Just got a non running but cranking bmw 318i help please.

**Greenbeann** · 02-22-2018, 01:02 PM

Hello all I'm new here and I just purchased my first bmw yay ha I got it for 300 bucks it cranked over but didn't start I first took it home and tried the fuel pump relay it was bad I also did replace the battery which for some reason has two gas ports on the battery but I only have 1 tube? Anyway back to the problem well I plugged in new relay and then battery and then my dad yelled to unplug it! It was smoking and smelled bad like electrical burning which came to find out I pulled all the wires back to the dme and they were all fried to the thing so I guess I need a new engine wire harness to start. And also my dme was in a puddle of water don't know if that's normal or not but does it need replaced maybe to? Were it plugged in tho no water at all so I do maybe still good also I did hook up battery after I took out relay and car did as it was before I put a new relay in.. Any help would be something as I'm new to bmw world. Thanks guys have a good day.[/SIZE][/SIZE]

**JDStrickland** · 02-22-2018, 05:14 PM

TWO VENT HOLES ON THE BATTERY
Use one, plug the other.

Your car works by magic smoke, your magic smoke leaked out. You're done. For the record, nothing on the inside of the car should be swimming in a puddle of water.

**Greenbeann** · 02-22-2018, 07:49 PM

Originally Posted by JDStrickland

TWO VENT HOLES ON THE BATTERY
Use one, plug the other.

Your car works by magic smoke, your magic smoke leaked out. You're done. For the record, nothing on the inside of the car should be swimming in a puddle of water.

What do you mean magic smoke? The battery gas is magic smoke? Also does the vent tube go out the bottom of car on positive side? And ya so I need a new ecu and I can get wire harness for 13$ but I need to know if my dme is still okay like I said I plugged it in after I fried it and it worked fine like it was before? So I know ecu is okay cause it wasn't wet inside. But in having a little trouble with the last bit of wires to the harness the ones the lead out the bottom of the plastic box that holds the wires does one go to camshaft position sensor? And does one go to the starter or alternator? Thanks and btw is my battery okay tho its reading fine volts

**Greenbeann** · 02-23-2018, 09:16 AM

Is there a reason you said I'm done? What do you mean?

**Nanniepoo** · 02-23-2018, 09:40 AM

E36s have an issue with the water drains in the DME compartment clogging. Pull the DME, clean that area out (there should be a bunch of threads about this), clean and dry your DME. Hope for the best.

**gdavid** · 02-23-2018, 09:44 AM

Originally Posted by Greenbeann

Is there a reason you said I'm done? What do you mean?

My guess would be humor.

I'm sure you are frustrated right now and expecting help instead of being poked fun of but hang in there and you will get all of the info you need. Post some pics of what you are seeing. This doesn't sound like a very straightforward fix, chasing wiring gremlins is frustrating and is likely why the car was so cheap. Fortunately used parts are readily available if you are willing to do the legwork and there is a ton of knowledge about fixing these cars. Based on the limited info so far it sounds like you would save yourself alot of future agrivation by replacing the suspect wiring. Good luck.

**gdavid** · 02-23-2018, 09:50 AM

By the way, double check the relay to confirm it is the right part. I have heard of at least one case of the wrong relay looking and fitting correctly but it was different from the correct relay internally.

**Greenbeann** · 02-23-2018, 09:56 AM

Thanks so much for reply guys yes I'm willing to put all the man hours into it to fix it got it for a good price but ill get some photos of it all there was a water bottle that blew up causing some moisture I believe on the wiring inside car but deff ill get some photos I need lots of help and any is so thankful for.

**Greenbeann** · 02-23-2018, 10:12 AM

I know I need a form of jpg for photos does this one work for you guys? https://i.imgur.com/OM6mGAZ.jpg

**Greenbeann** · 02-23-2018, 10:17 AM

https://i.imgur.com/rUNSY2H.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/H1N6vCb.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/1W42N2y.jpg

**gdavid** · 02-23-2018, 10:24 AM

Can't see them, I think you need to change the permissions for the pic at the hosting site. I don't have it figured out, I upload them to this site which shows thumbnails you need to expand to see well, I don't think it is well received.

**Greenbeann** · 02-23-2018, 10:44 AM

I guess ill try photobucket

**Greenbeann** · 02-23-2018, 06:12 PM

Well I can't figure this out how to get photos on here..

**Greenbeann** · 02-23-2018, 06:19 PM

Did this work? Bmw 318i project https://imgur.com/gallery/m1eqJ

**Greenbeann** · 02-23-2018, 06:27 PM

But what could have caused the wires to fry like that I had old relay in and it didn't do that before but with the new one maybe since it worked it could actually send current to that location which in then fried the wires to the plastic box with all the wires and so I've pulled all wires except the red one that goes under that big plastic box and I can't find where it goes to..

**Deus Ex Machina** · 02-24-2018, 12:32 PM

Normally I would say to take power off of everything and spray the DME throughly inside with Electronic Contract Cleaner and let dry.

But with the wiring issues I would find the entire harness and DME from a wrecked car and replace it all. A wrecked car is a pretty good bet because it was obviously functioning when it went bang. Replacement of all of the wiring and DME will eliminate chasing ghosts.

**Greenbeann** · 02-25-2018, 11:05 AM

https://i.imgur.com/5ScbsI9.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/clWuI1Q.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/oZZSSqQ.jpg

**Greenbeann** · 02-25-2018, 11:20 AM

So am I screwed? I did find a dme on eBay for 25 bucks its numbers are all the same except for the vins numbers of course and the other 3 numbers under the vin but all the others match .

**thenjnick** · 02-25-2018, 12:38 PM

That looks to be corroded beyond repair, if you can find the whole harness and DME for the price you stated I would go ahead and replace it all because thats not a bad deal and its not worth the trouble for such old wiring.

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**thenjnick** · 02-25-2018, 12:40 PM

As long as the DME serials match and the replacement is pulled from the same year model , I think you should be good to go but don’t quote me on that

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**Greenbeann** · 02-25-2018, 12:47 PM

Thanks for reply thenjnick, yes its fried beyond rep are on the board itself the green colored part of the board but once my dad gets up ill get a picture of the dme we got for the replacement I was told I need the key and some sorda module but I forgot the module name atm. But the dme is like I said the same exact model as mine and I may just get a new harness but honestly only the one brown wire fried from the bottom on the fuel pump relay and I could just replace that one wire but idk if the dme plug had water in its plug it looked dry when I unplugged it after pulling it from the puddle I wipped it off and the pins look good on plug and dme but then I opened the dme and was heart broken I'm lucky the ecu is okay it wasn't in water as it sits higher up in the bracket but the dme:/ so anyways ya when he wakes up ill get photos of the one I got and mine.

**Greenbeann** · 02-25-2018, 01:14 PM

So here's my dme cover
https://i.imgur.com/VQT3TGK.jpg
And here's the eBay listing
https://www.ebay.com/itm/332549438464 lmk what you think but I see that only the vin number is different and the very bottom number is a little different but others in between those look to match up this was only the dme for 25 which still is a steal of a deal. I'm gonna look for a cheap complete 97 318I wire harness is there any other years or models that have the same harness mines the 3 relay 5 prong in case you were wondering I know some 318tis have 2 relays and 4 prong which I think are older idkh.

**thenjnick** · 02-25-2018, 05:18 PM

Hopefully someone with more experience can help you out because my knowledge of DME/ECU/EWS swaps is very limited. The serials match for the most part. As far as I know, you will need the ignition cylinder, EWS module, DME, as well as the key all from the same donor car. Now since you have a 1998 model you may have to get the DME and ECU aligned properly for the car to crank but I could be wrong. Theres a great thread somewhere with ALL the info you could possibly need on this subject, I will try to link it.

If only one wire got fried then you may think about running a new one in the harness, however if you do repair it yourself, make sure you make a clean, strong connection with at least some solder because you dont want this coming loose again. Then again you might be able to find a better deal with everything included from the same car.

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**XnWarden** · 02-25-2018, 05:26 PM

I do believe youll need ews either disabled or recoded to match your vin. Supposedly the dealer charges $100 for this. Id look into disabling it. Because if you tow the car there and they recode it for you, and then it still doesnt start, that's going to be awkward.

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**Greenbeann** · 02-25-2018, 06:45 PM

What is ews? And if its only 100 bucks ill do it but I've been told bmw will charge me for a new dme which I heard cost 1700.00..... So I guess I'm gonna try to fix the old harness when its out because the one wire only fried into the plastic harness box to where it connects to thicker brown wires and all those seem in tacked if that's the fast all I need is some wire. But I found out the people that owned this car before the people I got it from would always take it to bmw to get it serviced and I found a big bundle of the brown wires wrapped up like excess wire they didn't trim. And also there was zip ties that just looked to new to be 21 years old. But I believe this car had a new transmission put in not to long ago it looks pretty new. Also the cats were changed as well as the vacuum lines and fuel lines and also I feel I know why all this happened the car has absolutely no seal on the bottom of the front windshield and this had to be were the water came in to the ecu and dme compartment. Sad sad day that 60 dollars for a new window seal causes thousands in damage what was bmw thinking...