[faruque]

Hi All,
Anyone here able to point me in the right direction?

I have a E90 N43 which cranks but will not start.

Background:
It ran very on fuel a few days ago, sputtered and then died.
Filled up with petrol but will not start.
Called RAC, they could not diagnose anything.
Local garage wants to replace all the injectors (cost £1500) but are not sure if that's the cause of the non start.

Symptoms:
Car cranks but does not start.
The engine floods immediately.

Things I have checked/tried:
1. Removed spark plugs , they were wet and dirty.
Reinstalled after cleaning and drying.
2. Checked spark, there is spark in all the cylinders.
3. Checked signal to Injectors all, all injectors have signal.
4. Removed and checked injectors, petrol is sprayed from each injector.
The injectors do not leak.
5. Checked fuel pump, pump can be switched on from INPA.
6. Checked fuel pressure with gauge, there is pressure in the lines.
7. Low pressure fuel sensor was stuck at 6105, replaced sensor it now reads pressure. After replacing the sensor it reads around 5300 hPa, this seems high as it should read around 5000 (+/- 50). I'm not sure if it needs re-setting/coding.

If I clean the spark plugs and let the cylinders dry out, there is an initial kick when it tries to fires up then the engine floods.
It’s seems to be over-fueling, air/fuel mixture is too rich.

Perhaps the EKP module is faulty causing the higher pressure in the Low pressure fuel lines; resulting in too much fuel going through the injectors into engine?

I'd like to check if the throttle working properly, but I’m not sure how to do this.


Attached are the errors read from INPA.

Any assistance is appreciated.
Thanks

[Phil325i]

Do all cylinders flood or just one? Could be an injector is jammed open...

[faruque]

All the cylinders flood.
I have had all the injectors out of the engine and connected to fuel and power.
When I crank then engine they all spray fuel one after the other in a sequence.
Without power the injectors do not leak.

[therealdb1]

A long shot this one but electrically disconnect the MAF and try to start.
If the DME thinks you have high airflow it may inject too much fuel.

I would have suggested immobiliser also but you say there is sparks and fuel.

Have you tried looking up any of the hex codes to see if there are any clues?

[Hybridz0rz]

Copied from another post:

Re-align the DDE and EWS

How you do it?

1- Launch inpa
2- Select the engine
3- Choose the model of the engine (in your case
DDE6 = 318d, 320d, 325d, 330d, 335d ( 03/2005 - 09/2007 )
DDE7 = 318d, 320d, 325d, 330d, 335d ( 09/2007 - )

4- Select option: activate (usually F5 but check in your inpa)
5- Select option: EWS
6- Select option: reset ----> in progress ----> click ok
7- Bak to the main menu, ie, back, back, back, and close the INPA
8- Open the inpa and check the errors. That errors should have gone by now.
9- Turn the ignition off, remove the obd connector and start your car.

Please share the results.

[bfaone]

Just a suggestion, no harm trying
Pull the rear seat off, access the Fuel Low Pressure Pump. Pull the cable out to disconnect.
Give that a try as your low pressure pump will stop working. Might help with reducing the fuel pressure that goes to High Pressure Pump ......

[faruque]

Firstly thanks to all for the suggestions.

@therealdb1 - tried this, no change in response.

@Hybridz0rz - I had a look in inpa, but cant see that menu option.
I perhaps need to add, my car is a 318i MSport.

@bfaone - This seems to help. I can hear the engine cylinders fire more often, but the engine does not run.
I guess that's because the spark plugs don't get flooded.
The fuel pressure does go down as expected.

---
I have tested the throttle valve.
INPA->E90->Engine->MSD80/MSD81->F6(Component Triggering)->Activate->F1(Activator Activation 1)->Shift+F9(Throttle Valve)
I set it to 0%,50%,99% and I can see the valve change position.
After setting it back to DME control, if I manually move the throttle I can see the change in INPA.
I presume the throttle is functioning properly.

[Andystobbs]

What pressures are you seeing on the high pressure side? When cranking and during and after the failed starts?
Can you log that against HP pump volume control?

[faruque]

@Andystobbs, you may be onto something.

In Inpa, the HP sensor is reading similar values to the LP sensor.
That is WAY too low, its around the 5000, and I guess it should be at least 10x that.

I suspected the HP fuel pump had failed so replaced it.
Replacing the pump made no difference.

Measuring the voltage at the HPFP, is initially jumps to 15V then steadies to about 9V.

If I disconnect all the electrical connections to the injectors so they don't fire at all, when I crank the engine I can see the HP fuel sensor showing increasing pressure.

Questions I have now...
Are the injectors dumping too much high pressure fuel into the cylinders?
Is the Low pressure pump not feeding enough fuel into the system?
Is the DME not driving the High Pressure fuel pump properly?

My next move is to connect the injectors one by one and see if any individual injector is causing the drop in High Pressure fuel.

Any suggestions anyone?

[Andystobbs]

Why not unplug all four injectors and monitor high pressure? The system should still aim to generate 150bar and with the injectors disconnected they can't open and reduce the pressure, obviously it won't run, but it isn't anyway.

I can't remember off hand how the HP volume is controlled, ie. whether its 2 wires directly to the ECU or 1 to power and 1 to ECU or 1 to ground and one to ECU.
The system is actually capable of running in classic injection mode under certain circumstances, at 5bar pressure as provided by the LP pump.

EDIT *sorry my phone didn't display your entire post and I replied before scrolling, not even realising there was more. What pressure did you see with the injectors unplugged?

With no fuel demand the rail pressure should increase very quickly during cranking. The cam is trilobal so you get 3 pump events per cam revolution. It should be up around 150bar in no time at all. Is there a parameter for HP flow control signal?

[faruque]

@Andystobbs,
I have disconnected the injectors and cranked the car, the HPFP only gets to about 50K hPa.

With the injectors disconnected, I powered the HPFP solonoid directly with a 9v battery. When I crank the car the fuel pressure quickly reaches max 250K hPa.

What controls the HPFP?
Is it the DME?

Does anyone know where I can get a wiring diagram for the E90 N43 Engine?

[faruque]

After re conecting the Spark plugs, injectors and a 9v battery directly on the HPFP.
The car still does not start, HP fuel reading was reading high about 150K hPa.
It behaves just like it did when it first stopped working.

Scratching my head... not sure what to try next.

[Hybridz0rz]

Originally Posted by faruque

@Andystobbs,
I have disconnected the injectors and cranked the car, the HPFP only gets to about 50K hPa.

With the injectors disconnected, I powered the HPFP solonoid directly with a 9v battery. When I crank the car the fuel pressure quickly reaches max 250K hPa.

What controls the HPFP?
Is it the DME?

Does anyone know where I can get a wiring diagram for the E90 N43 Engine?

https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/e90-318i-lim/

Here is about every schematic for your 318i. dig around and see what you can find

[Daviebrown]

When did it last have new spark plugs? It is possible that they spark outside but not under compression.

[Tambohamilton]

The most basic question - you definitely put in petrol, right? Fresh, not old/stale?

Seems like quite the coincidence to me that something should fail at the same time as running out of fuel. Sure, not impossible, but doesn't seem likely I think...though I don't have any better suggestions! Good luck with it!

[therealdb1]

Here's a thought.
Drain some of the fuel out and look at it and smell it.
Easiest place is probably the supply line to the injectors.

May sound like a crazy suggestion but a few years ago my brother's car was running on fumes so he pulled in to a local garage, and no it wasn't a supermarket, and filled up the car.
It limped the half a mile home and then refused to start for the entire weekend we were messing about with it.
Turned out to be a tank full of some watery detergent type stuff and not petrol at all. Emptied the tank, filled it with proper petrol and the car ran fine for years afterwards.

[blues n twos]

Another “ just a thought” do you have water in the battery well? I had a no start issue and it was the main power feed to the engine electrics had corroded and the cable snapped.
Once cleaned up and new connections fitted it fired right up.

[therealdb1]

Is this running yet?

If so what was the problem as it helps others in the future if you describe the resolution?

[Vental33]

Hey Man! I really need your help!!! I have an exact issue, even the thing with the lpfs.
How did you fix your car? Or Did you even fix it???

[Tawz123]

Originally Posted by faruque

After re conecting the Spark plugs, injectors and a 9v battery directly on the HPFP.
The car still does not start, HP fuel reading was reading high about 150K hPa.
It behaves just like it did when it first stopped working.

Scratching my head... not sure what to try next.

Hello faruque did u sort out the problem bro?

[Tawz123]

Originally Posted by Vental33

Hey Man! I really need your help!!! I have an exact issue, even the thing with the lpfs.
How did you fix your car? Or Did you even fix it???

Find a fix for this?