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Thread: Problems starting car: 89 BMW 325I 396,000 MIles

  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2013
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    United States
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    My Cars
    89 MBW 325i

    Problems starting car: 89 BMW 325I 396,000 MIles

    It was working yesterday and no real problems except a slight rough idle.
    Plenty of battery juice and it turns over well, but does NOT engage??
    Has a "new" Cap & Rotor, plugs, new timing belts, adjusted the AFM to
    "Factory" Settings of 3/4 of a turn.
    Plenty of power and no stall outs prior.
    Previous engine over heating problem fixed(Flushed out engine and radiator)
    New Thermostat, heating and gauge sensors.
    Runs great for about 30-45 days and all of a sudden, no start???

    Could it be the COIL, Fuses, air vacuum leak somewhere?

    Plenty of fuel, good battery, just cranks over repeatedly.
    The infamous Charcoal canister??(Never changed too)
    O2 sensor changed, Fuel filter changed.

    HELP !!!! Contact me at john.a.carman@gmail.com Thanks!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    Media, Pennsylvania,
    Posts
    4,699
    My Cars
    1991 325i
    can you hear if the fuel pump is coming on? are the plugs wet with fuel? the crank sensor might have gone out, which means you wont get spark or fuel.
    1991 BMW 325i(Current Daily) (S52)
    I have carburetors, and I'm not afraid to use them!
    There are always other fish (engines) in the sea (Craigslist)
    Life is about enjoying the engine you are sitting behind.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2013
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    My Cars
    89 MBW 325i
    Where is the "Crank Sensor"? I don't remember hearing the "electronic" sound anymore.
    I also checked the "Relay" switches in the Fuse box and they all seemed to be okay, but
    how can you tell? (4 pronged) 89 325I

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
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    Media, Pennsylvania,
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    1991 325i
    the crank sensor is on the front of the engine down next to the crankshaft. if you feel your way around the crank pulley you will feel it pretty easily. if that doesnt see the engine spinning then the computer wont send out fuel or spark to the engine.
    1991 BMW 325i(Current Daily) (S52)
    I have carburetors, and I'm not afraid to use them!
    There are always other fish (engines) in the sea (Craigslist)
    Life is about enjoying the engine you are sitting behind.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    DFW
    Posts
    1,495
    My Cars
    99 R1100RT
    Sounds like fuel and/or fuel related. As Rudolph suggested, start with the fuel pump and work your way towards the front from there checking everything.

    But almost 400K miles on that thing??? Damn!!! Very respectable.
    1999 BMW R1100RT
    2005 MC C230K Sport
    2007 Chevy Silverado Crew Cab Z71
    2010 Chevy Tahoe LT2

  6. #6
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Location
    United States
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    My Cars
    89 MBW 325i
    Well, I guess we'll find out Monday, I had to have the car towed about 3 miles away to a BMW specialist thank God! The other guys I normally used aren't really BMW qualified and only do "basic stuff. I am hoping it's just a relay switch or a Fuse which is cheaper. A fuel pump would break me. I'll get back to you all Monday. Thanks for the advice. Is it me or is it the FULL Moon ???? I'm taking this car to 1 million miles !!!

    - - - Updated - - -

    BMW inspection results were that it was the Fuel Pump After all.(396,000 Miles) 89'
    I noticed that the performance was a little slow" in response form a traffic light
    but it worked fine after that. It appears now that the "fuel line" was not performing
    or due to the old nature of the "Original" Fuel pump which started to make some
    slight "bearing" noises I was unaware of.
    So with a BMW qualified mechanic and $518.00 USD later, I should be good to go.
    Note: the symptoms were "slight" but I did not have access to a qualified BMW
    mechanic and it was intermittent.Hopefully someone else will learn from my experience.
    I still need to get some other minor repairs/replacements and I have a small list.The
    mechanic also said BMW doesn't make certain types of fuel pumps anymore but that
    the Bosch is good over that of a another. Either way, try to keep it German or original.
    He also said the Charcoal canister doe snot normally get replaced unless you FAIL SMOG.
    About $100.00) Next on my list is probably an AFM box/meter. But so far the original is still
    good.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    Seattle WA
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    199
    My Cars
    2017 330i Wagon
    An 89 bmw is about as simple as they come, any mechanic should be able to work on that car.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
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    1989 BMW 325iX
    Quote Originally Posted by Rudolph320i View Post
    the crank sensor is on the front of the engine down next to the crankshaft. if you feel your way around the crank pulley you will feel it pretty easily. if that doesnt see the engine spinning then the computer wont send out fuel or spark to the engine.
    Pictures would help. I know where the bottom is connected, can't find the top. And can we route the wire anyhow we can, or it has to route specifically as it should? 36" or so long.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    Media, Pennsylvania,
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    1991 325i
    the top connection is near the intake manifold, and run the wire wherever you want so long as it doesnt touch anything spinning.
    1991 BMW 325i(Current Daily) (S52)
    I have carburetors, and I'm not afraid to use them!
    There are always other fish (engines) in the sea (Craigslist)
    Life is about enjoying the engine you are sitting behind.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
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    1989 BMW 325iX
    Spent a couple of hours routing the wire up into original slot. Very tricky; I didn't remove or detach any other parts. Car does run a little higher up in RPM at startup.

    Normal folks really can't get this wire replaced like this. The length of the wire does not allow any other way from connection at bottom to top.

  11. #11
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    1989 BMW 325iX
    The previous CPS at the bottom was very dirty (covered in mud). I know it works by sensing magnetically, but I don't doubt all that gunk degraded its sensing ability. Reminder for all to spray it down once in a while. May keep you from needing to replace a CPS in the first place.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
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    1989 BMW 325iX
    I never replied to this forum after having solved the problem last year. The problem was not the fuel pump itself, but the connection, only after having replaced pump and running into se problem again. The car is 25 years old; the pump wire connection, much like speakers are connected male to female. The pump has two male prongs, round. The wire from car has two female leads. Round prongs and round holes after 25 years gets loose. Flatten female leads & connection should be tight.

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