M42club.com - Home of the BMW E30/E36 318i/iS
DISCUSSION => Engine + Driveline => Topic started by: RED IS 91 on September 09, 2006, 04:26:53 PM
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OK , I need help!!
Coming home today my car sputtered then died.Luckily I coasted into a parking lot .I tried to start it but to no avail . Turned over great but it seemed to not be getting any fuel.Almost started but died a few times .I had my wife bring me some more fuel but that didn't help.
I called AAA and had it towed home.
My Question is this .
When I turn the key on should I hear the fuel pump pumping ???
Now I hear nothing even when cranking to start .
Before this it seemed to run a little rough but not bad .
How do I check the pump ??
Thanks
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When you turn the key you should hear a "Bzzzt" sound coming from under the backseat (where the pump is).
The simplest way to test it is to take it out of the tank and check it with a car battery. + to + - to -. If it's good it should work. If you wire it to the battery and it doesn't start try to knock it and see if it works. Even if it works it's best you buy a new/good fuel pump because you never know when/where it will die again.
A friend of mine also with an E30 318iS has had the exact same problem and it was the pump.
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put a voltmeter to the connectors of the fuel pump to make sure you're getting power to the fuel pump. You can also try swapping the fuel pump relay under your hood. Mine had gone bad and I experienced similar symptoms. Then, shortly after that, my fuel pump went bad.
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A bad pump will ruin your relay, always replace your relay with your pump, and if your relay goes bad: "heres your sign".
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One more vote for the bad pump, I had the exact same symptoms.
You can pull the fuel pump relay and connect a fused, switched wire across the connectors where it plugged in (30 and 87? This is from memory, so check...). Switch on the ignition, and then flip the switch to turn on the pump. You should hear it whirring away.
If it runs, replace the relay. If it doens't, check to make sure you are getting +12V at the pump-side connector. If you have power, replace the pump.
It's easier to hear the pump if you pull the back seat bottom out.
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Thanks for the help .
I'm going to look at it this morning with my volt meter .
I'll keep ya posted .
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OK
I went and put a volt meter on the plug wires at the fuel pump under the back seat .I was reading 11.94 volts at the plug . I suspect I need a new pump.
$ 209 at autohaus
$ 269 at bavauto:eek:
$ 253 at Pelicans
The one at autohaus is a VDO-siemens.
Is that OEM ??
I don't want to put a inferior pump in that will give me trouble later on .
Thanks
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try bma...but give patrick a call directly! see if he can knock down the price.
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I paid $185 from BMA...
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$ 224 at bma so I guess I'll go with autohauz .
I've bought from them before ,not as fast as bavauto but cheaper.
Thanks everyone for the help and I'll post again when I get it installed .
Hopefully next weekend .
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..............Dont forget to replace your relay to.
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I paid 187 at parts authority with ny tax.
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I went to the local wrecking yard a pulled a pump out of a Ford Contour. Same size and fit as the E30 pump and all I had to do was solder the new plug. I'm a whole $6 into it.
When I do it again for the turbo setup I'll be using a Walbro pump designed for a Camaro... since the pump used in our cars is an AC Delco pump with pretty muchexactly the same design as the Camaro pump... which also means that a $50 parts store pump for a Camaro should work fine for you stock replacement guys.
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I went to the local wrecking yard a pulled a pump out of a Ford Contour. Same size and fit as the E30 pump and all I had to do was solder the new plug. I'm a whole $6 into it.
When I do it again for the turbo setup I'll be using a Walbro pump designed for a Camaro... since the pump used in our cars is an AC Delco pump with pretty muchexactly the same design as the Camaro pump... which also means that a $50 parts store pump for a Camaro should work fine for you stock replacement guys.
Awesome. There is nothing better than finding cheap domestic replacements for overpriced foreign parts that do the same job. Nice find!
Brian
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The one at autohaus is a VDO-siemens.
Is that OEM ??
I don't want to put a inferior pump in that will give me trouble later on .
Thanks
i wouldnt think VDO/Siemens would be anything but perfect quality. ESPECIALLY considering the said 6 dollar replacement, you shoudlnt worry..
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It should be said that the sock on the Contour pump was a bit of a pain to get into the tank but it fit and works fine. A GM pump would be best generally but you have to pull the tank to get them out and I had about 15min before the yard closed on a Sunday evening with the car stuck at a friends house. One might say I was in a bit of a pinch.
A lot of domestic electric fuel pumps are the same size so for me it was mostly a matter of finding one that was easy to remove in a hurry. Don't take the Contour as the source car.
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I replaced the pump and 6 months later started having the same problem. I hooked jumper cables to the battery and put screwdrivers in the other ends. When I touched the prongs on the pump it ran. Turned ouy my plug on the end of the wires had sloppy sockets and could lose contact. I bent the prongs on the top of the pump so they created friction on the socket and it's worked fine ever since, I discovered it by bumping the plug accidently and it started. I wiggled it and it went on and off. Stuff gets tired after 15 years. Glad I found that before I ventured into my next guess which was the fuse block!
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15 years old and 185,000 miles .Can't ask for more than that .
Hopefully it solves my problem .
If not then I'll have the knowledge of having a new pump .
Everything points to that being the problem .
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I went to the local wrecking yard a pulled a pump out of a Ford Contour. Same size and fit as the E30 pump and all I had to do was solder the new plug. I'm a whole $6 into it.
Did you have to attach the pump to the E30 plate that seals to the tank or were you able to use the entire assembly as removed from the Contour tank.
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I know where the fuse is for the pump is but where is the relay ??:confused:
Both bentley manuals are not much help ..
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troubleshooting fuel injection:
(http://ee1394.com/bmw/docs/factory/repair/en/extra/images/0334.jpg)
the relay is under the hood, under long plastic cover along the top of the firewall.
(#2 in the second diagram down on the left)
(http://ee1394.com/bmw/docs/factory/repair/en/repair/images/0188.jpg)
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IIRC, the fuel pump relay is the middle of the three underneath the cover in the engine compartment. Can anyone confirm?
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Thanks Febi
what manual is that ??
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this one!
http://www.m42club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=964
(click on the web link for ee1394.com if you don't wanna wait for the all-at-once download)
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I replaced the pump and 6 months later started having the same problem. I hooked jumper cables to the battery and put screwdrivers in the other ends. When I touched the prongs on the pump it ran. Turned ouy my plug on the end of the wires had sloppy sockets and could lose contact. I bent the prongs on the top of the pump so they created friction on the socket and it's worked fine ever since, I discovered it by bumping the plug accidently and it started. I wiggled it and it went on and off. Stuff gets tired after 15 years. Glad I found that before I ventured into my next guess which was the fuse block!
Same thing happened to me. I figured it out after buying 2 fuel pumps
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Did you have to attach the pump to the E30 plate that seals to the tank or were you able to use the entire assembly as removed from the Contour tank.
Just the pump itself.
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I've bought a new pump but it didn't come with a sending unit
I checked the old sending unit with a meter and had around 12 volts when the key is turned on .
I also ran a direct feed to the pump from the battery and it made no noise at all .It would seem to me that with 12 volts directly to the pump it should spin .Agree??
I also could feel the fuel pump relay clicking on when I turned the key to the on posititon.
Any help is appreciated .
Thanks
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SUCCESS !!!! :D
I put the new pump in this afternoon and the ole girl sprang back to life . It was relatively easy but when I went to try and turn the old pump out I couldn't budge it .I had to use a block of wood ( no sparks !! sparks are bad !!!:eek: ) and a hammer to loosen it up . Once it was loose I turned it quite easily .
Thanks to everyone for their help .
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Sweet deal! Hopefully my fix for my e21 will be as straight-forward (similar design). One thing to note... FUEL FILTER. It sounds like this may not have caused pump failure for you, but it can if the filter is clogged any and causing stress on the pump. May as well replace the filter (cheap), esp if you dont know when it was last replaced. I think the recommendation is new fuel filter w/ spark plug change?