help.

[vivalegreg]

ok this is my story.

i donno if anyone remembers when i was getting another m20 put in my ix this summer and then the car nearly caught on fire while it was in the shop due to the building nearly burning down. well the car ended up not burning down and moved to the shops new location and finished at their new place. before they could get the car finished i moved to texas to attend uti. once the car was done (and when i mean done they put a junkyard motor in it, tuned it up with new parts, drove it around maryland to make sure it ran ok, then sent it off to be shipped to texas) i received it in texas. the first day i got the car it ran like complete shit.

while driving the car was misfiring heavily and it felt like it was cutting on and off every few seconds, at every rpm...the higher the rpm the more violent the car 'bucked' i looked the car over and noticed my spark plug wires looked shot. they were torn where the boot meets the plug and i thought that maybe the car wasnt receiving enough voltage and hence the missfiring. i ordered brand new wires from ie and put them on the car. it ran better put kept having the problem. at this point i said to myself i didnt want to mess with it and didnt have the time so i had the car sent to the local BMW dealership by the house. i told them to figure out whats wrong with it. they kept the car for the whole day and part of the next day telling me they needed more time to look at it and had some special tech show up and check it out for me while he was checking out some other hard to work on cars. they told me i needed a new coil, and ecu.


coil..ok hence the misfiring but the ecu? i drove the car, well tried to drive the car home and ended up having to get towed because instead of bucking...the car just shut off and me and wouldnt start again. i eventually got it hom from the tow and ordered a brand new coil for it and installed it today once i got it. its still having the same problem, and i couldnt even get the car home it just completely shut off on me while i was driving it and wouldnt start back up.

now for the ecu..ive been running a chipped ecu i bought off r3v awhile ago on this car (it ran on it up in maryland and ran GREAT) i bought this car with a few parts and i have 3 ecus, a 172, 173, and a 'viper' chipped ecu i got off rev,. i know changing ecus cant be good for it... the problem here was i didnt know which ecu they had on the car when they tested it, the stock one or the 172...the chipped one was @the house. but regardless of which ecu i put in the car the problem im having is happening with all 3 ecus.

so i put the stock ecu (one the has my vin number on it) back in today and yea still messin up so its now parked in a lot and tomorrow im thinking about calling the dealer and asking them what the deal is?

do i really need a brand new ecu? or are they just not diagnosing the car right?

ahhh i havent had a car for 2 months now this is killing me

[rede30]

Sorry to hear that. I am going to guess fuel pump. My black car was doing what you are discribing and it was getting worse and worse till the pump made it unable to drive.

[AndrewBird]

Fuel pump seems likely as the problem gets worse as RPM's increase. I.E. - More fuel needed and not enough fuel given.

What about the fuel filter? Have you looked at the AFM at all? Does it run any different when it is cold as apposed to warm? Did you check all the connectors in the engine bay? Timing off? How about FPR?

Try this. Pull the fuel line off of the fuel rail and stick it in an empty soda bottle. Turn the ignition to the "ON" position. Fuel should start spewing out of the line within a few seconds. It will be a pretty heavy, steady stream. If not, look towards the fuel filter, FPR and fuel pump. This doesn't disprove anything, but it might tell you if one of the three items listed is bad.

To check the timing, do the following. Start by pulling the valve cover and distributor cap. Pull the number one spark plug. Rotate the engine so the #1 piston is at TDC and the #1 cylinder valves are closed or close to closed. At this point, both valves on the #1 cylinder should be closed or very close to closed. If you can't get this to happen, cam timing is off. Look at the rotor next. It should be pointing in the direction of the #1 spark plug or very close to it.

As far as the timing goes, you might not find anything as you said the car was running fine before. However, this is what THEY told you, so I would check everything to be sure. You might as well rule it out in the beginning then find out later they botched it.

[vivalegreg]

thanks for the responses...i think ill check the fuel system and all that could be a possibility..as far as timing goes it was timed when the engine was put in...new timing belt installed as well and the mechanics were friends of mine so i trust that they timed it during install

worth a check tho

Also the car is overheating...slowly as it sits

[porsche gt1]

x3 on fuel pump.

[backtrail69]

thanks for the responses...i think ill check the fuel system and all that could be a possibility..as far as timing goes it was timed when the engine was put in...new timing belt installed as well and the mechanics were friends of mine so i trust that they timed it during install

worth a check tho

Also the car is overheating...slowly as it sits

That sounds like a water pump or fan clutch issue.

[vivalegreg]

it has a brand new water pump and fan clutch
both bmw parts

maybe i should get a colder thermostat? and fight the overheating with that?

i drove the car around tonight and it seems alot better, i actually made it to and from school today. maybe my fuel system is clogging because i havent driven it much at all for any long periods of time? i think i may do fuel filter and fuel pump soon

[Jand3rson]

Try to be a little more descriptive in your thread titles, and please post things in the appropriate forums. There are other sections besides general.

[vivalegreg]

my bad, i thought about that after i posted it, wont happen again!

[vivalegreg]

bump

[PiercedE30]

how did the fuel filter look?
have you tested the pump?

[AndrewBird]

If it's gotten better, I would think either a clogged injector or fuel filter. Timing doesn't get better on it's own, and a fuel pump would probably get worse, not better.

[emi325i]

Check the injector harness connector. if the plug isn't clicked in properly, it'll cut out randomly like that.

[vivalegreg]

anybody know where the fuel pump relay plug is on these cars so i can relieve the pressure and check out my fuel filters?

ive never done this before but i intend to so i assume if my filter looks dirty as shit (black thick stuff in it) then its bad....

oh yea how many filters are on these car?! 4?

[vivalegreg]

i was able to find the relay in that black for except mine was on the far right..with purple and green wires coming from it. one i did that the car started..then stalled...yea pump cut off..


so i then started taking my airbox out to get to my fuel filter and on my way down there i noticed that my tps sensor was covered in like coolant/oil residue. and in that general area was kinda messy..right under the throttle body.

i also noticed that there was a little residue in the throttle body itself...and in the plastic pipe that connects it to the airbox...uhh is this normal??

also the problem seems to be happening more when the engine is at normal operating temp. could my tps sensor be causing this problem?