Car won't start; suspect fuel problem

[Ross]

Jumping the relay and then checking for power and good ground to the pump will narrow it down.
Was the pump noisy previously?

[zuzuk212]

What would be upstream of the relay other than the fuse #23. I checked that and it is fine. I will try to jumpstart the relay but my suspicion at this point is the fuel pump since it is original as far as I know. Your thoughts?
Al Gray

Jump where pins 30 and 87 of relay would connect. I'm going through the same thing ... at least it died in the garage with 240k miles on it. When I jumped it, had voltage but did not hear a thing from the pump when I tested it.
Getting a pump from BMA for $186 ... quoted at first 199 =P Patrick BMW quoted me $161!! Which is fantastic and unbelievable ... till I found out that they didn't have it in stock and would take 3 days =( so much for that deal.

I'm not looking forward to removing the rusted nuts.
Ken

[ScottyWM]

Al, not to sound like a wise-ass, but at our age we tend to forget stuff. Are you sure you have enough gas in it? Is it parked level? My daughter called me one day all frantic that her car wouldn't start and she was late for work. Turned out she had parked nose-down on an incline with just a couple gallons of gas in it. The fuel pump was suckin' air. I stuck a couple more gallons of fuel in it and it fired right up.

[Al Gray]

Al, not to sound like a wise-ass, but at our age we tend to forget stuff. Are you sure you have enough gas in it? Is it parked level? My daughter called me one day all frantic that her car wouldn't start and she was late for work. Turned out she had parked nose-down on an incline with just a couple gallons of gas in it. The fuel pump was suckin' air. I stuck a couple more gallons of fuel in it and it fired right up.

That was one of the first things I did because the gauges are funky when you first start the car. My son has been known to run it right down to E. Thanks for the thought.

[whiskychaser]

Al, not to sound like a wise-ass, but at our age we tend to forget stuff. Are you sure you have enough gas in it? Is it parked level? My daughter called me one day all frantic that her car wouldn't start and she was late for work. Turned out she had parked nose-down on an incline with just a couple gallons of gas in it. The fuel pump was suckin' air. I stuck a couple more gallons of fuel in it and it fired right up.

I think this should be stickied under 'wont start' problems Parked one night with the front end on a speed bump. Fuel gauge showed 1/4 and low fuel light wasnt on. I guessed what the problem was and pushed it off the bump. Fired up after a couple of turns.

[Al Gray]

Jump the relay. I'll wager that's your problem. Relays are known to fail.

I just bought a fuel pump relay and tried to start the car. The results were the same. You can't hear the pump running and the car won't start. I guess that leaves the fuel pump. Any other thoughts?

Al Gray

[Al Gray]

I think this should be stickied under 'wont start' problems Parked one night with the front end on a speed bump. Fuel gauge showed 1/4 and low fuel light wasnt on. I guessed what the problem was and pushed it off the bump. Fired up after a couple of turns.

Just to be on the safe side I will add a couple more gallons of gas. I did that with no results. Yes, the car is parked in my driveway with the front end higher than the back end. Seems to me that all the gas should be in the tank. But a few gallons of gas is cheaper than a new fuel pump. I questioned my son today about the car just before we couldn't start it (which happened in the driveway overnight) and he said the car did stop on him but he was able to restart it. Was that the initial death toll of the fuel pump? Maybe so.

Al Gray

[Ross]

Have you checked for power at the pump and ground? A poor ground has left me sitting the side of the road once.

[Al Gray]

Have you checked for power at the pump and ground? A poor ground has left me sitting the side of the road once.

Not being an electrical whiz be more specific. I have a multi-meter. Exactly how would I check the pump and ground.

[zuzuk212]

Yep! It was the fuel pump! Connected the old one after pulling it out ... it ran ... no way was I putting it back in though. I had a slight hunting idle and occasional hesitation before ... not any more with the new pump. It lives again!

I can recomend a product from CRC, freeze off ... worked great for the rusted nuts ... smells great too ... a lot better than gas fumes

Ken