318ti.org forum

Go Back   318ti.org forum > Technical, Maintenance and Modifications > Engine

Notices

Engine Tuneups, chips, wires, spark plugs.

.
» Recent Threads
1999 M-Sport For Sale
12-31-2023 05:10 PM
Last post by Coop540iT
03-23-2024 06:39 PM
1 Replies, 104,120 Views
Once again 318ti owner...
03-20-2024 12:39 PM
Last post by two30grain
03-22-2024 02:04 PM
1 Replies, 67,202 Views
What brakes do I...
03-20-2024 03:27 PM
Last post by huirtera
03-20-2024 03:27 PM
0 Replies, 64,466 Views
Reply Share/Bookmark
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 04-10-2016, 09:48 PM   #1
bmwtinut
Member
 
bmwtinut's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Dublin, Pa
Posts: 57
Vehicles
iTrader: (0)
Default '95 ti won't start all of a sudden

I have a '95 318ti CS that has been my daily driver for the past 16 years. I have 208k on it. Just this morning I go out to start it and it cranks over fine but no start. Doesn't even try. I tried a couple of times and could smell some gas. let it sit for couple of hours and got back to looking at it. Pulled one of the plugs and smelled like fuel. Best guess I am getting fuel. I would think if I have fuel, it turns over and if I had spark it would start. I'm thinking no spark. Anyone have an easy way to test for spark by yourself? If it is truly no spark, suggestions on where to look.

Some additional information. Then car did sit overnight and we had some very wet snow. Water in the ECM?? gonna check this one.

Thanks for the help.

Todd
__________________
Todd Davis
'95 Club Sport - Bosal Exhaust, Koni Shocks
not installed yet
-RDSport suspension,DASC Supercharger, B&M shifter

'04 E46 M3 |'92 Porsche 911 C4 |'99 LR Disco II|'70 Volvo 1800E|'04 V70R
Mechanical Design Engineer
bmwtinut is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-11-2016, 04:40 AM   #2
BlackBMWs
Senior Member
 
BlackBMWs's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Sacramento, CA
Posts: 2,451
Vehicles
iTrader: (7)
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by bmwtinut View Post
I have a '95 318ti CS that has been my daily driver for the past 16 years. I have 208k on it. Just this morning I go out to start it and it cranks over fine but no start. Doesn't even try. I tried a couple of times and could smell some gas. let it sit for couple of hours and got back to looking at it. Pulled one of the plugs and smelled like fuel. Best guess I am getting fuel. I would think if I have fuel, it turns over and if I had spark it would start. I'm thinking no spark. Anyone have an easy way to test for spark by yourself? If it is truly no spark, suggestions on where to look.

Some additional information. Then car did sit overnight and we had some very wet snow. Water in the ECM?? gonna check this one.

Thanks for the help.

Todd
Hi Todd! Are you getting Spark? Coil Pack OK?
__________________


1998 318ti Sport - "Cali" Schwartz II/Schwartz sport interior, Cali top
1998 318ti Sport - "Max" Schwartz II/Schwartz sport interior, S52
1997 318ti Sport - "Tiny" Schwartz II/Schwartz sport interior
1995 318ti Active - "Blanca" Alpineweib III/Schwartz leather interior

Other Current Bimmers: 2006 530i / 2000 2.3L Z3 / 1997 1.9L Z3 / 1999 540it

1997 318ti Sport - "Huera" - RIP
1995 318ti Active - RIP
1995 318ti Sport - "Tiny" Sold
1994 325i Sedan - "Jade" - Sold
1991 318ic - "Bert" - Sold
1985 635csi sold
1984 533i "Max" Sold
1984 318i sold

BMWCCA #160411

SUPPORT 318ti.org! CLICK THE LINK ABOVE!
Hosting a forum like this is not free. 318ti.org is one of the best BMW forums on the web because it is member supported, not vendor supported. The cost to become a Supporter is a nominal $10.00... A YEAR! DO IT! NOW!
BlackBMWs is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-11-2016, 12:38 PM   #3
740isport
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: SF Bay Area
Posts: 315
iTrader: (1)
Default

By your description, you are getting fuel into the cylinders but no spark. This rules out a lot which is good. Make sure your coil pack if fully connected, check fuses and make sure none are blown. Beyond that, the next thing I would think of is the coil pack itself being bad.
__________________
01 740iS Cosmos Black
97 318ti Boston Green
99 318ti Titanium Silver
13 X5 3.5XDrive Cosmos Black
97 318ti Alpine White (gone but not forgotten)
88 325iC Schwartz Black (sold)
97 740iL Schwartz Black (sold)
84 633csi Schwartz Black (sold)
96 318ti Alaska Blue (sold)
08 X5 4.8i Titanium Silver (sold)
740isport is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-11-2016, 01:47 PM   #4
bmwtinut
Member
 
bmwtinut's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Dublin, Pa
Posts: 57
Vehicles
iTrader: (0)
Default

I'll take a look at the coil pack and wiring. Not sure if it would just fail out of the blue. Any suggestion on how to test coil packs?

I am topping off my battery charge after cranking the engine for awhile. I'll take a look at it again tonight.
__________________
Todd Davis
'95 Club Sport - Bosal Exhaust, Koni Shocks
not installed yet
-RDSport suspension,DASC Supercharger, B&M shifter

'04 E46 M3 |'92 Porsche 911 C4 |'99 LR Disco II|'70 Volvo 1800E|'04 V70R
Mechanical Design Engineer
bmwtinut is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-12-2016, 10:52 AM   #5
bmwtinut
Member
 
bmwtinut's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Dublin, Pa
Posts: 57
Vehicles
iTrader: (0)
Default

Well I took a look at the car tonight. Checked the harness going to the coils and I have 12v at pin 2. Ohmed out the coils and I got 0.8 on each one which is at the high limit but whithin spec according to the Bentley manual. Next I checked the ecm compartment for water ect. Cleaned that out, was dirty but dry. Next? Not sure what now.
__________________
Todd Davis
'95 Club Sport - Bosal Exhaust, Koni Shocks
not installed yet
-RDSport suspension,DASC Supercharger, B&M shifter

'04 E46 M3 |'92 Porsche 911 C4 |'99 LR Disco II|'70 Volvo 1800E|'04 V70R
Mechanical Design Engineer
bmwtinut is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-13-2016, 10:16 PM   #6
740isport
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: SF Bay Area
Posts: 315
iTrader: (1)
Default

Anyone near you with an E36 318? Takes five minutes to swap coils and see if that is the issue. If it were the EWS, you wouldn't be getting fuel and probably wouldn't even trun over. Coils can fail mysteriously, suddenly and I have never been a fan of proving it's a good coil by checking the resistance as I have seen them test that way 100% but still be a bad coil.

The other issue that comes to mind is the wiring to the coil, if you have a break somewhere that could answer the question, but that is going to be hard to find if it is the issue.

Sorry I'm not of much help, but kind of hard to diagnose this from 3k miles away.
__________________
01 740iS Cosmos Black
97 318ti Boston Green
99 318ti Titanium Silver
13 X5 3.5XDrive Cosmos Black
97 318ti Alpine White (gone but not forgotten)
88 325iC Schwartz Black (sold)
97 740iL Schwartz Black (sold)
84 633csi Schwartz Black (sold)
96 318ti Alaska Blue (sold)
08 X5 4.8i Titanium Silver (sold)
740isport is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-16-2016, 09:13 AM   #7
TobyB
Member
 
Join Date: May 2015
Location: Carnation
Posts: 44
iTrader: (0)
Default

...pull a plug, ground it securely, and crank. If it doesn't spark, well, you don't have any!

Just make SURE it has a solid ground.

You can test all 4 this way.

You can also put a 'noid' light on the input to the coils-
if it blinks, you're getting switched 12v at the coils.

If not, then a light on the injectors would be next. If they're not firing when cranking,
then CPS. If they ARE, it starts to seem like an ECU problem...

hth,
t
TobyB is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-19-2016, 12:36 AM   #8
bmwtinut
Member
 
bmwtinut's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Dublin, Pa
Posts: 57
Vehicles
iTrader: (0)
Default

Checked for spark. I have spark if I ground a plug to strut tower. Plugs seem to be wet somewhat with fuel. Even if I remove let them dry or wipe off and reinstall there is some new gas residue.
Checking fuel relay now per bently manual.
Have 12 at terminal 30, have 12v at 86 with key on.
Checked for ground at 85 with key on, nothing. Negative lead of meter to ground on chassis, meter set for continuity and then connected to terminal 85. No continuity.
__________________
Todd Davis
'95 Club Sport - Bosal Exhaust, Koni Shocks
not installed yet
-RDSport suspension,DASC Supercharger, B&M shifter

'04 E46 M3 |'92 Porsche 911 C4 |'99 LR Disco II|'70 Volvo 1800E|'04 V70R
Mechanical Design Engineer
bmwtinut is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-20-2016, 05:45 PM   #9
TobyB
Member
 
Join Date: May 2015
Location: Carnation
Posts: 44
iTrader: (0)
Default

If you have spark, you can always do a rough fuel test by pulling the intake
boot and shooting a bit of starting fluid into the intake AFTER the AFM!

If it coughs and splutters, then that would make me think it's not fuelling.
But I agree, your wet plugs would seem to indicate you're getting some fuel.

Just because it happened to me randomly last week- when it cranks, is it the usual
'chug- chug- chug' or is it suspiciously smooth? When you use certain oils, it seems
(Mobil 1 0-40, in my case) if you cold start it, let it run for 30 seconds, then switch off,
it can 'fuel wash- down' and lose compression. Then the next start MAY go 'chug- chug- whrrrrrrrrrr'.
A 'flood start' will eventually clear it, and then it will miss for a little bit, and then run fine.

Both the M42's do it, and the M54, too.

t
TobyB is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-20-2016, 06:17 PM   #10
bmwtinut
Member
 
bmwtinut's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Dublin, Pa
Posts: 57
Vehicles
iTrader: (0)
Default

It will crank over and over with no real sign that it is trying to fire. A couple of times it seemed like it wanted to fire then nothing.
__________________
Todd Davis
'95 Club Sport - Bosal Exhaust, Koni Shocks
not installed yet
-RDSport suspension,DASC Supercharger, B&M shifter

'04 E46 M3 |'92 Porsche 911 C4 |'99 LR Disco II|'70 Volvo 1800E|'04 V70R
Mechanical Design Engineer
bmwtinut is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-20-2016, 07:44 PM   #11
TobyB
Member
 
Join Date: May 2015
Location: Carnation
Posts: 44
iTrader: (0)
Default

Does the cranking sound normal, or 'too easy'?

t
TobyB is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-20-2016, 08:26 PM   #12
bmwtinut
Member
 
bmwtinut's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Dublin, Pa
Posts: 57
Vehicles
iTrader: (0)
Default

Does sound a little easy. Norm the normal poping or surging of the cylinders going through the compression cycle
__________________
Todd Davis
'95 Club Sport - Bosal Exhaust, Koni Shocks
not installed yet
-RDSport suspension,DASC Supercharger, B&M shifter

'04 E46 M3 |'92 Porsche 911 C4 |'99 LR Disco II|'70 Volvo 1800E|'04 V70R
Mechanical Design Engineer
bmwtinut is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-21-2016, 01:37 AM   #13
740isport
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: SF Bay Area
Posts: 315
iTrader: (1)
Default

I'm beginning to think cam or crank sensor is the cause.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-P907A using Tapatalk
__________________
01 740iS Cosmos Black
97 318ti Boston Green
99 318ti Titanium Silver
13 X5 3.5XDrive Cosmos Black
97 318ti Alpine White (gone but not forgotten)
88 325iC Schwartz Black (sold)
97 740iL Schwartz Black (sold)
84 633csi Schwartz Black (sold)
96 318ti Alaska Blue (sold)
08 X5 4.8i Titanium Silver (sold)
740isport is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-21-2016, 05:12 AM   #14
TobyB
Member
 
Join Date: May 2015
Location: Carnation
Posts: 44
iTrader: (0)
Default

If it's sparking, the cam and crank sensors are working to some extent.

Try holding your foot on the floor, and cranking for a minute. If it tries to
catch, keep cranking.

Don't go for longer than about a minute.

Might work... costs nothin'

t
TobyB is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-16-2016, 05:48 PM   #15
bmwtinut
Member
 
bmwtinut's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Dublin, Pa
Posts: 57
Vehicles
iTrader: (0)
Default

Ok about 2 weeks ago I go out and I am thinking of what to check next on the car. I took the rear seat out thinking I was going to test the fuel pump. Oh what the heck I'll try starting it up. It started really rough and then smoothed out after a little bit. Haven't had a chance to take it for a drive yet but I have started it up several times since then and it seems to be running as normal.
The most annoying thing is that I don't know what was wrong.
__________________
Todd Davis
'95 Club Sport - Bosal Exhaust, Koni Shocks
not installed yet
-RDSport suspension,DASC Supercharger, B&M shifter

'04 E46 M3 |'92 Porsche 911 C4 |'99 LR Disco II|'70 Volvo 1800E|'04 V70R
Mechanical Design Engineer
bmwtinut is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Very hard to start - no power under load MikeLiv Engine 1 02-15-2013 11:19 PM
Cold Start with Flooding m_souders Engine 29 03-19-2011 03:32 PM
Another cold start problem with codes zahir_213 Engine 26 01-31-2011 12:46 AM
Curious won't start issue fastworker Misc 0 12-21-2009 10:52 PM
Cause of an occasional rough start? Severian Engine 12 12-06-2005 02:35 PM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 08:49 AM.


.
Powered by site supporters
vBulletin Version 3.8.8
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©1999 - 2024, 318ti.org
© vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.2
[page compression: 130.59 k/154.75 k (15.62%)]

318ti.org does not warrant or assume any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information or products discussed.