Does This Indicate Spark?

[beemdad]

2011 328i xDrive E90
N52K engine
GM automatic transmission
110,000 miles

Still troubleshooting a no-start condition...

Spark: During the cranking, the engine "tries" to start--does that indicate spark?




Fuel:
(a) can hear the fuel pump run briefly
(b) INPA shows fuel pressure 600 kPa = 6.0 bar = 87 psi
(c) usually smells flooded after cranking for awhile

Air: Pulled the MAF and left hole open, no difference. Sprayed starter fluid, same behavior, no difference.

Compression: It ran fine two weeks ago before it got very cold here (0 degF) for over a week. Don't see why compression would've dropped (except maybe bore wash, which is more elusive than the yeti).

We did replace the battery about three weeks ago, so the car was without power overnight. But it started fine for a week after that. We will register and program for the battery when we get things working again. We've kept it topped up with a charger between crank attempts. Same physical size & shape battery but probably 80 ah instead of 90 ah. Doesn't matter yet--we can't get the car running.

The Coolant Temperature Sensor is working correctly. We cleaned the VANOS.

Maybe it's the Crank Position Sensor--that one scares me (hard to get to on the 4wd).

Trying to install ISTA+ but it's taking time. Hoping it will guide the diagnosis from here.

Any ideas?

Thanks.

[RocketSurgeon]

To check for spark, you really need to pull the coils one at a time. You can either pull one of the spark plugs to test with, or use a spare. Pull out a coil, and stick a spark plug in the tip. Ground the threaded portion of the plug to something like the strut bolt or ground post using a piece of wire. Don't touch any portion of it while cranking. Look for spark.
The only way to know if you have compression is to test it directly with a compression tester. If something happened that harmed compression, it would have done so quickly. That being said, it sure sounds like you have good compression.
My guess is that you have fuel, air, spark, and compression. I think the next step is to pull some codes. There are a bunch of weird little things that would best be indicated by codes.

[beemdad]

Thank you for the reply. It's so cold here, we haven't been able to do the proper spark test.

Got the codes with INPA today. ISTA+ is running but does not recognize the car.

P0340 and P0365 -- Crank and Cam codes. Many possible causes.

We cleared the codes several days after the engine stopped starting. So these codes have been set during many days of cranking only--it never ran since then.

We're running out of time and it's sooooo cold here again. I think my son is going to take it to an indy for a diagnosis. Fail on our part, argh.

[E36M30924]

Sounds like you got fuel and air the only thing missing is spark. How old are the plugs and coils?