Starting issue (new one for me)
 

So this is my first time posting here, though I have lurked here for a while.

This one is confusing me, mainly because I have never had this issue with any vehicle.

I got my 84 bmw 528e from my dad, after he got tired of trying to repair the butchery that the last owner did. Been throwing parts at it, and finally got it running great, 3 months later...

Starting with some background, ive replaced the secondary pump, and stopped there after the problem that originally happened, well...happened.

On the return leg of a short trip the car stalled on me. Which it never does. Tried to restart, cranks, and then as soon as the engine "asks" for fuel I hear a loud "clicking" type of noise.
I further verified it by pressing down on the gas pedal a second after the engine starts cranking, soon as the gas pedal is pressed a loud "click".

any ideas would be great, its not the usual battery or fuel pump problem.

thanks all, kinda lost on this one

Main relay or fuel pump relay? The horn and fuel pump relays are the same, try switching them. Check and confirm that the electrical system is in good condition; battery terminals, fuses and fuse box connections, chassis grounds, etc. Many problems with these older cars are electrical.

Tried switching out the relays, no luck. The fuse box is relatively new, and that was the first thing i double checked, its good. Chassis grounds are good. Voltages are dead on. Air intake system is new.

After i got the pressure out of the pump that I got, I figured it wasn't something mechanical, and electrical instead.

Also tried disconnecting the negative terminal, letting it reset, and trying to start it after a few minutes.

Used to working on cars, but the electrical system on this car just utterly boggles me. I have a feeling this is going to turn into chasing a ton of wires.

Have you tried staring it with ether (starting fluid)? You model has a cold start valve that could be part of the problem. Get yourself a Bentley manual, it's very helpful.

yea i tried ether, I'll check out the cold start valve, thanks.

** and yea i have the blue masters book, but i need to get a bentley book for this car

What happened when you used the ether?

nothing, turns over, just gets to the loud click faster.

on a side note, the engine did try to start once without pressing the gas ( out of about 30 times), it barely ran very weak and then just died out (super weak idle for 5 seconds).....but at the least its not seized up

Are you sure you have spark? Check for spark and you may want to take off the Idle control valve and clean it and the passages that it's connected to with spray carb cleaner. Spark, fuel, and air. It may actually be flooding, the cold start valves are notorious for leaking. Pull one of the plugs and check its condition.

gonna double check my injectors and my spark after lunch tomorrow, thanks so much for the info

will post results

so, spark is good, injectors are good.

Feel kinda dumb, pulled the main relay back off and was checking it out and for some reason i gave it a small shake, rattle rattle rattle, sounds like something broke off in there, gonna pretty much put that at the top of the suspect list. Will do after dinner, hopefully it works..

edit: I get to order it, like usual, local parts guy is completely clueless

so this was rather funny. ended up being a poorly mounted rotor, well the rotor itself was mounted well, but whatever it is called that it mounts too (the big star bolt) came loose. funny thing is that I checked it, and it must have been sitting in there perfect the first time.... second time it all fell out in my hands, go figure

happy easter! thanks for the help

I'm glad you solved your problem. :thumbup: