Petrol/gas tank drain

[Simon S]

Excellent.

[iam]

Thought i'd check back and round off the thread.
So I purchased a new pump and the car now starts fine (at last).

[E30SPDFRK]

Your pump is dead if it stopped while it was still connected to the battery. It's likely that it died from overheating when you ran it out of gas then worked a few more times once you bumped it around a bit before ultimatly dying completely.

While you have the pump out use a siphon pump to get all the old stuff out then put a few gallons of fresh fuel in before you try to start it with the new one.



Also, be careful with batterys and jumper wires around the fuel pump, you don't want to burn your shit up.

[iam]

Ok. I'm propper p****d off now. Need some help. I've got the pump out. It's in 2 pieces as i've read. One is the sender, the other the pump. I tested for current using my volt meter and got a 12 volt reading from the wires which attached to the sender unit (plug with 3 female pins). However when I touch the conector for the pump (plug with 2 female pins) I get nothing. Both tests carried out with the key at pos 2. Unsure if this should be the case or not I continued to remove the pump being as I'd got this far. I got my spare battery out and connected a couple of wires directly to the red and black wires of the pump. It spun briefly (less than half a second) then stopped, never to start up again. So do I assume that the pump is dead or should I have gotten power to the electrical connector for the pump like I did with the sender unit?

[iam]

Thanks guys. I didn't get a chance to get at the car yesterday.
This afternoon I'm going to check to see if power's getting the fuel pump and will look to swap it out if necessary. I'll also buy a new filter while i'm at it.
Will post back hopefully with the solution.

Cheers gov :)

[Simon S]

ah yes - and it can take a lot to get a car in good nick

[e30rapidic]

also – Cheers from across the pond – it’s always fun talking “bonnets/hoods” & “petrol/gas/fuel”

don't forget trunks/boots!

[Simon S]

also – Cheers from across the pond – it’s always fun talking “bonnets/hoods” & “petrol/gas/fuel”

[Simon S]

(new fuel filter is a good "while you're at it" thing to replace)

[Simon S]

I’m a little confused..

Sounds like you ran it out of petrol – or the pump went out.

After further reading, it sounds more like the pump when out.

As far as the drain – I popped mine off with a large cresent wrench and a dead blow hammer. For what it’s worth, I’d leave the petrol in there and focus on swapping in a new pump.

As I gather, there should be about 4-8 gallons/18-36 liters of petrol in your tank now. This is good – because getting at/swapping in a new pump is a lot easier/recommended when there isn’t much petrol in the tank. The pumps do go out over time.

Some simple/free/easy things to check at this point are the #11 fuse (exclusive to fuel pump) – and the ground point behind the rear seat (at left side – there’s a bundle of brown wires connected to chassis.
Lower portion of rear seat pops up and out with ease. ‘Back’ portion of rear seat is held in by two bolts on either side – then pull upward to release from ‘hooks’ that are there. You’ll need the lower portion of the seat out anyway to access fuel pump.

As far as swapping the pump – there are several tutorials around on that subject.

Good luck – I hope some of this was helpful..

[!kid]

I even got in and turned the key briefly just to see if a small amount come out but nothing.
Does that sound conclusive or is there another test I can do?
Keep 'em coming. I don't mind taking a slating where necessary but make it constructive. Thanks.

if you are removing the correct fuel line and cranking the engine and no fuel comes out good chance your pump has gone bad. if you have a volt meter cheack to make sure you are getting voltage to the pump. look up in your bentley service manual for the correct wires to test.

[!kid]

tried to undo the drain plug but it feels too much like it'll strip btw. It's not budging one bit so bound to end in tears if I keep trying.

Spray the drain plug with some liquid wrench/wd40 and leave it overnight, try it tomorrow. Why run the old fuel etc throug the pump/filter?

Jean have you ever removed the drain plug on the gas tank of an E30?
I tryed couple years back and just like the OP said thing would not even budge, I ended up breaking my tool. somthing tells me its going to take a bit more than just liquid wrench.

[iam]

I think my petrol pump's gone. I undid the pipe from the fuel filler (no.6)
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...04&hg=16&fg=15
and jumped pins 30/87 of the fuel pump relay after checking on the web which relay switch it was for the fuel pump relay. No joy there. I then jumped every 30/87 Under the bonnet/hood for good measure and got some nice lights and the horn but not much else.
I even got in and turned the key briefly just to see if a small amount come out but nothing.
Does that sound conclusive or is there another test I can do?
Keep 'em coming. I don't mind taking a slating where necessary but make it constructive. Thanks.

[Jean]

This is exactly what I mean. Some people say supply line some say return. Des it matter which?
Also where abouts to disconnect from. Hence my request for a write up which you know works.

Well, the supply line would be the line coming out of the fuel pump and going towards the fuel rail...

[iam]

Must be something else. I've just added 10 litres of fuel and the car is still unable to start. Just turning over. :( I'll check with my local mechanic.