E30 dies in traffic..

[killa325i]

like it says above, motoring down the road and the motor just shut down. turns over just fine, but wont fire. didnt smell fuel under the hood after repeated attempts to start it, so my guess is fuel related. btw, it's a 1990 325i. any thoughts before it gets towed to the shop?

[DCColegrove]

DME relay... whack it while it's running and see if it stalls or coughs.

[dannyg]

Take off the cap on the valve cover and have someone turn the key. See if the motor is actually turning, if it's not, your timing belt is broken. Ouch.

[DCColegrove]

Take off the cap on the valve cover and have someone turn the key. See if the motor is actually turning, if it's not, your timing belt is broken. Ouch.

Yeah that too...

did I miss understand that it's on going or did it just quit and that's it...

[killa325i]

Yeah that too...

did I miss understand that it's on going or did it just quit and that's it...

no it just quit, and now it wont fire.

[dannyg]

I'm guessing the turning that you are hearing is the starter. The engine won't turn over because the timing belt is broken...

[Philo]

Wait. When did he say it is not turning over? It might be something more simple then jumping to the timing belt conclusion. Random guesses would be fuel pump, fuel pump relay, reference sensor. Unless i misread the post.

[gearheadE30]

I wouldn't jump to the timing belt just yet. He said it turns over fine. You would really notice if the timing belt was broken. Well, at least I'd hope you would.

[killa325i]

Wait. When did he say it is not turning over? It might be something more simple then jumping to the timing belt conclusion. Random guesses would be fuel pump, fuel pump relay, reference sensor. Unless i misread the post.

this is what i'm thinking.

[Philo]

Do some simple bentley tests.

To test fuel pump: #1 listen for it to come on. It is located under the right rear drives seat. #2 pull the line at the rail, crank to see if it pumps fuel.

To test FP relay: pull box, check for power at relay(red wire)/pin30. If that fails check the fusable link in the right rear of the trunk. Check pin86 + pin85 with a voltmeter/multimeter while turning over the car. You should get a change in reading. Finally jump pin30 to pin87 with a fused wire. If the pump runs then it's either a faulty relay or bad reference sensor.

To test reference sensor: pull plug located @ 4:30 (from front of car) next to the diagnostic center, and test the black and yellow wire with a multimeter. You should get 540 +- 54 i think.

The reference sensor is gonna be my guess. Good luck with fix. Keep us posted.

[SamE30e]

I'm guessing the turning that you are hearing is the starter. The engine won't turn over because the timing belt is broken...

Easy there jump to conclusions.

Check for the basics. Fuel and spark then go from there.

[Philo]

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