Please help guys, this is killing me.

[Rob]

bentley required...

huh?

[clhorton]

The Bentley manual for the E34. It is a holy book of us owners. Perfect right up there with the Bible, Koran, Torah.

[joshua43214]

Howzit Guys,

I've had my car for about 3 - 4 Months now. Was given to me by my old man when I moved back to South Africa. Now, I love this car, it's just something about it that I love. And me being a very big BMW fan.

Well there are a few problems with this car, and it's really killing me at the moment, it's just sitting there, doing nothing.

The problem is lack of power.

I get in the car, turn the key and she turns but won't start, I need to do this three - 4 times to get her started.
Once started she idels at around 900rpm. Seems smooth and quick, like it should be.
Then while in park I give her some revs after she's warmed up and she sounds like a monster ready to go, love the sounds.
So I put her into drive and go. This is the problem

She just has no power. On a stright road I'll be going along with my foot flat to the floor and she might get to 80 - 90Km/s she sruggels on hills as well. When going, she'l be slow and sluggish then she'll jerk a little give a kick and she'l pull, like it's meant to be then few seconds later she drops power and there's no power. Then a few seconds later she pulls does what its meant to do then drops again, exacly the same.

So I've taken the fuel pump in at the moment. Will get it back end of next week. It's having new seals being refirbish ect. Hoping this will fix the problem.

My question is what is causing this problem, and how do I go about finding out the problem. What parts/connections do I look and and where?

Please help with this, it's killing me a lot at the moment.

The other thing is; how do I get the engine codes to come up on the screen? I've tried the press the pedal 10 times, just does nothing..?

Please help guys, I would appericate it a lot!

Thank you.

First off, SLOW DOWN and take a deep breath.
You have already started on a path that can lead you to a ton of trouble. The absolute worst thing you can do is start making repairs based on guessing. You have already made one guesse that your fuel pump is at fault, now your car is sitting in-op and you are spending money on something that may or may not have been the problem. New seals on a fuel pump wont fix a broken fuel pump motor, The motor is basicaly the pump, so if your motor is bad, you have wasted money on seals.

The problem or problems you are having can be caused by many different things, and you may have multiple problems.

generaly speaking, there are only 2 reasons a car will not start; no spark, or no fuel. Before you waste any more money, you MUST determine which. Get a repair manual, and read it. The coils in your car can do anything from fry sensitive electrical components to cause your heart to stop. It is a very good idea to check both spark and fuel, never assume that if one is bad the other is ok.

Your description of the problem does include a couple of valuable tid bits. Your car should not be loud, if it sounds like monster ready to go, something is very wrong. Your performance issue (not starting issue) sounds very like a clogged exhaust, probably the cat, but could concievably be the muffler. Normaly a restricted exhaust will not prevent the car from starting, but in extreme cases it can.

Step 1; check your spark, check on atleast 2 cylinders, preferably all 6 but takes more time. Use an extra plug if you don't have the right tool and widden the gap a tiny amount. make sure all your plugs are installed so you don't wind up with 6 little flame throwers when you ignite the air/fuel mixture pumping out of the plug holes.

Step 2; Check fuel pressure (you did hook all the plug wires back up?). Use a T on the fuel line at the regulator, this is best done by cranking the car over to verify the entire system operates properly. Make sure all your hose conections are clamped and only use a high pressure gauge and hoses. After verifing regulated pressure(the pressure should be printed on the regulator in bars), you can check peak pressure by momentarily (and I do stress only for a brief moment) clamping the downstream hose with a pair of pliers. Next check volume, this is best done by by-passing the relay. I can't remember if your model has an outside fuel pump relay or if its internal to the ecm, if its inside the ecm, just crank the engine. You should get a steady flow with no spitting, almost any amount of flow will allow the car to idle.

OK, now you have isolated what basic system is at fault and you can proceed to figuring out why. If both spark and fuel are acceptable, either your exhaust is totaly plugged, or you have a mechanical problem with your engine.

There are still some things that can cause some of your symptoms that the above tests wont cover.
Bad airflow meter, normaly wont cause a no start, but can. unplug it and you should be able start and drive the car off the street and into a parking lot.
Bad coolant temp sensor, car may think its 60 below zero and is constantly flooding it out.
Numerouse other things.

Things to keep in mind;
The computor is almost never at fault.
The engine is almost never at fault.
most car problems have very simple answers.

Judging by the questions you have already asked, I would keep an open mind about letting a BMW person diagnose it, then attempt repairs yourself.

[Rob]

joshua43214

That's such a big help, thank you so much!

I will be getting the fuel pump back end of next week, it's just a service on the pump really. But I'm not tottaly sure how to check everything on there. I will save your whole post and show it to a guy I know who is good with cars. I will also try some of the test you suggested. But I can only do it once my pump is back.

Thank you so much for help. Really appericate it.

Oh also another problem I didn't say was when I parked the car on a slight hill, she wouldn't rev up to more then 2K RPM. And would not revres backwards as she had no power. So I left it for a couple of days, tried again and she reved perfect sounded as she should do and also when i revered backwards she wheel spun. So I am thinking it's to do with fuel?

Could you tell me how to check my sparks, please?

Thanks so much!

[joshua43214]

Sorry, I am sick and my mind is full of mud. I just can't remember for sure what lay out you have. Isn't 1991 the crossover year to the m50 engine? I'll give simple instructions if someone can just remind me if the '91 525i has Direct Ignition or the old cap and rotor set up. All I can picture in my head at the moment is timing belt engines.....

[632 Regal]

Rob, try to get one of these:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...237058-2760856
you will need it sooner or later and it will pay for itself many many times!

[Barry]

Rob,Im in Benoni..If you want Ill have a squizz at your car for you..Your car in South Africa should not have a cat..1991 year model..
A new fuel pump for your car costs about 300 rand..Ive just replaced one on my car.More of a pain in replacing it than actual cost of the pump.
Ive also got the Modic with software for the car.This is a great help..
Pm me,Ill check up tomorrow again.
Barry

[Rob]

Howzit Barry,

Thanks for the offer, I really appericate it a lot.

Will PM and email you now. Oh I'm here in South Africa as well.

Thanks man, would be excellent if we can sort something out!

[ArtemLepilov]

Hey - these are the pics of Rob's fuel pump. I say thats the cause of his problem right there. What do you all say?

-Artem

[joshua43214]

OMG! lol please don't tell the pump was in that condition when it was sent out for seals.