Re: 1984 318I starting problem?

["Ron Buchalski" <rbuchals@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Herman,

I had a similar problem with my '85 E30 318i.  It turned out to be a bad 
fuel pump relay.  It is located under the hood on the driver's side fender.  
Mine was clustered with two other relays, and they were all covered by one 
common black cover.

When you turn the key from the OFF position to the ON position, you should 
hear a brief (~1 second) buzz as the fuel pump activates and pumps up the 
fuel line.  If you don't hear this, it could be the sign of a bad fuel pump 
relay.  You can use a jumper wire to bypass the relay.  If the fuel pump 
turns on, it means that the relay is probably bad.

For troubleshooting instructions, refer to the excellent Bentley manual for 
the E30.  Don't probe around with wires unless you have the correct info!

I replaced the relay, and my problem went away.  Later, a technician from a 
local shop described what usually fails in the relay: there is a small 
circuit board inside the relay, and some of the solder joints for the relay 
coil broke away from this circuit board from the repeated rocking of the 
relay as it turns on and off.  I removed the cover to verify and yes, it was 
that problem.  If I had removed the cover carefully (without damaging it), I 
could have used a soldering iron to repair the damaged solder joints, and my 
repair would have been free!  The cost of a new relay was in the $50 range, 
if I remember correctly.

Good luck,

Ron Buchalski

>
>Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2000 16:07:44 -0500
>From: Herman Fette <Herman.Fette@domain.elided>
>Subject: 1984 318I starting problem?
>
>Hello All,
>
>I am new to the list and am in need of some help?  I have a 1984 318I with
>200K miles on it.  The car runs great, but one day I drove it to work and
>everything was normal.  When I went to leave work the car would not start?
>It turned over, I could smell gas.  I checked all the fuses, I replaced the
>distributor coil but it still will not start?  I checked other obvious
>things like the distributor cap and rotor, etc.  I think it is something
>electrical?  Maybe a relay or the computer?   Has anyone ever had something
>like this happen to them?   Maybe there is a quick fix?  The car is too old
>to take to the BMW dealer and I just wanted to get it running again because
>I like the car!!!!!
>
>Thanks,
>
>Herman
>
>------------------------------
>
>End of bmw-digest V9 #1344
>**************************
>

______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

------------------------------