E36 M43 - what went wrong?

[jarance]

The thing about DIY is that you must do one thing at a time and not be too ambitious. Hee...hee..

Now you dont know where is the problem cos you work on so many thing.

I think it most likely the distributor caps as you dont have sparks there.

1. To check for sparks condition, just remove one spark plugs from the engine.
2. pull out one of the HT cable and put the spark plug there.
3. crank your engine and check for spark.
4. repeat for #2, #3 and #4 cable.

BTW, did you mixed up the HT cables. If the HT cable is connect in the wrong sequence, your engine would not fire.

As for the AFM, there is a way to check. let me check my manual..

If your RPM is unstable at 2.5K, there is a lot of other things affecting it..

 

[jarance]

Check the firing sequence as follow.

 

[jarance]

Extract from Bentley and follow the procedure to check the AFM

Diagram of the wiring terminal. Use an ohmmeter. If you dont have an ohm meter, you can buy it from electronic shop for about RM30 for those analog type.

 

[datsunnismo]

many many thanks bro jarance...

yup thats my stupid mistake. i shouold go one by one... maybe over excited

little bit confusing here on firing order. 1-3-4-2 is on the engine right? how about disctributor cap.? HT cable from cycl #1 should go to far bottom on the distributor isnt it?
and the fire cable from coil should go to centre?

mean while, let me test the afm for 5volt between pin #1 and earth.

many thanks again bro..

 

[jarance]

many many thanks bro jarance...

yup thats my stupid mistake. i shouold go one by one... maybe over excited

little bit confusing here on firing order. 1-3-4-2 is on the engine right? how about disctributor cap.? HT cable from cycl #1 should go to far bottom on the distributor isnt it?
and the fire cable from coil should go to centre?

mean while, let me test the afm for 5volt between pin #1 and earth.

many thanks again bro..

Cant remember which is which until I see the actual car. but I remember one of the HT cables have a special coil wrap around it. It is used for synchronised the firing.

The HT cable from the coil is connected to the centre. You can confirm it by opening the distributor cap and see which one is in the centre of the 4 point. The centre one have a plunger (spring loaded) and sit on the distributor arm.

Try to look at the internal part of the distributor cap. There might be some marking like "1", "2", "3" and "4".

Your engine is M40. it look like mine. Unfortunately, the car is not with me at the moment or I could trace the HT cables and point you in the right direction.

I should be able to give you to correct termination when I get home this evening.

 

[infinityKL]

thank you jarance

 

[datsunnismo]

thanks u bro.

afm:-
I just check the voltage at tthe connector. digital multimeter shows 6.21v at pin #4
the rest all shows 0.22v. supposed be be at pin #1 isnt it?

Distributor:-
i remove #1 s/plug (as shown in pic below) and cranck the engine. no spark noted.

so wht to do next.....

* is afm got anything to do/controll with spark or ignition system.....?

seem this weekend gonna be a perilly's 25 action movie. ha ha ha ha

lesson learned: when diy time, do it one by one.

 

[jarance]

bro, the reason why there is not spark is because there is not ground to the spark plug. It is resting on the plastic container. You have to let the spark plug touch the body of the chassis.

You can tie a small wire to the body of the spark plug and body for the grounding effect..

 

[jarance]

According to another forum there is a marking on the distributor cap. (e30worid.com)

see below pic

 

[bmw7833]

Check the firing sequence as follow.

Is this sequence effective for e39 523i?

 

[jarance]

Is this sequence effective for e39 523i?

Firing sequence should be universal for all type of inline engine. so YES..

yours is 6 cylinder or 4 cylinders?

 

[bmw7833]

All e39 should be 6 cylinders right?

But my machanic mixed the sequence. No problem till now..?? :dontknow::dontknow:

 

[jarance]

If the sequence is wrong, then you will have at least 2 out of 6 cylinders not working.. You engine speed would be very unstable and stall easily. Also, engine NO POWER cos you only have 4 cylinders working..

 

[datsunnismo]

hi bro jarance... ok i'll do the ground and test it now.

meanwhile my hometown bmw mech told me that i might break/cut off the crank sensor wire while handling the distributor cap. so when no sender from cranck sensor the engine wont start. any comment about this............

 

[jarance]

hi bro jarance... ok i'll do the ground and test it now.

meanwhile my hometown bmw mech told me that i might break/cut off the crank sensor wire while handling the distributor cap. so when no sender from cranck sensor the engine wont start. any comment about this............

If you accidentally cut your crankshaft sensor, you will not be able to get the spark. Failure of the crank sensor will have a fail-safe shutdown. i.e. the fuel pump and the ignition (spark) will not work.

BTW, I just seen my M40 engine (gosh I have not seen that engine for a while).

OK the sequence is as follow

Looking at the engine sparks plugs.
from Driver side to radiator side -
[4], [3], [2], [1]

Looking at the distributor cap..from top to bottom.
[2]
[4]
[HT coil]
[3]
[1]

Note : No [4] HT cable should have a additional coil around the cable.

Good luck in trouble shooting and let us know of the outcome.

 

[jarance]

Looking at the engine sparks plugs.
from Driver side to radiator side -
[4], [3], [2], [1]

borrow your picture and edit a bit.

and Looking at the distributor cap..from top to bottom.
[2]
[4]
[HT coil]
[3]
[1]

 

[datsunnismo]

thanks...

pic no 1
- directly place s.plug on coil. GOT SPARK

pic 2
- s.plug connected to the cable from the COIL. GOT SPARK

pic 3
- s.plug connected to the cable #1. NO SPARK

pic 4
- s.plusg connected at the cap itself (cable #2). NO SPARK

 

[jarance]

based on your original drawing, you have assign the top terminal as cylinder #4.

No wonder your engine dont fired.

 

[datsunnismo]

after u advice, i've fixed the cable properly and still not start...

pls find below balance 2 pics for my previous post
View attachment 9123

View attachment 9124

 

[datsunnismo]

so, there's a current flow from coil to the cap. but can't distribute to terminal. can i conclude like this..?