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Thread: 1995 M3 Crank, No Start

  1. #1
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    1995 M3 Crank, No Start

    Hi errbody. so im having a problem with my m3 where it will crank but not start. i was driving it home one day when i came to a stop sign, stopped, the idle withered away and the car stalled. ever since then it will only crank and not start. i still have a check engine light when the key is turned to run and pulled a stomp code 1281 for dme memory supply. a day before the car failed on me i washed it with a pressure washer at work. at first i thought i fried the dme because water got into it but when i inspected the dme there was no corrosion or water in the holding area of the dme. also i heard that usually if the dme fails, you wont get a check engine light when the ignition is in run. all relays are working so far and im not getting any power to the fuel pump. just replaced the alternator and ground cable going to the passenger side engine mount while the car was sitting in my driveway dead (alternator was noisy and needed replacing before this problem, and ground cable looked destroyed so just bought a new one for good measures) and still same problem with same code. Does anyone know any problems that would cause this symptom and code? also if it is a dme does anyone know where to get a 506 silver dme?

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    And if that does not work, test/replace crank sensor. Maybe EWS as well? I think you don't have a chip in the key

    The 1281 code is a red herring usually ... just means you had the +12v going to the DME interrupted at some point.
    Last edited by ScotcH; 12-27-2017 at 02:10 AM.
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  5. #5
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    the fuel pump fuse checks out ok and i dont have any codes for the crank sensor. also the fuel pump should still run if the crank sensor was bad. im thinking while i was driving it for its final hours, the alternator failed and cause low voltage to the dme, hence the 1281 code. then because of the low voltage the dme killed itself. my car has ews 1 which means i dont have an ews module and no chipped keys. literally the only thing that would prevent it from starting from a security standpoint is the starter immobilization relay (which if that was bad the car wouldnt crank) and that only monitors if the vehicle was locked from the outside. I also ohmd out the communication wire from the immobilization relay to the dme and it had.1 ohms which is perfect. im almost positive its the dme now. trouble is i cant find a 506 for a 10/94 car anywhere

    - - - Updated - - -

    anybody know if another part number dme will work in my car? it is a 1995 model M3 Coupe, 5 speed manual built in 10/94. EWS 1.

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    Quote Originally Posted by justinde View Post
    the fuel pump fuse checks out ok and i dont have any codes for the crank sensor. also the fuel pump should still run if the crank sensor was bad. im thinking while i was driving it for its final hours, the alternator failed and cause low voltage to the dme, hence the 1281 code. then because of the low voltage the dme killed itself. my car has ews 1 which means i dont have an ews module and no chipped keys. literally the only thing that would prevent it from starting from a security standpoint is the starter immobilization relay (which if that was bad the car wouldnt crank) and that only monitors if the vehicle was locked from the outside. I also ohmd out the communication wire from the immobilization relay to the dme and it had.1 ohms which is perfect. im almost positive its the dme now. trouble is i cant find a 506 for a 10/94 car anywhere

    - - - Updated - - -

    anybody know if another part number dme will work in my car? it is a 1995 model M3 Coupe, 5 speed manual built in 10/94. EWS 1.

    Fuel pump will not run if the CPS is bad since the DME will not energize the FP relay unless it senses the engine is cranking. And CPS will not throw a code if it's totally dead ... the DME will simply not see the engine cranking, and will not energize the FP or fire the coils. The CPS is easy to swap, and pretty cheap. Buy a chinese one if you just want to test it on the cheap (but buy a proper one if that's it ... the chinese ones will fail very quickly)

    IF it's the DME, a red label 413 will work, just swap in your chip. The 506 is identical to the 413, just different (M3 specific) tune on the chip itself.
    Last edited by ScotcH; 12-30-2017 at 10:08 PM.
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  7. #7
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    Thanks scotch. will try the crank sensor. does the fp really not prime when the key is turned on? i never really paid attention to if it did or not but i assumed it did. also thanks for dme info.

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    Quote Originally Posted by justinde View Post
    Thanks scotch. will try the crank sensor. does the fp really not prime when the key is turned on? i never really paid attention to if it did or not but i assumed it did. also thanks for dme info.
    It might prime when you turn key to on, but it will not run when cranking if there is no CPS signal.
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  9. #9
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    yeah it doesnt even prime when i turn the key on. but if i jump the fuel pump relay it will. tried starting while the relay was jumped and still wont start.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by justinde View Post
    yeah it doesnt even prime when i turn the key on. but if i jump the fuel pump relay it will. tried starting while the relay was jumped and still wont start.
    Se definitely the DME is not happy. If you can read the codes, the DME is probably ok ... My bet is still the CPS But I would bypass the EWS if that does not work.
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  11. #11
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    Yeah it was the crank sensor. Got a code for it using an autologic scanner from my work and replaced it.

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