Alright. I don't want to get flamed for this, so I will go into as much detail as I can. The car in question is my 1987 BMW 325e. I have owned it for approximately 3 years. Until now, there has NEVER been a day that it wouldn't start.
First, I will state my problem.
- I am not getting any spark.
- I am definetly getting fuel.
About six months ago my transmission took a crap on me. Well, it didn't completely go out, but i found about 4 dime sized metal teeth, and about 2/3s of a golf ball sized clump of small metal shavings on the drain plug.
So, I gave it hell one last time down the street and back, pulled it in my garage, and went to work. I have another car, so its not like i was out of a car or anything.
It took me six months to do because:
a) I'm 22 years old.
b) I'm an assistant manager at a pizza place.
c) A+B=C which means I'm poor.
I do live in a house (rented) which has a garage, with my lovely fiance.
Anyways, getting somewhat off topic here.
In a nutshell, it took me a little while to get all the parts.
I scored a free transmission from a buddy of mine here in town. We hook each other up when we got parts the other guy needs.
I had an 8lb Fidanza Flywheel and an E34 M5 clutch left over from my 318i that i parted out. I had the clutch disc rebuilt at a local shop. The pressure plate and the flywheel were still pretty good. Not alot of miles on the set up. They bolted right up. I put the whole car back together.
Now, it won't start!? I've checked every wire and all my grounds. My Spark plugs are good, I am running Bosch WR8s (i can't remember the exact ones, but its the ones that the Haynes says to run and everyone else has told me to run). They couldnt have more then 4K miles on them. Either way, i pulled all of them out, cleaned them, and re-gapped them all. Still won't start.
I replaced my wires probably 3K miles ago. I know i did it just before the last time i changed the oil, i changed the oil about 1200 miles ago.
I've never replaced the dist. cap or rotor, but i can't see how that would completely fail with the car sitting for 6 months. I should also point out that the car has been in a garage this whole time.
My original thought was that maybe the gas was bad cause its been in there so long, but its definetly getting gas, and i've pulled a plug and grounded it, turned it over, no spark. So i know this is a no spark situation.
I've tested the coil with my multimeter. The primary resistance reading was between 2-3 Ohms. The manual says this should be 0.5 Ohms. The secondary resistance was about 5600 Ohms, manual says it should be between 5-7000 Ohms. Now, the primary is out of range, but i'm wondering if thats enough to keep the coil from firing??
If it is the Coil, then i'm going to get the MSD Blaster 2 8202. I've been told this will be plug and play. Doesn't offer much of a gain over stock, but it is cheaper then a brand new one. I can get it for 40 bucks at advance auto.
I've narrowed it down to either being the coil or being the ECU. What else could it be??
Could the engine speed sensor not be picking up the teeth on the flywheel? My Electrical manual says that the sensor gets the signal from the flywheel teeth. I really hope thats not it because I really don't want to take the whole damn thing apart again.
--Even if that were the case, would that really keep the computer from telling the ecu to fire the spark plugs?
--If that is the case is there a way around it?
Any help is greatly appreciated, I'm ready to get this car finished cause I AM REALLY TIRED OF DRIVING MY HONDA ACCORD. My accord needs ALOT of work that i need to get done on it, and i cant work on it with this e30 in my garage. And the e30 has heat, my honda doesnt (which is one of the things i need to fix) . Its freaking cold at night when i get off of work (its cold at 2am).
I know this is really really long, but i'm trying to give as much detail as i can.
First, I will state my problem.
- I am not getting any spark.
- I am definetly getting fuel.
About six months ago my transmission took a crap on me. Well, it didn't completely go out, but i found about 4 dime sized metal teeth, and about 2/3s of a golf ball sized clump of small metal shavings on the drain plug.
So, I gave it hell one last time down the street and back, pulled it in my garage, and went to work. I have another car, so its not like i was out of a car or anything.
It took me six months to do because:
a) I'm 22 years old.
b) I'm an assistant manager at a pizza place.
c) A+B=C which means I'm poor.
I do live in a house (rented) which has a garage, with my lovely fiance.
Anyways, getting somewhat off topic here.
In a nutshell, it took me a little while to get all the parts.
I scored a free transmission from a buddy of mine here in town. We hook each other up when we got parts the other guy needs.
I had an 8lb Fidanza Flywheel and an E34 M5 clutch left over from my 318i that i parted out. I had the clutch disc rebuilt at a local shop. The pressure plate and the flywheel were still pretty good. Not alot of miles on the set up. They bolted right up. I put the whole car back together.
Now, it won't start!? I've checked every wire and all my grounds. My Spark plugs are good, I am running Bosch WR8s (i can't remember the exact ones, but its the ones that the Haynes says to run and everyone else has told me to run). They couldnt have more then 4K miles on them. Either way, i pulled all of them out, cleaned them, and re-gapped them all. Still won't start.
I replaced my wires probably 3K miles ago. I know i did it just before the last time i changed the oil, i changed the oil about 1200 miles ago.
I've never replaced the dist. cap or rotor, but i can't see how that would completely fail with the car sitting for 6 months. I should also point out that the car has been in a garage this whole time.
My original thought was that maybe the gas was bad cause its been in there so long, but its definetly getting gas, and i've pulled a plug and grounded it, turned it over, no spark. So i know this is a no spark situation.
I've tested the coil with my multimeter. The primary resistance reading was between 2-3 Ohms. The manual says this should be 0.5 Ohms. The secondary resistance was about 5600 Ohms, manual says it should be between 5-7000 Ohms. Now, the primary is out of range, but i'm wondering if thats enough to keep the coil from firing??
If it is the Coil, then i'm going to get the MSD Blaster 2 8202. I've been told this will be plug and play. Doesn't offer much of a gain over stock, but it is cheaper then a brand new one. I can get it for 40 bucks at advance auto.
I've narrowed it down to either being the coil or being the ECU. What else could it be??
Could the engine speed sensor not be picking up the teeth on the flywheel? My Electrical manual says that the sensor gets the signal from the flywheel teeth. I really hope thats not it because I really don't want to take the whole damn thing apart again.
--Even if that were the case, would that really keep the computer from telling the ecu to fire the spark plugs?
--If that is the case is there a way around it?
Any help is greatly appreciated, I'm ready to get this car finished cause I AM REALLY TIRED OF DRIVING MY HONDA ACCORD. My accord needs ALOT of work that i need to get done on it, and i cant work on it with this e30 in my garage. And the e30 has heat, my honda doesnt (which is one of the things i need to fix) . Its freaking cold at night when i get off of work (its cold at 2am).
I know this is really really long, but i'm trying to give as much detail as i can.
Comment