BMW won't start!!

[smitherz]

Hi everyone.

New to this so please bear with me. I have a 318i E46 2000 model and the car won't start. I took it to the mechanics and he initially told me it was the crank sensor. We replaced the crank sensor still it didn't start. Later, the mechanic suggested the cam sensor...replaced that, still no start!!did a compression test, found it was low so we rectified that. The diagnostic machine was then plugged in and it didn't identify any faults!!

I am at a loss...when we took another closer look we found that fuel was flooding the spark plugs. We tested the spark plugs and they are working fine. The mechanic then suggested that there was no pulsing, that the fuel was coming in unregulated!!

Has anyone encountered this, and how do you deal with it? I've been at this for a month now, really frustrated!!Any help, advice, solutions will be highly appreciated!!

Thanks.

 

[DonovanPorter]

my car (E46 218i 99') done this one and would not start at all , same symptoms as yours , after 3 weeks of battling i gave it a push start and BAM all sorted , still not sure why this happend could have flooded , from a quick start moved the car a meter or so and switched off, all in a few seconds ......

 

[firaz]

Have u ever changed your fuel filter?
The fuel pressure regulator is attached to the filter..
Have your fuel pump checked out too.
Had a similar problem, feel free to search for my thread regarding this.
http://www.bmwfanatics.co.za/showthread.php?tid=6599
Hope this helps.

 

[Bmw- WP]

I had the same issue on my 1999 318i. Was struggling to start. The fuel pump was on it's way out.

 

[smitherz]

Have u ever changed your fuel filter?
The fuel pressure regulator is attached to the filter..
Have your fuel pump checked out too.
Had a similar problem, feel free to search for my thread regarding this.
http://www.bmwfanatics.co.za/showthread.php?tid=6599
Hope this helps.

Yeah i changed the fuel filter October last year when i took it for service. They checked the fuel pump and it was working fine. In fact initially they had thought that the fuel pump may have been the problem but that was ruled out. Now they are insisting that it might be the ECU output!! i'm just curious now, because when BMW did the diagnostic nothing was found, how then can this be the ECU again??

 

[DonovanPorter]

dude give it a push start down the road , if there is fuel on the plugs , you have fuel.......

 

[smitherz]

dude give it a push start down the road , if there is fuel on the plugs , you have fuel.......

Tried doing that still nothing!!

 

[Nic_s]

So there is fuel, the plugs are fine, the engine swings, and BMW did find any fault codes. So can I assume there is no spark?

 

[Phoenix]

If you have fuel and you have swing the only thing missing is spark.....

 

[smitherz]

So there is fuel, the plugs are fine, the engine swings, and BMW did find any fault codes. So can I assume there is no spark?

The car backfires sometimes...so it seems there is spark. plus we checked the plugs individually and indeed they are giving off spark!!Problem is that too much fuel is getting in and flooding the spark plugs!! Not sure why this is happening!! Any other ideas?

 

[P1000]

Check your fuel pressure regulator

 

[smitherz]

Check your fuel pressure regulator

Where is that located?

 

[P1000]

Check your fuel pressure regulator

Where is that located?

At the back of the fuel rail. silver bosch can with a vacuum hose attached. On that thought, check the vacuum line as well. Best way to check FPR is to measure the vacuum and rail pressure at the regulator.

 

[MikeR]

:thinker: ignition unit ? your mechanic should have a better idea - when he cranks it - is it trying to fire, is it straining the battery? loads of questions as he is testing.:thinking:

 

[smitherz]

Hi People,

Finally identified the problem. When the car would crank the first time the fuel pressure reading always registered fine. However if you tried again the pressure would go way down. Found there was a fuel line that had some blockage which was interfering with this. Cost me an arm and a leg and a month and something, for a problem that got resolved in under 20 minutes.

Anyway now its moving, however the idling is not that smooth!!The mechanic says that this is normal,the head was removed and work was done on it so I should drive for at least 250 Kms before I make any judgments (says car might become smoother after some time!!). Is this normally the case?

 

[Nic_s]

Hi People,

Finally identified the problem. When the car would crank the first time the fuel pressure reading always registered fine. However if you tried again the pressure would go way down. Found there was a fuel line that had some blockage which was interfering with this. Cost me an arm and a leg and a month and something, for a problem that got resolved in under 20 minutes.

Anyway now its moving, however the idling is not that smooth!!The mechanic says that this is normal,the head was removed and work was done on it so I should drive for at least 250 Kms before I make any judgments (says car might become smoother after some time!!). Is this normally the case?

I can't be sure, but I'm gonna say no. After I had my car's head redone it was fine. It idles and runs the same as it did 2 years ago after the work was done. :dunno:

 

[yaasien]

:wave:Sorry Man !
Is your mech. a bmw mech cause it seems that you spending money and running around in circles !
My mech would test using spares that he has before he lets me fork out money
just Asking

 

[Sapiens-demens]

I had the same issue on my 1999 318i. Was struggling to start. The fuel pump was on it's way out.

Sorry,

I know this is old but if you can help me please. i also have a 1999 318i and think will be replacing the fuel pump. How much did it cost you? No one seems to know it, so I just need an estimate.