How can you die on the freeway....

[m3recon]

My DME relay was bad. The C191 connection looked new. I still have to check connections and grounds. My econometer is always at max. It worked for a minute after a failure. My tach stays at 2k unless I hit my rev limiter then it moves a little. Im going to drive it this weekend and see if it has a failure.

[m3recon]

Still failing. What should the CPS measure with a meter if its good and between which pins.

[Sagaris]

I believe the test in the Bentley for the CPS just checks the resistance of the sensor with the car off, mostly to check that there are no breaks in the wiring I would assume. Are you having any issues with the charging system/alternator as far as having to charge your battery up every few days? I just have to ask because to some people , charging the battery on the car is a normal occurrence just like filling up with gas, and adding a quart of oil. Just asking.

[m3recon]

The battery is fine. After the last fail the tach and econometer functioned most of the way home. My throttle response seemed a lot better as well. The check engine light came on but the car ran fine. It seemed that before the fail the other day that my mpg was crappy. I tested the cps and the cable seems fine. The sensor is all metal around the cylinder. Ive noticed new ones are not. I checked my connections and my fusable link and they seem fine. I was going to buy a new cps on payday. Im rambling....hahahaha

[Thizzelle]

alternator?

[m3recon]

I changed the cps for a know good replacement. I need to drive it to see if it fails. My tach sits at 2500 and my econometer is max. I drove down the street and in the high rpm's my tach would drop from 2500 to zero as I got closer to redline....once I engage the clutch and shift it goes back up to 2500. My econometer never moves from max. I still need to take it for a drive to see if it fails again.

[m3recon]

It failed again today. It was surging on the freeway like it was out of gas. If the fuel pump fails the car will die the same ways as losing timing info on the DME correct? When it was surging I let off the gas and the motor would idle. If I pushed the gas nothing would happen, it was like pushing the gas with a choke open and the motor would try to kill... eventually it did die and I was coasting..... After fail I parked it and came back to it 3 hours later started right up ran fine and my econometer worked again.

[Sagaris]

When the fuel pump dies, the tach wont drop to zero right away like when you lose the signal from the crank position sensor. It will still reflect the true engine RPM.

[m3recon]

The tach didn't do anything until the car died. The econometer stayed at max. Can I use a pump from an early 90's 7 series.

[Sagaris]

Check the part numbers for the 7 series pump and the 3 series pump. on www.realoem.com (e30 is listed in the Archive section). I can't imagine them being the same but if they are, then cool. Would I try to rig a 7 series pump to work on an e30? Only if I was stranded somewhere and I didn't have a better option.

[Zba]

Sounds like a fuel pump. Do you have a fuel pressure gauge you could hook up to view while your're driving? Do the filter too.

[m3recon]

The car died today on the freeway a lot faster this time. No surging.... it just died. I had driven about 10 miles. So my question is: What, if anything, that is heat related would cause it to die? A passer by suggested the distributor/coil was sensitive to heat. It was really hot and humid today.
The things I've replaced so far..... fuel pump, fuel filter, fuel regulator, dme relay, fuel pump relay, cps, checked main grounds in engine bay, soldered a jumper through fusible link. Whats next?????????

[AmosTheRocker]

What year is the car? I know my (was my wife's at the time) '87 325es had a similar problem and it ended up being in the shop for almost three weeks. The mechanic checked and rechecked everything he could think to, replaced all the sensors and things that gave him erratic readings, and even changed out the computer.

The problem ended up being the second CPS. I'm not sure what years had two, but that was our problem.

Good luck, and hope this helps!

[m3recon]

Bump

[m3recon]

I dont see nothing wrong with a little BUMP and grind...... Bump....Bump....Bump