E30 randomly cutting out

party_guy

New member
Hey guys i need some technical assistance. . .

About 5km before stopping at home from a awesome day out at Zeemax on Sunday my car randomly cut out, so after battling for about 5 min or so i got the car started and ended at home, my first solution was the Anti - Hijacking

So yesterday my dad takes the car to town and once again she randomly cuts out, so once she started up again he went to an auto electrician to bridge the alarm so it was non existent.. .everything good? you wrong, on the way home from town the car cut out again. . . so now i'm puzzled. . .

called the mechanic and he says it sound to be the fuel pump. . . .

now my question is, is it the fuel pump? what else could it be? and how to and how much to fix the problem what ever it may be?

your help is much appreciated. . .

peace out
party_guy
 

freerider

Honorary ///Member
Could very well be your fuel pump on its way out, when last was your fuel filter replaced?

Normally a mechy can test the fuel pressure, I know on my car, they just plug the diagnostics in, and it shows pressure at each injector.
 

party_guy

New member
thanks for the reply going to check it out but if anybody else can think of any other reason for the problem please let me know
 

Nic_s

///Member
I think having the fuel pressure checked is the best thing you can do first.

How does it cut out? Is it just suddenly dead, or does it shudder and then die? Does it happen while moving or when you slow down to stop?
 

e46jase

///Member
get the fuel pump checked out if it not fuel supply problem mayb it air supply, has to be one of the two dunno bout the e30 but i have an idle control valve and if they get clogged they cause heavy idle problems and stalling. sometimes the solution to a problem like this is something small like cleaning a dirty or clogged part/sensor/valve hope you come right
 

party_guy

New member
hey guys sorry i've taken so long to reply. . . been busy. . .so yeah. . . i've decided to replace the fuel pump, because that is what i'm thinking could be the problem but i need some advice on how to go about this seeing as i am fairly new to all of this. .. so please guys help a fellow fanatic out . . .
 

calypso

///Member
Mine used to cut out randomly, maybe once every 2 days. I checked everything but never found the problem. Last on my list was to change ECU but crashed it before I got about to that.
 

Major

Active member
party_guy said:
hey guys sorry i've taken so long to reply. . . been busy. . .so yeah. . . i've decided to replace the fuel pump, because that is what i'm thinking could be the problem but i need some advice on how to go about this seeing as i am fairly new to all of this. .. so please guys help a fellow fanatic out . . .

If you're in Joburg and have all the parts, I'll do it for you. :wave:
 

Nic_s

///Member
He in Strand, Cape Town.

party_guy: Never had to replace fuel pump so I'm not sure, but I think you can get to the pump from under the car where the tank is and it shouldn't be that difficult. I think Major could have more info for you. Good luck.
 

party_guy

New member
Well i took the pump out yesterday, it is sitting in the tank behind the driver seat.

But now the thing is i need to find a replacement pump because the guy i was hoping to get it from doesn't know what is cooking because he got me the wrong pump and says my pump comes from a 7 series. . .LMAO
 

Hellas

///Member
Clean your tank while you're at it. My dad's car got iron shaving in it's tank. WHERE DOES IT GET THAT FROM? But that's what the mechie told him. It's also cutting out randomly BTW.
 

party_guy

New member
Hella. . . does your dad know why the car is cutting out? And do you know when the car cuts out, like what driving conditions? . . . maybe we can solve this case lmao
 

Hellas

///Member
I experienced it once this weekend. Normal driving and then just...silence...nothing. It happened 6 times to him on a 440km journey. Sometimes while overtaking, and sometimes while just cruising. What cures the cut-out is just switching off and switching on after 20seconds or a minute or so. My thoughts were dirty fuel filter, clogged injectors or excessive dirt clogging the fuel pickup screen in the diesel tank.
 

BimmerMan

New member
Have you thought about the Fuel Pump Relay? When this went out, my E30 would cut out randomly and eventually left me stranded on the side of the road! Have had to replace it twice in the 5 years of ownership...
 

clutchplate

///Member
Hey wait up bro !!!!

before you spend stupid ammounts of money on your fuel pump, it most probably is not that..
It is far more likely your crank or cam sensor bro ...
If your fuel was dodgy you would MOST likely have allot more constant issues.

put your fuel pump back and just replace the crank and cam sensors.
 

party_guy

New member
well so far its only cut out after driving like 50 or so km. . . .at idle its fine. . . so like now i havent driven the car since last sunday. . .
 

Lev

BMW Car Club Member
Hey whats up, have you fixed the problem with the car?

If not, here is a situation that we had with our e30 , the car also used to randomly cut out while driving, sometimes it wouldn't even start up. And after randomly cutting out if wouldn't start (i chilled in on the road side for 2hrs one day).

We eventually found the problem, it was the sensor for the flywheel. It's positioned on th drivers side of the motor (325 in our case), just above the flywheel near the inlet/outlet for the cooling system. I'll try get a pic for you hope this helps.

goodbyesolexwrongness002-1.jpg


its the L-Shaped Cylindrical thing on the left of this pic, got a black plastic-cased sleeve over the cable.
 
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