...but now it's dead, in a shop 20 miles away. :'-(
For the past couple of weeks, my car has been very tough to start. Sometimes I'd have to crank it five or six times before it would start. Bentley manual suggested to do a spark test. While a buddy cranked the engine, I held one spark plug by its connector and observed the color of the spark. In my case, it was yellow. According to the manual, a yellow spark indicates poor conductivity; the manual points to a worn-out distributor cap and rotor. Occasionally the spark wires can also cause poor conductivity, but those are more expensive to replace.
To start, I decided to replace the distributor cap & rotor, since those are comparatively cheaper than the wires. Since I wasn't experienced enough to do this repair on my own, I took it to a local BMW mechanic who said he could replace them 'in less than an hour.' With labor rates of $80/hr for a BMW, I was happy to hear this.
When I got there, the mechanic had me pull the car halfway in the garage. He turned the car off, opened the hood and started to remove the cap & rotor, but since the radiator fan made removal quite difficult, he decided put it up on the rack to remove it.
With the key in the ignition and the cap partially disconnected, he pushed and turned the car into position for the rack, and then raised it up. 20 minutes later, he had the new cap/rotor in place and the radiator fan reinstalled.
I sat down in the car and turned the key.
*chggh-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-chssss....*
...
*chggh-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-chssss....*
...
Dammit. I am sorely disappointed and slightly pissed, but worst of all: the mechanic has this confused look on his face. He breaks out the multimeter and test light and starts probing all the connections. The battery is good; 12V. Everything else seems OK. Coil wire resistance reads 2k?. Just to be on the safe side, he tries another wire rack, connects the coil wire to the ignition coil and attaches a single spark plug; no spark. He swaps out the ignition coil; still no spark. The starter is cranking at a normal speed, but the engine will not fire.
Three hours and much key-turning later, my car was still undriveable. :(
What the hell happened to my poor E30?
When I left the shop tonight, the mechanic had narrowed it down to two possibilities:
1) dead or malfunctioning main relay or "EFI" relay. $10.
2) computer is hosed. $300-500.
Anything else? None of the fuses appeared to be blown, either.
For the past couple of weeks, my car has been very tough to start. Sometimes I'd have to crank it five or six times before it would start. Bentley manual suggested to do a spark test. While a buddy cranked the engine, I held one spark plug by its connector and observed the color of the spark. In my case, it was yellow. According to the manual, a yellow spark indicates poor conductivity; the manual points to a worn-out distributor cap and rotor. Occasionally the spark wires can also cause poor conductivity, but those are more expensive to replace.
To start, I decided to replace the distributor cap & rotor, since those are comparatively cheaper than the wires. Since I wasn't experienced enough to do this repair on my own, I took it to a local BMW mechanic who said he could replace them 'in less than an hour.' With labor rates of $80/hr for a BMW, I was happy to hear this.
When I got there, the mechanic had me pull the car halfway in the garage. He turned the car off, opened the hood and started to remove the cap & rotor, but since the radiator fan made removal quite difficult, he decided put it up on the rack to remove it.
With the key in the ignition and the cap partially disconnected, he pushed and turned the car into position for the rack, and then raised it up. 20 minutes later, he had the new cap/rotor in place and the radiator fan reinstalled.
I sat down in the car and turned the key.
*chggh-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-chssss....*
...
*chggh-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-chssss....*
...
Dammit. I am sorely disappointed and slightly pissed, but worst of all: the mechanic has this confused look on his face. He breaks out the multimeter and test light and starts probing all the connections. The battery is good; 12V. Everything else seems OK. Coil wire resistance reads 2k?. Just to be on the safe side, he tries another wire rack, connects the coil wire to the ignition coil and attaches a single spark plug; no spark. He swaps out the ignition coil; still no spark. The starter is cranking at a normal speed, but the engine will not fire.
Three hours and much key-turning later, my car was still undriveable. :(
What the hell happened to my poor E30?
When I left the shop tonight, the mechanic had narrowed it down to two possibilities:
1) dead or malfunctioning main relay or "EFI" relay. $10.
2) computer is hosed. $300-500.
Anything else? None of the fuses appeared to be blown, either.
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