The overhead diagnostic LEDs were the same two as always - coolant temp sensor light and license plate bulb.
Didn't have time to check for spark yet, wish I had though.

[rosphill]

New videos of M50 engine cranking 8/14/10 update

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-zWiqTv_ZM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5D142nV0Auc

[rosphill]

8/14/2010 update

Today I made a little more progress. Checked and found out the fuel lines were reversed so had to change them around. Still was not getting any fuel to the front of the fuel rail. I jumpered a positive wire to a spare battery with a 30 amp fuse inline and that energized the fuel pump. This made fuel collect in a cup at the unhooked hose at the front of fuel rail. But,
The fuel pump never activates while cranking the engine with the key, only does so when I hook the +12 jumper wire straight up to positive terminal on the fuel pump.

I sprayed some starter fluid straight into the throttle body with the butterfly open while cranking the engine and that made the engine combust and run for about two seconds. So definitely getting spark.

Not sure if the fuel injectors are spraying or not. When I crank the engine with the fuel pump jumpered to run it still would not make the engine start and run. Never did hear the fuel pump energize when I turned the key on.

Added another engine block ground wire on the passenger side engine mount as a redundant one because the drivers side one looks a little ratty and changed the injector ground wire over to the bolt where the hoist hooking point is on the front of motor.


I checked all of the fuses and they were ok. Also tried two different relays plugged into the M50 harness in place of the fuel pump relay. Checked for voltage on the #11 fuse for fuel pump and it read 8 volts. The battery also only gave my 8 volts across the terminals. I swapped in a different fully charged battery and it cranked a little better but still no dice.

M50 engine is very close to running but something fuel delivery related is holding it back.

If the crank position sensor is bad could it cause this kind of problem??

Would really appreciate any ideas of diagnostic things I could try.
Thx.

[rosphill]

8/21/10 Update - Videos of M50 engine running

Here are the videos of the M50 engine running on its own for the first time
(no more help from starter fluid, jumpering fuel pumps and magical schizz.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqKSqDnO7mA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maB4tIwjv9o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-COB42m500

[rosphill]

8/21/10 Update - M50 engine running

There was a medium size black cable coming out of the M50 engine wiring harness over by the positive power distribution block that never got hooked up and that was causing there to be no power to the main relays that control the fuel delivery system i.e. fuel pump and fuel injectors. Connected that to one of the positive terminals on the dist block and then the engine fired and ran. Took awhile to get fuel up to the rail cause it had been bone dry so far, and then engine ran on its own after it adjusted to the conditions. It sounds great, like a dragster from the dark side of hell cause there is no exhaust yet.

I also wired up the new 14 inch SPAL electric fan to the Stock AC fan wiring and extended the plug over the the passenger side of M42 radiator so it can connect to the new 80/88 C temp sensor in radiator. It works great.

Bled the clutch slave cylinder and got it pumped up with the power brake bleeder using ATE blue dot 4 brake fluid and and now clutch pedal is working, was able to shift through all the gears with no grinding noises or other BS. The Getrag 250 shift linkage is alot stiffer action and notchier than the old Getrag 260 was so that will take some getting used to..

Drained transmission and then filled it up with new fluid off the side with this cool little hand pump that screws onto the top of a quart container.

The IAT Intake Air Temp sensor had been MIA for awhile, found it buried under hoses beneath intake and got it hooked up proper.

Installed the hood and all of the interior pieces/trim etc back onto the car as well.

Overall very productive day and soooo happy to have the engine finally running.

Now it is time to find a driveshaft, get charcoal canister/electric purge valve hooked up, and finish the exhaust system.

Happy Happy Joy Joy
:D:D:D

[White325is]

Good thing you got it all figured out. Maybe next time you should know wtf your doing before you think someones wiring is wrong.. just sayin is all...

[rosphill]

Ugh, the wiring WAS wrong White, the wiring harness had a GROUND c101 wired to ABS x20. It didn't need to be hooked up but it was. I'm not mad about it, didn't cause any real damage, so its fine. So know what YOU are talking about before you come up in my thread talking all 'big kid's table.
Thx

[EricT]

White325is is my very best friend Scott, he knows everything thats been going on. That wire was hooked up there because you wanted a harness wired to work on an early or a late model because you couldnt answer questions I was asking you about your cars wiring. On a late model pin 20 runs the abs... the common way to do this is splice a wire from pin 7 ignition to pin 20. I guess in a way this could be a foul on both our behalf... I'm not doing any more work on anything harnesses.

I'm very happy you finally got this beast runnin. After the fuel lines were backwards, you had a few things plugged in wrong, and then you never bothered to hook up the power feed to the relays... it all came together.

[rosphill]

Yeah cool. I got distracted by that wire melting, thinking something might have gotten fried, and so that power wire got lost for awhile and forgot to hook up it up. We pulled all of the wires out of the bundle for the injection part of the harness and the main bundle at the firewall and tested/traced through everything until I found the wire that was unhooked. Learned alot more about the whole wiring system this way. Having looked at it very closely today I can say you did a really good job on the splices inside the harness so I wouldn't quit making them. Tell White I'm sorry if I'm on edge, it's just been really stressful working on this thing not knowing if some components were fried or not.
Thanks for the help, I'm glad it finally has all come together in a running engine. :D
--Scott