Floods when starting

[capebmw]

Hello All
The 325 I have continues to give me fits and I am ready to shoot it. Still have the going down the road stall problem, working on that. Today, went to start it and it floods right away. This has happened a few other times, nothing consistent. Tried to fire, than nothing. Continue cranking with accelerator to the floor it pops and tries, but no luck. Pulled plugs, dripping wet. What causes this??? For such expensive cars initially, I can't believe the problems people have with them and the consistency of the problems. Any help/advice about the flooding would be appreciated. Thanks

[jfmjr442]

is the check engine light on? Need more information.

John

[capebmw]

JFM, This *$*#$(# car has been driving me crazy with issues. To answer you, the light has been on and off. The most recent code is 1444, which I can not find anywhere. The other is 1222 which is Lambda sensor 1. This is anything to do with fuel mixture and ranges from vacuum leaks to bad injectors. Couldn't be more vague and useless. In my struggle to diagnose my rough running/stalling problem this flooding problem has come up. I don't see any codes now. I have the plugs pulled and letting things dry out. I am looking at a FPR. Something is letting more fuel than necessary in on initial start up. Not happy...

[sunbrn]

Have you changed any parts yet?
Have you checked for any vacuum leaks?
Any breaks in your intake tubing?

[sunbrn]

Have you changed any parts yet?
Have you checked for any vacuum leaks?
Any breaks in your intake tubing?

[jfmjr442]

Code 1211 MCU malfunction
Code 1215 Air mass flow sensor fault
Code 1221 Oxygen sensor
Code 1222 Oxygen sensor control
Code 1223 Engine coolant temperature
Code 1224 Air intake temperature
Code 1231 Battery voltage
Code 1232 Idle throttle valve switch
Code 1233 Full load throttle valve switch
Code 1251 and Code 1252 Injection valve
Code 1261 Fuel pump relay
Code 1262 Idle speed control valve
Code 1263 Fuel tank vent valve
Code 1264 Oxygen sensor heater relay
Code 1444 No failure

You need to back up and take a look at this logically. You need fuel, ar and spark to run. Seems you are missing spark. You car is OBD1 if it is a 1995 so you can do the stomp test to read codes (search it) 1222 is O2 sensor and it will definitely have an effect on the fuel mixture, however that doesn't seem to be the current problem with no starting. I am guessing Cam position sensor or crank position sensor. Do the stomp test (Turn ignition key to run with engine not running Depress gas pedal 5 times in wide open throttle (WOT) position within 5 seconds Read the flash codes) and see if there are any additional codes and verify you have spark. How is your battery?

read this http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=695431

HTH

John

[sunbrn]

A bad O2 sensor will cause an over rich condition.

[tjn182]

My first guess, from what you have said, would be the FPR -- which you're already suspicious of. John's logic wins too, you can always pull out a spark plug, keep it wired up, ground it to the engine and have someone crank it over. You should be able to see the little blue sparks.

I had some crazy fuel issues too in the past. When I first bought the car the owner said there was a stalling and starting problem sometimes. It took me a while to find out the cause -- turns out they used a 1995+ fuel pump, which is for tanks with built in levelers. My car was built in 1994, so it has the rubber line that goes from one side to the other. Basically the driver's side tank received zero fuel back from the front of the car, and the sucking of fuel combined with then-sealed system meant the tanks had crazy amounts of vacuum. So after the FPR was crazy pressure, and before the FPR was crazy vacuum. Caused serious running issues as you can imagine.

[capebmw]

OK, some great suggestions and help, thank you! I tore the intake off and am going to go through this thing logically. I did have a couple of hoses from the IAC that are questionable and I will replace as well as the Orings on the hose from the IAC and the one going into the valve cover. To respond to the vacuum question, that is a major concern. I had approx. 5" of vacuum at idle. When I pinched off the vacuum line going from the IAC to the valve cover it jumped right up to 17. To me I obviously have a vacuum problem that I need to diagnose. Not sure where to look, but replacing hoses, orings, etc. Wanted to do a smoke test, but needed to tear into it now. I am attaching a picture of the FPR. I can't find a picture of one that looks like mine anywhere. I am wondering if I am missing some parts on mine. ANy input?? Want to order parts tonight to get this thing working again.
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u304/capecodcub/BMWFPR.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u304/capecodcub/BMWFPR.jpg