E36 328i Not starting

Tiny328i

New member
Hi All
I’ve got a 328i E36.

I have to say that I’ve only had joy with the car but last weekend it decided it’s time for a sick day.
I have now gotten it home and fiddled around to try and find the problem.
Turns out the fuel pump doesn’t get power when I put the ignition on.
So I went through the whole exercise of taking the pump out and testing it. It Works.
So I put it back in place and gave it power directly from the battery with a switch thinking I’ve solved to problem.

No My 328i is still on sick leave!
I have listened in front and it sounds like there is flow over the injectors.

Any ideas how I can get it started?
:argh:
 

The K-Man

New member
I'd like to know how you can hear that there are flow over the injectors. Are you not hearing that sound that comes from the intake? (TPS sound or so) You'll have to disconnect the fuel supply from the injector rail to check for flow and pressure.
 

zaleonardz

Well-known member
Bud,

With a fire extinguisher next to you, remove the entire fuel rail (a few bolt) so that its still connected, but just not in the head anymore, so that you can physically see that there is flow.

The best of course would be to plug a fuel gauge into the rail to check your rail pressure.
 

Gizmo

Banned
Faulty fuel pump relay? Swap your fog light relay with the fuel pump relay and see if the car starts.:thumbs:
 

frikkieh

///Member
I can relate with some experiences.

I also thought my fuel pump works until I had it replaced based on the mileage of the car. We ran out of fuel a few times because the e46 tank has a "lobe" like design and the pump could not get the fuel to the other side. So after all those years, the pump might not be as strong any more - replace it anyway if not done so recently.

However, a slow pump should not prevent the car from starting.
Fuel + air + spark makes the motor run * sorry for stating the obvious *, so check all of those first.

Good luck.
 

Tiny328i

New member
Hi all thanks for the advice.
i have now changed the pump relay and removed the injectors from the head but still no flow. i have disconected the feul line just before the rail and there is flow in the pipes but not through the injectors.

any ideas?:cry:
 

frikkieh

///Member
Fuel pump, or faulty gauge indicating that there is fuel in the tank, but there is no fuel in the tank.
 

Tiny328i

New member
Hi evryone.
I've now spent 800 bucs on a cam censor ans still not starting.
Ive taken the rail off with the injectors still intact and just cranked it with the key.

It seems that there is only a few of them thats feuling.

My question is can I clean them or would it be better to replace?
 

Gizmo

Banned
Why did you buy a new cam sensor? Money wasted! Your problem is Crank sensor most probably, diagnostics would tell you for sure.
 

Blue Shirt

Well-known member
Bud, did you listen to all the advice given to you? A failed crank sensor is a very common problem on these cars, causing the no-start. The fuel pump is not getting power because the ECU is not giving it power as there is no crank position signal.

Get the car diagnosed and replace the crank sensor as suggested if confirmed by the diagnosis.

If you still want to sell the car, please give more details of condition, service history, mileage , pics and price.
 
Top