Just inherited an E30 M3 from a friend. The car has been in his garage for the past 5 years. He would pull it out and start it once a twice a year. He says it wouldn't start when he pulled it out in Dec. He passed it on to me. I drained all the gas out, installed new plugs and changed the oil. I'm getting spark at the plugs , fuel at the fuel rail, fuel at the pressure regulator but no pulse at the injectors. Changed the DME relay ( the metal relay between the blue and orange on the passenger side firewall). The reference sensors measured 960 ohms ( says they should between 840-1,000 ohms). I was told to check the ground points on the frame rail and on the firewall. If the car was sitting, trying to figure out would could have failed if the car wasn't being driven. I'm gonna secure another ECU, but I'm a little skeptical because I needed to find out if something else caused the ECU to fail. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I am mechanically inclined and work on all of my cars ( 318is / 325ic/ 840ci / 540it).
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Time to troubleshoot. Sounds like you're doing fine. Also make sure the blue coolant temp sensor is within spec...500 ohms HOT upto 8000 ohms COLD. If it's higher, then the engine will flood because the DME is dumping fuel inside."I'd probably take the E30 M3 in this case just because I love that little car, and how tanky that inline 6 is." - thecj
85 323i M TECH 1 S52 - ALPINEWEISS/SCHWARZE
88 M3 - LACHSSILBER/SCHWARZE
89 M3 - ALPINEWEISS II/M TECH CLOTH-ALCANTARA
91 M TECHNIC CABRIO TURBO - MACAOBLAU/M TECH CLOTH-LEATHER
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Try a little starting fluid,if it wants to start,then troubleshoot fuel issues...could be injectors..I had to get mine cleaned.car was sitting for 7yrs,and was never started by PO.NASA
BMWCCA member
PCA member 25yrs
1991 318IS slick top
1997 M3 sedan
2001 325CI DD
“whoever turns the wheel the least, wins"Comment
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I tried starting fluid. It would start and run until the starter fluid burned off. I pulled the injectors and had someone try and start it. Nothing came out of the injectors. At the time I didn't think to pull the cover and check for power at the injectors. ( I will tomorrow) I did soak each injector end in acetone for about 15mns to try and free any fuel that may have gummed up. I'm seeing different relays on some other cars. Mine has the metal bosch as the DME , the royal blue relay as the injector and the orange for the O2 sensors ( from the fender Royal Blue / Metal / Orange). I've seen pics with the light green relay as the DME and a taller black relay in the fuel injector spot. If the relays are bad, should I stick with what's there or are there upgraded relays ( the light green and tall black)?
I can't wait to hear her turn over. Thanks for any help and advice.Comment
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1) If I have power at the injectors and no pulsing, ECU.
2)If I don't have any power at the injectors, relay or bad ground.
3)If they start pulsing ( ticking) and no fuel comes out, clogged injectors.
Does that sound plausible?
( plausible, lol, been reading too many manuals)Comment
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She's ALIVE!!!!!!!! Changed main DME relay. Primed it with a little starter fluid and VOILA!!!Comment
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Woo hoo! Pictures please.Comment
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Definitely pictures, what are the circumstances for your friend passing the car on to you?
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Clogged injectors.
They eventually cleared enough to fuel the cylinders.
If you had fuel pressure, then the relays were fine.
Run some good quality injector cleaner for better combustion.
mComment
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Pics
In NJAttached FilesComment
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At homeAttached FilesComment
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Looks great!I Timothy 2:1-2Comment
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All right! Nice. Good luck. Be safe.Comment
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