1995 540i won't start

RB, only 1 DME on the V8 E34 540. I believe only the V12 has 2.

I'm thinking massive intake air leak ,or disconnected sensor, if you dont know the age of the Fuel pump I would be suspect of it.Main engine relay?, or even flooding as in my no start case. Wheres that ultimate no start thread link ?

Originally Posted by luckydog

I'm thinking massive intake air leak ,or disconnected sensor, if you dont know the age of the Fuel pump I would be suspect of it.Main engine relay?, or even flooding as in my no start case. Wheres that ultimate no start thread link ?

I put it in post #2.

Since it is getting strong spark, I would think that rules out main engine relay, but ...

Still contemplating this one.

Still following all of the help and advice here!

OK....I got the 2 codes cleared and then got the 1444 code.....that felt good!

No cough or sputter....nothing.

I also wanted to check the butterfly on the throttle body because I'm desparate. It was there and still connected as it should be. While I had this apart my wife cranked the engine while I sprayed some starter fluid directly into the throttle body. No cough or sputter....NOTHING but the engine cranking.

Also, when I crank the engine (even without the boost from jumper cables on the spare car) it cranks hard and fast enough to make the oil pressure idiot light go out. So it's cranking good and has oil pressure.

I also verified the oil level as I had a generator that wouldn't run with low oil. It was about a half quart low but I added a quart to try to jog the low level switch in case that was tied in somehow.

This is killing me!

Cold weather was mentioned and I'm inclined to agree but it's been in the garage and it's heated to about 55 degrees.

OH yea....not sure what the 'ECS' is but I must have only one. I probably know what it is but not when referred to as 'ECS'....help me out on that a little more and tell me what it does and where it's located....thankya'.

Still searching.

Rick in Ohio

Originally Posted by rv6rick

Can't thank you ALL enough for all the help. I talked to a BMW technician



I just this minute tried jumping the car with my other car and cables. It does turn a bit faster but not much and I KNOW it's turning over rapidly even with out the

Rick in Ohio

This may be crucial. Why should it crank faster when jumped ? I suggest you dry out the chambers, jump the terminals, hold the donor's rpm at 2500 this time and....start your engine.

Please constantly read and delete codes after every significant test.

Sorry typo i meant ecu or dme. Engines management computer It should be where your fuel pump's relay is located.

It didn't crank a LOT faster but just enough that I could barely tell the difference.

I did have my wife rev up the jumper car with the cables on it to provide even more boost but that didn't get my bimmer going either.

You make a good point though. I wonder if from all of this trial and error if there is a bunch of raw fuel laying on top of the pistons that needs to be removed? I suppose I'd have to pull all of the spark plugs again and leave them out overnight?

Understood on verifying the 1444 code after each big step.

I even tried it in neutral instead of park. I'm trying to stand back and really look it over as you folks have mentioned. Sometimes you can't see the forest for the trees as they say.

Tomorrow after supper I will have my gauge and 'T' to absolutely verify my fuel rail pressure and will report back.

I am really puzzled on this. But, I'm am amazed at the help you folks are giving me....THANKYA!!!

Rick at the Buffalo Farm

Originally Posted by robertobaggio20

This may be crucial. Why should it crank faster when jumped ? I suggest you dry out the chambers, jump the terminals, hold the donor's rpm at 2500 this time and....start your engine.

Please constantly read and delete codes after every significant test.

OK, gotcha. I only have the one so not much help there. I will look it over as you advised just the same.

Rick in Ohio

Originally Posted by robertobaggio20

Sorry typo i meant ecu or dme. Engines management computer It should be where your fuel pump's relay is located.

" You make a good point though. I wonder if from all of this
trial and error if there is a bunch of raw fuel laying on top
of the pistons that needs to be removed?"

Arrghhh !

1. Pull all plugs.
2. Pull dme relay. This cuts spark and fuel. If not, pull fp fuse and disconnect coil leads.
3. Crank engine for at least ten seconds. All fuel will be expunged.
4 replace plugs, coils, leads.
5. Start engine.
6. Buy colombian roses for wife.

Originally Posted by robertobaggio20

" You make a good point though. I wonder if from all of this
trial and error if there is a bunch of raw fuel laying on top
of the pistons that needs to be removed?"

Arrghhh !

1. Pull all plugs.
2. Pull dme relay. This cuts spark and fuel. If not, pull fp fuse and disconnect coil leads.
3. Crank engine for at least ten econds. All fuel will be expunged.
4 replace plugs, coils, leads.
5. Start engine.
6. Buy colombian roses for wife.

Best to do this with the powered jump, or if you dont, and if it doesnt work, then redo the extended fuel purge crank and then start with the powered jump in place.

Good luck.

R
P.s. purchase one bunch of roses only.

Originally Posted by rv6rick

I KNOW there is fuel getting through the injectors and into the chamber and I know there is s

Please advise how you are sure that fuel is getting thru the injectors. Thank you.

Btw did you use the sniff test ?

At this point, there is nothing further to do except to double check your activity, both in terms of the checks you are doing, and how you are doing them. There must be something wrong with one of that. There is no other explanation.

Now, crank is confirmed easily enough, and enhanced via a powered jump. Check. This confirms that the fusible link is fine, the battery is ok, sufficient current is reaching the starter, and that the starter itself is functioning.

Spark has been confirmed via the MkII eyeball check. This confirms the dme, dme relay, cps, ignition coil, coil's wires, and spark plugs are ok.

Or has it ?

You said you tested each spark plug while holding it against ground and cranking 8 times. So that would be every single spark plug currently in your car i.e 8 spark plugs x 8 cranks each = 64 sparks.

Did you check this with each corresponding ignition coil ? Or did you use the same ignition coil to test every spark plug, perhaps because that's the coil that was closest to ground and which could be seen most easily when you were at the car cranking away ?

If this is what you did, its best if you check each coil itself for charge delivery. I'm not ready with my quick and dirty method of doing this, so you'll have to do it the long way. Good thing you have an assistant.

Can you confirm that each ignition wire is connected to its correct ignition coil ? Swopping them around will essentially alter timing.

[ We must bear in mind that the troubleshooting process itself may have introduced errors. The original problem might actually have resolved itself/been resolved along the way without us realising it. ]

Lastly...fuel. The car actually starts and runs with a busted fuel pressure regulator (fpr). I've yanked the vacuum hose from my fpr before and started the engine and throttled it. Doesn't seem all that different while running. I expect your fuel consumption would be too high though with a bad fpr.

If you can confirm via the sniff test or something else that you are indeed getting fuel in your combustion chambers, then you would have confirmed that your fp, fp relay, fp fuse, fuel filter, and fuel injectors are working fine.

Though starter fluid in the intake should have worked to cough out the engine, I'm just not totally convinced that your injectors are delivering fuel. Short of the sniff test (crank the engine for 10 seconds with all the ignition coils disconnected but the fuel system active, then remove a few plugs and sniff the exposed chambers for fuel), I think all the other checks will not be absolute.

The crank itself is something you can perceive with your ears. The spark itself is something you can perceive with your eyes. Air will be drawn into the chamber as long as cranking is taking place (cranking generates vacuum) and there are no restrictions in the air intake (you've removed your air filter and presumably there's nothing stoppering the air box in front of it, and the throttle body's butterfly valve is functioning as it should)....this really does not need to be directly perceived. Lastly fuel. You need to perceive its presence in the combustion chamber using one of your 5 physical senses, and not merely instrumentation. There is no other way when everything otherwise checks out.


rgds,
Roberto

Roberto,

Thanks for the detailed reply as well as all the other advice.

I'll try to respond to each comment:

- Previous reply, I will pull all of the plugs and crank the engine to remove all fuel in case the engine is heavily flooded by me putting fuel in 2 of the cylinders via the spark plug hole and by me putting fuel into the intake snorkel by the MAF and by my squirting starting fluid into the intake and spark plug holes....all this trying to get it to cough.

Other comments inserted to your text in caps so they stand out:

Originally Posted by robertobaggio20

At this point, there is nothing further to do except to double check your activity, both in terms of the checks you are doing, and how you are doing them. There must be something wrong with one of that. There is no other explanation.

AREED

Now, crank is confirmed easily enough, and enhanced via a powered jump. Check. This confirms that the fusible link is fine, the battery is ok, sufficient current is reaching the starter, and that the starter itself is functioning.

UNDERSTOOD AND AGREED THIS IS TAKING PLACE.

Spark has been confirmed via the MkII eyeball check. This confirms the dme, dme relay, cps, ignition coil, coil's wires, and spark plugs are ok.

Or has it ?

YES IT HAS.

You said you tested each spark plug while holding it against ground and cranking 8 times. So that would be every single spark plug currently in your car i.e 8 spark plugs x 8 cranks each = 64 sparks.

YES, I MEANT I TESTED ALL 8 SPARK PLUGS INDIVIDUALLY.

Did you check this with each corresponding ignition coil ? Or did you use the same ignition coil to test every spark plug, perhaps because that's the coil that was closest to ground and which could be seen most easily when you were at the car cranking away ?

I TESTED EACH SPARK PLUG SEPARATELY ONE AT A TIME AND CRANKED THE ENGINE TO VERIFY IT WAS SPARKING. MY WIFE CRANKED WHILE I HELD THE PLUG TO LOCAL GROUND. EACH PLUG WAS VERIFIED TO SPARK MAYBE 10 TO 12 SPARKS. THE SPARKS WERE CONSISTENT AND REPETITIOUS WITH THE CRANKING. EACH PLUG WAS TESTED WITH ITS OWN INDIVUAL IGNITION COIL.

If this is what you did, its best if you check each coil itself for charge delivery. I'm not ready with my quick and dirty method of doing this, so you'll have to do it the long way. Good thing you have an assistant.

YES THIS WAS DONE AS MENTIONED ABOVE.

Can you confirm that each ignition wire is connected to its correct ignition coil ? Swopping them around will essentially alter timing.

YES, AS ABOVE.

[ We must bear in mind that the troubleshooting process itself may have introduced errors. The original problem might actually have resolved itself/been resolved along the way without us realising it. ]

AGREED.

Lastly...fuel. The car actually starts and runs with a busted fuel pressure regulator (fpr). I've yanked the vacuum hose from my fpr before and started the engine and throttled it. Doesn't seem all that different while running. I expect your fuel consumption would be too high though with a bad fpr.

THANKS FOR LETTING ME KNOW THAT AS IT WILL HELP.

If you can confirm via the sniff test or something else that you are indeed getting fuel in your combustion chambers, then you would have confirmed that your fp, fp relay, fp fuse, fuel filter, and fuel injectors are working fine.

I HAVE FUEL SMELL EVERYWHERE DUE TO TAKING THE VARIOUS FUEL LINES APART. SO MY CONFIRMATION WAS BY WET SPARK PLUGS. THINGS WILL DRY UP TODAY WHILE I'M AT WORK AND I WILL REPEAT THIS AS YOU SUGGEST THIS EVENING.

Though starter fluid in the intake should have worked to cough out the engine, I'm just not totally convinced that your injectors are delivering fuel. Short of the sniff test (crank the engine for 10 seconds with all the ignition coils disconnected but the fuel system active, then remove a few plugs and sniff the exposed chambers for fuel), I think all the other checks will not be absolute.

AGREED ON THE STARTER FLUID AND NO COUGH OR SPUTTER AT ALL. AGAIN, WILL FOLLOW YOU SNIFF TEST ADVISE AT SUPPER TIME AND REPORT BACK, AS WELL AS PULLING THE PLUGS AND CRANKING TO ELIMINATE TOTAL FLOOD POSSIBILITY.

The crank itself is something you can perceive with your ears.

YES.

The spark itself is something you can perceive with your eyes.

YES.

Air will be drawn into the chamber as long as cranking is taking place (cranking generates vacuum) and there are no restrictions in the air intake (you've removed your air filter and presumably there's nothing stoppering the air box in front of it, and the throttle body's butterfly valve is functioning as it should)....this really does not need to be directly perceived.

THIS IS TRUE AND VERIFIED AS WELL AS THE END OF THE EXHAUST

Lastly fuel. You need to perceive its presence in the combustion chamber using one of your 5 physical senses, and not merely instrumentation. There is no other way when everything otherwise checks out.

THIS SEEMS TO BE THE LAST MOHEECAN AND WILL BE VERIFIED TONIGHT. I HOPE I REPORT BACK WITH A RUNNING ENGINE.

THANKS AGAIN I DO APPRECIATE IT.


rgds,
Roberto

1) WET spark plugs will not fire. Best way to go is burning them clean with a propane torch.

Once you get the car started plan on an immediate oil change. If the car has been flooded bad enough to leave wet spark plugs, you probably have fuel in the crankcase.

You have more than enough fuel, you have air, I think you have a weak spark problem. If it doesn't start with dry plugs, and fuel is getting in confirmed by previously wet plugs, you have an ignition problem.

Just seeing plugs spark isn't really enough to confirm you have enough spark to light the fire. You guys have run down the basics over and over. If the car was running when parked, I am leaning towards bad coils. I would be testing them using a multi meter. If this car has a distributor, pull the cap, use a little sandpaper on the cap and rotor contacts making sure they are clean.

OK Guys,

I'm home and have been on the car for about 1.5 hours now. Follow up from the fuel possibility per your advise....the latest:

- I put a pressure gauge in fuel line TO the rail in front of the drivers windshield/firewall. I used a 'T' and tested the pressure. It reads right at 55lbs with the key in the 'run' position and goes up to about 58lbs when cranking. The book calls for 51lbs but my gauge coule be a little off. But, I now KNOW what the pressure is reading on the rail and it is ROCK STEADY with NO guessing on my part.

- I just pulled all the plugs and triple checked for spark with each plug and it's individual coil. All plugs fire a nice bright hot looking spark and all are continuous and repititions with the rotation of the crankshaft.

- I pulled fuse #23 for the fuel pump and cranked the engine to make sure I pumped out any and all combustables (fuel). Then I stuck ONE plug into ONE cylinder. Then I put the fuel pump fuse back in and cranked the engine for 10 seconds. My wife and I looked at the DRY plug BEFORE I stuck it in and AFTER I pulled it out. It was hard to tell if it was wet or dry and I have to be as honest as I can. We repeated this because it was NOT night and day for wet and dry.

-OK....since it was hard to tell if the plug was wet or dry I put a nice cleanly folded tissue paper in the next hole and held it in place as we cranked. The tissue paper came out a little wet but it almost looked more 'dirty' than wet.

-OK....here's the BIG ONE and you guys will love me for this. I pulled the fuel pump fuse again and cranked it for 10 seconds. Then....drum roll please.....I stuck my barbecue lighter down into the hole and got a nice POOF. I repeated this 3 times until there was NO POOF. Then a forth time to make sure.

-This is getting good huh...ha ha. I then put the fuel pump fuse back in and cranked the engine. Remember that ALL of the plugs are OUT. Cranked for 10 seconds and put the barbecue lighter back into the spark plug chamber....POOF and shot out a nice flame....I mean right now! I did this on 2 cylinders with the same result.

-I then pulled the fuse and repeated cranking until NO POOF. Then put the fuse back in and got the BIG FLAME POOF again.

-As a sidebar we both can SEE some 'mist' coming from the spark plug holes while cranking with the fuel pump fuse in.

-This tells me that the injectors are putting fuel into the cylinders even though I had a hard time telling if the plugs were wet.

Anybody agree with me here or am I a dummy???

I'm leaving the computer for about 30 minutes to put all of the plugs back in AFTER I pull the fuel pump fuse and crank it dry one more time. I will then attempt to start the car. Cross your fingers. I'll be back in a few minutes. I know this isn't LIVE TV but if you happen to see this please jump in with your thoughts.

Oh yea....all this is nice but I was HOPING to find something wrong. None of this tells me why my car didn't start while sitting in the garage for a week.

Rick in Ohio

Your fuel injectors are working fine sir.

Hey guys,

OK, I put the plugs back in and buttoned up everything. I put the fuel pump fuse back in. I did the stomp test and verified I had NO codes except for the 1444 code.

I turned the key and it cranked as before but the engine does absolutely nothing but spin on the starter....again it cranks VERY well as before. I verified my fuel pressure is still at about 54or 55lbs.

I then pulled one spark plug and AGAIN verified that it STILL had good spark and it did. This time it was noticable that the plug was a little wet.

I also had my wife crank while I shined a light up the exhaust pipes. I can easily hear the pistons going up and down with little puffs of 'air' coming out of the pipes.

Am I doing everything you guys suggested?

Am I missing something?

Am I communicating my findings OK?

I am totally buffaloed on this and need some more assistance.

I was told to check the DME. Where is the DME on my '95 540i and how do I check it.

'SOMETHING' happened to this car while it sat in my garage unattended for 7 days. I drove it in and parked it and now it's dead. I feel like I've done a TON of troubleshooting and diagnostic work and I have found nothing out of place thus far.

Anyone who wants this car please come and tow it away!

Rick in Ohio

Your car didn't start in while sitting in the garage for so long due to complications caused by its age and less than optimal components such as a battery, etc.

Sometimes the car has mood swings. However, by the time you go through all the checks, it rights itself because it feels the lurve, the lurve, from the owner.

However, that has not happened here. I feel you must have inadvertantly intoduced new errors into the system through your doublecheck regime itself. This happens as we are all human, so do not be embarrassed by it per se.

Your statement here : " You make a good point though. I wonder if from all of this
trial and error if there is a bunch of raw fuel laying on top
of the pistons that needs to be removed?"
....should not even have been asked. It is a sign of great stress and the paralysis of analysis. IOW, you are being human. No problem.

We have now invented ways to bypass the biggest non-standard TOUGH no-start issue for your car, which is a starter that performs at less than championship levels. The powered jump.

All the rest, spark, timing, fuel and air in and exhaust out, are clearly in order. I think you do know the difference between a good spark and a poor one. You are clearly well versed with vehicles. Fuel has been evacuated with your BBQ flame (didn't want to suggest that, ). Now all that remains is for you to button everything up, clear the error codes, interlace the powered jump, donor's car at 2500rpm, then crank with the throttle held wide open.

Originally Posted by rv6rick

Hey guys,

OK, I put the plugs back in and buttoned up everything. I put the fuel pump fuse back in. I did the stomp test and verified I had NO codes except for the 1444 code.

I turned the key and it cranked as before but the engine does absolutely nothing but spin on the starter....again it cranks VERY well as before. I verified my fuel pressure is still at about 54or 55lbs.

I then pulled one spark plug and AGAIN verified that it STILL had good spark and it did. This time it was noticable that the plug was a little wet.

I also had my wife crank while I shined a light up the exhaust pipes. I can easily hear the pistons going up and down with little puffs of 'air' coming out of the pipes.

Am I doing everything you guys suggested?

Am I missing something?

Am I communicating my findings OK?

I am totally buffaloed on this and need some more assistance.

I was told to check the DME. Where is the DME on my '95 540i and how do I check it.

'SOMETHING' happened to this car while it sat in my garage unattended for 7 days. I drove it in and parked it and now it's dead. I feel like I've done a TON of troubleshooting and diagnostic work and I have found nothing out of place thus far.

Anyone who wants this car please come and tow it away!

Rick in Ohio

You did not power jump it sir.

There is something else that you can do that will probably help.

It is a non-standard thing. You will not find it in any manual, and it will not be found in any of the forums either. It is only suggested by those who have chosen to be in the know, when all else seems to be lost. And no, it is not religious, not to worry.

PM me if you have tried everything, you still wish to have your car started, and you want to know this method. You can publish it here for all to see if it works.

You pm by clicking on the poster's name, a set of options will show up, one of which will be to private message the dude.

Originally Posted by snowsled7

1) WET spark plugs will not fire. Best way to go is burning them clean with a propane torch.

Once you get the car started plan on an immediate oil change. If the car has been flooded bad enough to leave wet spark plugs, you probably have fuel in the crankcase.

You have more than enough fuel, you have air, I think you have a weak spark problem. If it doesn't start with dry plugs, and fuel is getting in confirmed by previously wet plugs, you have an ignition problem.

Just seeing plugs spark isn't really enough to confirm you have enough spark to light the fire. You guys have run down the basics over and over. If the car was running when parked, I am leaning towards bad coils. I would be testing them using a multi meter. If this car has a distributor, pull the cap, use a little sandpaper on the cap and rotor contacts making sure they are clean.

A. 8 coils do not go bad all one go. One might go bad enough to be essentially useless. The engine will still start, but run badly.

B. There wouldn't be much fuel in the oil pan due to his troubleshoots, but even if there was, the way to evacuate it is by driving the vehicle. As the oil heats up, the fuel will vapourise, and get expelled by the crankcase ventilation system. If this works for water, and it does, it works just as well for fuel which vapourises more easily. I doubt oil will be significantly denatured by contact with that little fuel, to be rendered useless essentially.

C. I suspect that this gentleman knows the difference between a strong and a weak spark. And once again, if it worked fine one week ago, no problems and no hint of problems, it cannot all go south at one go like this.

D. That still leaves experimental error as the likely suspect in this case. Unlikely suspects would be intelligent sabotage by jealous non-540 owners.

Hey I can take it :^). I'm a human and I DO make mIsTaKeS all the time....ha ha. I also 'think' I'm a pretty good trouble shooter and I pride myself in being creative...to think SMARTER than THE MACHINE.

Oh yea.....air filter is still out and still have the 1444 code...I AM LISTENING to you :^).

OK....I 'did' do the 'power start' yesterday prior too TRULY verifying all of the fuel items that I'm confident (as you are) that I checked just now. You have admit that the 'barbecue lighter' test was really a good effort and a GREAT TEST....don't you think? Made that up all by myself....no charge if you want to use it down the road.....big smile!

But...I just went out with my wife and did the 'power start' again using another 12 volt car in my garage. Ran it up to about 3k rpm WITH the battery charger still connected (as it has been....just providing all data).

Cranked the starter and it does (as one would suppose) crank a bit faster. I would consider to be like a SUPER STARTER that as you watch it your would say 'holy cow look at the baby go'! Still NO ENGINE START.

More info.....it WILL 'kind of'......'catch'......like 'maybe' it's trying to fire on ONE cylinder after it cranks for a bit. This is ONLY if you pump the accelerator about 10 times prior to cranking....even then it has to crank for about 10 seconds before this phenomenum will take place. It's 'almost' like it is 'trying' but in reality it's going no where. Again...it's maybe one cylinder and it could just be the 'sound' of the engine cranking so fast.

Again....someone mentioned cleaning the contacts of the DME but I'm not sure which one of the doohickies is the DME....I'll look in my book while I'm waiting.

Is there ANYTHING that I'm doing wrong is ANYHING else that would keep it from starting?

I still appreciate the help and have not grown weiry of asking for more :^). I want you to know that even if I never get this thing going I am TRULY GRATEFUL to have had your assistance!

Rick in Ohio

Originally Posted by robertobaggio20

You did not power jump it sir.

Originally Posted by rv6rick

More info.....it WILL 'kind of'......'catch'......like 'maybe' it's trying to fire on ONE cylinder after it cranks for a bit. This is ONLY if you pump the accelerator about 10 times prior to cranking....even then it has to crank for about 10 seconds before this phenomenum will take place. It's 'almost' like it is 'trying' but in reality it's going no where. Again...it's maybe one cylinder and it could just be the 'sound' of the engine cranking so fast.

Rick in Ohio

Kind of catch. Hmm.

The DME can be found in a black box just behind the right front shock tower.

Alright I'm going to suggest a weird idea to you (not the one I mentioned earlier, no pm from you till date so i'll keep it to myself )

Do you know where your crankshaft position sensor's head is ? It should be located somewhere just above the crankshaft's vibration damper. Get a pot of hot water, boiling is ok, and slowly pour it over the head. This will heat it up. Be careful as the water is hot and may spill on you. If the head is located in a weird location, fashion a pipe or a tube or something to get the water onto it. Be careful that you do not scald your hands.

Don't be concerned that you're damaging the component. It survives at higher than boiling temps so no issues.

Once the entire pot has been used, start the engine. Oh, just before this, crank the car with the fp's fuse out (you can leave the plugs and coils in place), to ventilate the combustions chambers and evacuate excess fuel.

btw, the naked flame idea was suggested by snowsled7. It is a cool one though. Usually, just seeing mist coming out of the open plug wells is proof that the fuel is being evacuated. The amount of mist will stop after a short while. Of course, (for noobs), this is done with the fp's fuse out of the way.

Wow After all that I would use the Bentleys repair manual and start testing sensors. also try swapping out DME, Check all the fuses and ground wire connections 1 at passenger motor mount. Is there a security systen installed?

Originally Posted by luckydog

Is there a security systen installed?

+1 I think 540i came with them from factory.