I've been a lurker on r3v for a while, and now it is my turn to kneel at the alter and seek the wisdom of the collective.
2 Months ago, I bought a complete 1987 325is automatic as a non-running parts car. The main reason I bought the car was swap the basket weaves with my bottle caps, but I also got a really good deal on the car and took it on as a personal challenge to get this thing running. I have had no luck so far, and so my question is thus: why the #%$% won't my car run?
Now, the background info:
When I bought the car, the owner told me that he had replaced the following within the last 3 years:
- Ignition coil
- Battery
- mass air sensor (used)
- Spark plugs
When I got the car home, the first thing I did was charge up the battery, pull a spark plug, and check for spark. No spark. Also, no fuel pump noise. However, all the normal lights came on and the started motor was turning and sounded solid.
Next, I opened the trusty Bentley manual and went through every item in the "no spark" trouble shooting guide. The takeaways:
- The ignition coil in the car was for a 318i, not a 325i. Luckily, the prev-owner gave me the old ignition coil, which I tested in my '89 325i daily driver, and it worked fine. Threw the "old" functional coil back in the '87. Still nothing.
- Pulled ECU and tested it in my daily driver. Worked just fine.
- Performed the check out procedure on every other part of the system, and everything checked out good.
- At this point, I also performed the check-out on the ignition switch. Checked out fine.
However, at this point, I noticed that when I turned the key in the ignition, neither the main relay nor the fuel pump relay were clicking on! Swapped the relays into the daily driver, and they worked fine. Next part is fuzzy (was a while ago), but I believe what I did was jump the main relay with two wires and then was able to get spark. This was the only time I have gotten spark.
After I got spark, I dug into the harness and found that the green wire on the main relay plug (leads to the ECU) had been repaired and the repair looked horrendous. Tons of corrosion and was barely holding together. I fixed the wire properly, and now the relays are clicking on consistently. However, I'm STILL not getting any spark, and the fuel pump isn't coming on!
AGH!
This is where I'm at now, and I'm stymied. Any advice on how to proceed would be greatly appreciated. I tried to be detailed, but I'm sure I left details out. Let me know if you need any more info! Thanks!
2 Months ago, I bought a complete 1987 325is automatic as a non-running parts car. The main reason I bought the car was swap the basket weaves with my bottle caps, but I also got a really good deal on the car and took it on as a personal challenge to get this thing running. I have had no luck so far, and so my question is thus: why the #%$% won't my car run?
Now, the background info:
When I bought the car, the owner told me that he had replaced the following within the last 3 years:
- Ignition coil
- Battery
- mass air sensor (used)
- Spark plugs
When I got the car home, the first thing I did was charge up the battery, pull a spark plug, and check for spark. No spark. Also, no fuel pump noise. However, all the normal lights came on and the started motor was turning and sounded solid.
Next, I opened the trusty Bentley manual and went through every item in the "no spark" trouble shooting guide. The takeaways:
- The ignition coil in the car was for a 318i, not a 325i. Luckily, the prev-owner gave me the old ignition coil, which I tested in my '89 325i daily driver, and it worked fine. Threw the "old" functional coil back in the '87. Still nothing.
- Pulled ECU and tested it in my daily driver. Worked just fine.
- Performed the check out procedure on every other part of the system, and everything checked out good.
- At this point, I also performed the check-out on the ignition switch. Checked out fine.
However, at this point, I noticed that when I turned the key in the ignition, neither the main relay nor the fuel pump relay were clicking on! Swapped the relays into the daily driver, and they worked fine. Next part is fuzzy (was a while ago), but I believe what I did was jump the main relay with two wires and then was able to get spark. This was the only time I have gotten spark.
After I got spark, I dug into the harness and found that the green wire on the main relay plug (leads to the ECU) had been repaired and the repair looked horrendous. Tons of corrosion and was barely holding together. I fixed the wire properly, and now the relays are clicking on consistently. However, I'm STILL not getting any spark, and the fuel pump isn't coming on!
AGH!
This is where I'm at now, and I'm stymied. Any advice on how to proceed would be greatly appreciated. I tried to be detailed, but I'm sure I left details out. Let me know if you need any more info! Thanks!
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