Calypsorot '90 325i Coupe
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Update time!
So I'm taking a job for the summer where I'll be out of state and so we decided instead of rebuilding the car as planed that we would just put the new motor in and get the car driving instead of sitting in the shop till next winter.
Picked up the motor Monday afternoon and we installed it last night. Bought the motor and trans from Jdesign's vert with ~140k. It's really clean but of course leaks a little oil like any m20.
It was an all night affair getting the motor in as I wasn't organized as we changed directions of the build plan 180*, mostly just had to find/remember what hardware went where. Ended up doing the reverse of how we removed the old motor: slid motor/trans under, lifted, then installed front sub frame.
A big thanks to Jason for getting the motor to us earlier than planned and being a huge help on installing the motor too.
The car cranks but no fuel at the moment, fuel pump isn't priming so next step is to diagnose that. Matt ordered a csb and garagistic 80a rear subframe bushings as the only other maintenance items needed.
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So it will be at the e30 picnic?
That's the goal! I probably won't be there though.
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WHAT ABOUT CARS AND COFFEE!?!?!?!?
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It's looks just like the M20 that I pulled out of my 325 when I got it! I know that update was awhile ago, but guess who didn't see it until now.
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WHAT ABOUT CARS AND COFFEE!?!?!?!?
I've been going every week Patrick! Sadly I'll miss all the lake mills though.
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Pat and Jameson stopped by while Matt and I worked on the car this afternoon, I'm somewhere in that pic. Got the old harness out and swapped on a different one but still no priming even of the fuel pump. So now the fun begins, hopefully I can kill two birds with one stone when I figured this out to help with the e28's basically the same issues.
bentley procedure isn't helpful so I'm gonna run through this tomorrow. http://www.e30zone.net/e30zonewiki/index.php/Engines_Troubleshoot
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Sorry I didn't make it over Sunday, I was being lazy. Not sure if it's the same with the M20, but the M42 doesn't always prime. Some people say it does, others say it doesn't. You can jumper the relay to verify that the pump is working (key may need to be on). If it runs when jumpered then you should be good to go. Let me know if you need any help or an extra pair of hands.
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Alright guys I'm stumped. Engine cranks with fuel and spark but still doesn't fire. Brand new VDO fuel pump, new temp sensors, all cyls have spark, injectors have power, fuel and main relay have power, jumping main relay turns on icv, swapped 3 dme's in with no luck.
I have something wired wrong though as I can crank the car from the ignition switch but I can't from the diagnostic port.
Although I didn't modify/touch these I did notice some wire hacking under the column. The black/yellow wire was spliced and reconnected twice and the green wire was spliced with a extra wire joined in but not connected to anything. Is this the green wire that goes to the coil?
Also the two prong connector off the engine harness by the dme is for the OBC correct? This car doesn't have a 13 button and I can't find any wire that would plug into this.
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Issue I ran into with a friends e30 was the green wire and a bad immobilizer connection. Either make sure things are plugged in or bypassed.
Same symptoms: fuel, spark, good Dme, and no start.
Can't tell from your pics if this is the issue. See green wire section here:
http://www.e30zone.net/e30zonewiki/index.php/Engines_Troubleshoot
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Yes, those connectors go to the obc.
Its very strange that there is fuel and spark yet no start.
Is the idle control valve working/buzzing? With the ignition on?
Can you hear the injectors firing while cranking ?(rubber hose as a stethoscope works here)
Can you do a stomp test ?(as a quick easy check of the functionality of the TPS)
Its not uncommon to mix up the TPS and ICV connectors as well as the cylinder ID and crank sensor connectors under the diagnostic connector.
Was this car originally an automatic? And does it have any aftermarket alarm system?
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Issue I ran into with a friends e30 was the green wire and a bad immobilizer connection. Either make sure things are plugged in or bypassed.
Same symptoms: fuel, spark, good Dme, and no start.
Can't tell from your pics if this is the issue. See green wire section here:
http://www.e30zone.net/e30zonewiki/index.php/Engines_Troubleshoot
Where is the Imobilizer? That's the page I've been using to diagnose issues.
Yes, those connectors go to the obc.
Its very strange that there is fuel and spark yet no start.
Is the idle control valve working/buzzing? With the ignition on?
Can you hear the injectors firing while cranking ?(rubber hose as a stethoscope works here)
Can you do a stomp test ?(as a quick easy check of the functionality of the TPS)
Its not uncommon to mix up the TPS and ICV connectors as well as the cylinder ID and crank sensor connectors under the diagnostic connector.
Was this car originally an automatic? And does it have any aftermarket alarm system?
Icv works, tps and icv connectors are different so not mixed up. I've tried switching cylinder id and crank sensor plugs with no luck.
i haven't listened to the injectors or done a stomp test. Car is originally a manual and I believe those wires were cut for a alarm system that is no longer present.
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What about the locations of the plug wires on the distributor cap? Did you miff those up by chance?
I know I require quadruple checking mine whenever they are off
I'll double check those too, but even if they were mixed up the car would misfire. The motor hasn't coughed one bit from cranking.
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Are the injectors themselves any good? Clogged injectors caused this problem for me on my 911, which also ran on Motronic.
Not sure, I do have a spare set that I could try but it's something with the wiring because I can't crank the car by jumping pins 11&14 from the diagnostic port.
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On his the immobilizer was a black thin rectangular box on the drivers side under the dash with the green wire plug going into it, but his was a gutted and rewired race car so probably relocated and an earlier model than yours...so not much help. Sorry about that.
You keep on mentioning you have fuel, but is this just power to the relay, the new pump, and injectors or have you also actually checked fuel pressure?
This is also helpful to track down issues: http://blog.bavauto.com/3562/no-start-1989-325i-e30/
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pulled these injectors out of the motor. Pulled the fuel rail/injectors off the old motor and plugged it into the harness for testing. Verified 70psi of fuel pressure before the FPR. Cranked the car and fuel sprayed but it wasn't a constant mist, I could just see droplets although they were firing upside down. Again verified that the injector harness has power and pulsing so that means everything ecu wise works?
After doing some reading next logical step would be to check impedance on the injectors? I'd like to hook the original set up to the motor too to see if they spray fuel any better. Any way of testing the FPR too? Also thinking it might be best to drain the fuel tank of year old gas to rule that out too.
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Get fresh gas for sure, especially if it has any ethanol. The fpr is just a relief valve, so if you measure the right pressure at the rail it is working. Low pressure means it is leaking by or weak, high pressure could be from some clog on the return side.
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