<![CDATA[318ti: crank, no start.]]>Pulled the car into underground parking Sunday night, no issues.

Tried to start the car Monday morning. Popped once like it was going to start, then nothing. On subsequent attempts it would occasionally would pop once right when it starts cranking, but that's it.

Pulled plugs and they weren't wet. Verified spark. Tried to verify fuel pressure without hosing fuel all over the basement. Pump was getting voltage, but wasn't making noise or vibrating, so was  assumed to be bad. Replaced fuel pump. Still no start. Not a single pop or sputter.

Pulled plugs again and they're soaked. Dried them out with a torch. Now while cranking it will fire here and there if the pedal is to the floor, but won't start. Plugged in OBD scanner to verify that I'm getting a sane signal from the MAF, which I am. However I'm getting intake air temperature of 200F or more. IAT sensor appears to be working when tested with an ohm meter and a hair dryer. I tried disconnecting the IAT sensor, and replacing it with various size resistors, but the OBD still says 180-210F. Bad wiring? Or Is it getting this data from the MAF?

Any other ideas? What am I missing here? Seems very strange that it would run with no issues one day, and then be a useless turd the next day...

]]>https://wibimmers.com/topic/5771/318ti-crank-no-start.RSS for NodeWed, 16 Sep 2026 05:37:30 GMTWed, 13 Nov 2019 04:43:57 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to 318ti: crank, no start. on Wed, 13 Nov 2019 19:29:53 GMT]]>Thanks for the suggestions. I'll have to check on the battery. It cranked for a long time, but has always seemed a little sluggish.

]]>https://wibimmers.com/post/102810https://wibimmers.com/post/102810Wed, 13 Nov 2019 19:29:53 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to 318ti: crank, no start. on Wed, 13 Nov 2019 19:00:55 GMT]]>had my s50 die on the street, no start with a pop or two when cranking. it was the fuel pump & main relay. they can just go from working to not working.

]]>https://wibimmers.com/post/102808https://wibimmers.com/post/102808Wed, 13 Nov 2019 19:00:55 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to 318ti: crank, no start. on Wed, 13 Nov 2019 16:30:37 GMT]]>My high mile e36 has done this a couple times.  After a failed start from a weak battery the cylinders can get washed down with fuel and if you check with a compression tester you will panic seeing numbers as low as 20 PSI.  I would usually pull the plugs and crank to dry the cylinders out and then drop a little oil in each cylinder before putting the plugs back in.  I need to replace my battery before it gets too cold so I have faster cranking and then it starts right away.  My battery is a 10 year old Optima Red Top.

]]>https://wibimmers.com/post/102807https://wibimmers.com/post/102807Wed, 13 Nov 2019 16:30:37 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to 318ti: crank, no start. on Wed, 13 Nov 2019 15:00:59 GMT]]>How old is the battery?  If unsure it might be worth replacing. I did mine on the 318is just before the cold snap hit. Old battery was the one that came with the car when I bought it in 2012.  According to a bar code reader the battery was nine years old. Read out fine in battery tests, sluggish but always started fine, except when temps dropped below mid-20s. Much better now.

]]>https://wibimmers.com/post/102804https://wibimmers.com/post/102804Wed, 13 Nov 2019 15:00:59 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to 318ti: crank, no start. on Wed, 13 Nov 2019 14:33:48 GMT]]>

GunMetalGrey said:

Unplug the battery, then reconnect it and see what happens. 
Silly science, but I'm assuming anything is better than  nothing right now. 

Already tried that actually. Anyways...

False alarm. With a fresh charge on the battery, the car sputtered to life in a big cloud of smoke this morning. Somehow over the course of my messing around with it it got flooded pretty badly. After the car started the IAT sensor went back to reading normally. I'm still going to try to pick up a spare MAF just in case.

]]>https://wibimmers.com/post/102802https://wibimmers.com/post/102802Wed, 13 Nov 2019 14:33:48 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to 318ti: crank, no start. on Wed, 13 Nov 2019 05:29:24 GMT]]>

Rekpoint said:

Almost sounds like the EWS system took a shit like the usually do. 

Unplug the battery, then reconnect it and see what happens. 
Silly science, but I'm assuming anything is better than  nothing right now.

]]>https://wibimmers.com/post/102799https://wibimmers.com/post/102799Wed, 13 Nov 2019 05:29:24 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to 318ti: crank, no start. on Wed, 13 Nov 2019 05:20:15 GMT]]>Almost sounds like the EWS system took a shit like they usually do.

]]>https://wibimmers.com/post/102797https://wibimmers.com/post/102797Wed, 13 Nov 2019 05:20:15 GMT