My '88 325i refuses to start. Battery is good, it cranks but it just
does not want to start. I have investigated the following:
FUEL System:
1. Using 2 wires I connected the fuel pump directly to the battery -
the pump ran and delivered fuel (I had a hose with one end connected
to the fuel pressure regulator in the engine compartment and the other
end in a container to receive the fuel). So the fuel pump is good.
2. I removed the fuel pump relay and using a jumper wire I've
connected sockets 30 and 87 then I measured the voltage between the
terminals in the fuel pump connector - it was battery voltage - good.
3. I cranked the engine while watching the hose I had connected to the
fuel pressure regulator to see if fuel was delivered. There was plenty
of fuel - good.
IGNITION System:
4. I tested for spark using a grounded spark plug connected to one of
the wires that I had disconnected from one of the spark plugs. There
were blue sparks while cranking the engine.
So I have spark and fuel delivered to the cylinders but the car would
not start at all... Could anyone please help with a suggestion/idea of
what could be wrong? What should I check next?
Thanks a lot,
Dan
JimV - 29 Mar 2005 04:24 GMT
> My '88 325i refuses to start. Battery is good, it cranks but it just
> does not want to start. I have investigated the following:
[quoted text clipped - 23 lines]
> Thanks a lot,
> Dan
Timing belt slipped?
Dan Brenner - 30 Mar 2005 14:30 GMT
> > My '88 325i refuses to start. Battery is good, it cranks but it just
> > does not want to start.
>.................................
> Timing belt slipped?
How can I check if the timing belt slipped? And if true, is there a
way to check if there was engine damage or not? Right now, when I
crank the engine I don't hear any unusual sounds coming from the
engine. Is this a good enough indication that the engine is (still)
ok?
Thanks,
Dan
John Burns - 29 Mar 2005 09:20 GMT
My 87 525e did the same thing, same engine type. The trouble is the
spark was too weak! We found a dry solder joint on the main output
resistor in the Motronic DME, that was resoldered and the fault fixed.
You may also have a bad temperature sensor.

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