325e Intermittent Start, I'm stumped thus far

[logicalx]

I've got a thread going at E30tech, No luck so far so I thought I would see if anybody here has any ideas. It goes like this:

The car: 84 325e
The problem- Intermittent starting, Practically no start but it will start up every 20th time I try to start it. Seems like it will run till shut off then no start again.

What I have done and tested so far:

Fuel pump runs and is new
I changed the cap and rotor previously
Tested my Main Relay
Tested and Swapped coil with known good one
Tried Swapping ECU with a assumed good 027
Checked values at ECU- Voltage, Continuity, Resistance
Tested connectors at Main relay connection
Ran New ground wire from strut tower to valve cover gasket
Tested for Voltage at coil- 12v when ignition on
Checked for spark at plugs, - Usually no spark, some times sparks but just briefly.
Checked for spark directly from coil wire, Same= no spark or intermittent spark
I ran a jumper wire from the coil to the corresponding wire on the ECU plug with no results.
Swapped the CPS sensor with another. Tested resistance on both, around 900+- Ohms
tried swapping the obc relay box under the dash
I made a video of how the spark behaves, Turn the key it might fire just as it should, Try again and you get nothing.
http://youtu.be/R3MilMdOzqM

Yesterday I got the car to start and actually move under its own power, I moved it to a better location in my drive way to work on it. Shut it off and it hasn't started back since.

A little more back story:

The car was my daily driver until it quit working sometime last year, I was on my way home from work and I pulled into a gas station, upon trying to start back it would not start. Came back a couple hours later, It started right up. Drove home then nothing again. The only symptoms prior to the no start condition was somewhat of a hesitation upon initial acceleration after a cold start. I did find that the fuel filter was clogged and replaced that but still nothing after doing so.

This car has been a challenge, I'd almost just sell it to avoid dealing with it any longer but I like it and hate to let it go.

[Mr. Tasty]

get a broom stick and smack the starter. I am thinking bad starter.

[jlevie]

Replace the timing reference sensors with new BMW parts. Then see if you have spark every time you crank the engine.

[logicalx]

Let me fetch the broom, and I'll report back. Sadly I don't think that would solve the issue. I'd be thrilled if it was something that simple.

get a broom stick and smack the starter. I am thinking bad starter.

[logicalx]

I have made a little progress, I've found that by watching the plug for spark while cranking, It seems to spark only once I have stopped cranking, right as I turn the switch back the the off position. I have also observed that by banging on the original ECU I'll sometimes get constant spark, once I turn the key off and back on it goes away. I tried it with my spare ECU and I get no spark of any kind. Perhaps my spare ECU is also bad.

[jlevie]

You could have a couple of bad DME's (or a bad harness), but I would not go further until I'd replaced the timing sensors.

[logicalx]

You could have a couple of bad DME's (or a bad harness), but I would not go further until I'd replaced the timing sensors.

Thanks for the suggestion, I'm starting to think having a two bad computers could be a possibility, I'll probably order at least one new sensor soon, My budget is just a bit tight at the moment so I'm trying narrow it down as much as possible first before I start ordering more parts. This car has been serving as a yard decoration for the past year or so, I just hate to keep seeing it sit there. There is the video link again, I added it at the top of the post http://youtu.be/R3MilMdOzqM

[CRH_E30]

get a broom stick and smack the starter. I am thinking bad starter.

Been doing this with the tire iron for almost 8 months now...

[101]

LogicalX - did you ever solve this problem? I'm having similar issues on my 325e.