1999 e36 M3 no start

[aim9killa]

Hello all this is my first time actually posting on here so lets get started.

I was letting my buddy drive my car, first mistake, and we were getting off an exit going about 60-65 mph so he downshifted from 5th to 4th and when he let the clutch out the tach spiked up to 8k then down to 0 then back to "normal" except he said he had no power. He pulled off to the side and it would crank but not fire. My car had no prior issues to this, no codes, fresh intake swap/camshaft sensor.

Fast forward a week to now, I still cannot get the car to fire. Upon inspecting the car I noticed a bunch of wires in the main harness were fried so I pulled the harness to trace and fix every wire that was burnt. I pulled and checked each fuse and replace each relay, I also have compression and when I bridge the fuel pump wires i have fuel pressure. I have replaced the inline fuse in the trunk and tested for 12 volts at the power distribution block. There is no CEL when the key is turned to the on position. I cannot get my laptop to detect the dme through either diagnostic port. I have confirmed that my main relay is sending power to my dme via the brown wire. I have spent the last 4 hours staring into the engine bay and randomly testing for 12 volt and continuity and cannot find any reason why my CEL is not working and my car not firing and yes the bulb works.

Any input would be greatly appreciated as I am considering giving up on the car as electronics and wiring are not my forte.

[scooper]

Your buddy found 2nd not 4th. Search for money shift and see what might be broken. Usually it's something mechanical either in the motor or trans or both, but I haven't heard of fried wires. Hope your buddy will make you whole. Sounds like a big repair.

[MauiM3Mania]

Sounds like two different issues. Money shift caused one problem, the fried harness is the result of who know what.

[bluptgm3]

You have done a compression test?

Typically, with a mechanical over-rev ALL of the valves are bent and there is no compression. Hopefully non of the pistons have holes in them from bent valves.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[aim9killa]

As I cannot start my car and let my motor warm up, my cold compression tests results were within 130-150 psi per each cylinder and it does not make any abnormal noises when cranking. I can only work on it on the weekends due to being at school. I just ordered a used engine harness off of a 99 M3 manual for $140 with shipping so will post again as soon as I install the "new" harness.

[aim9killa]

BIG UPDATE:

I installed my new harness yet still no fire, so yet again I took the forums and came across a member stating that a bad crankshaft position sensor can cause a no CEL condition for some reason. So I pulled my CPS to test and guess what, it had no readings what so ever, no resistance or continuity an any of the pins. I took to the interwebs again to order a replacement sensor (Delphi) as well as the adapter harness for the 99 recall on the CPS sensor. They should both be coming in later this week and this weekend I will be able to give another update. Also I have had a BMW mechanic confirm that there is no mechanical damage.

I believe this CPS failure just so happened to happen when my friend was driving and when it failed it left us on the side of the road, and upon further thinking back, my car would have trouble idling when cold or upon first start. I would have to sit and rev it for about a minute or two to get the idle to stabilize and sometimes when coasting to a stop in neutral the RPMs would drop to the point of almost stalling out and this issue seemed to be happening more frequently with time. Being that I just did an intake swap I just thought I had a small vacuum leak, which I fixed, but the rough idle issues still prevailed. On top of all that when driving I would randomly feel power losses, so now everything is starting to click in my mind after countless hours involving wiring.

My only question now is: Has any one ever heard of a failed CPS to cause a no CEL condition? It makes sense though on why I am not getting fuel or spark.

[shogun]

Maybe there is no fault in the system because you mentioned ".....upon inspecting the car I noticed a bunch of wires in the main harness were fried ". we do not know which wires, but if the wires are burnt the fault code system can probably not work.
What is the part number of the Delphi replacement CPS? For a CPS I personally would go for original BMW parts. Anyway, here is a copy of the info how to install the adapter harness with 12V instead of 5V, was done on my 02/98 free of charge some years ago, because it was a recall. All parts and work free.

GROUP 12 12 10 99 Woodcliff Lake, N.J. July 1999 Engine Electrical Product Engineering - This Service Information bulletin supersedes S.I. 12 10 99 dated May 1999 which should be removed and discarded from your S.I. binder.
Perform the procedure outlined in this Service Information on all affected vehicles the next time they are in the shop for maintenance or repairs and on every affected vehicle prior to retail.
SUBJECT: Voluntary Emissions Recall Campaign No. 99E-A01
MODEL: E36 - 323i and 328i with M52 engine produced 6/95 - 12/98, E36 - M3 with S52 engine produced 1/96 - 12/98
E39 - 528i with M52 engine produced 3/96 - 8/98, Z3 - with M52 engine produced 7/96 - 9/98, Z3 - with S52 engine produced 1/98 - 1/99
Situation: BMW of North America, Inc. has initiated a Voluntary Emission-Recall Campaign to correct vehicles that may have a faulty crankshaft position sensor. A customer notification letter will be sent out by May 1999. This action will address the illumination of the "Check Engine"lamp and the following faults being set in the Engine Control Module (ECM/DME):

Fault Code 83 - Crankshaft position sensor
Fault Code 244 - Crankshaft segment timing
Cause: Internal failure of the sensor
Affected Vehicles: This recall involves E36,E39 and Z3 vehicles with M52 and S52 engines which were produced from 6/95 - 1/99.The procedure given in this bulletin must be performed on all affected vehicles identified on DCS. (A copy of the letter which will be sent to all affected customers in a staggered mailing is attached to this S.I.). In order to determine if a specific vehicle is affected by this Recall , it will be necessary to utilize the "Service Menu" of the DCS (Dealer Communication System). Based on the response of the system, either proceed with the corrective action or take no further action. The Chassis Number Ranges listed below are only for informational purposes and are not tobe considered as the only deciding factor.
Model Chassis Number Range
328i/4 AV15000-AV25219 LB10002-LB10479
328iA/4 AV35000-AV65890 LB30004-LB31291
M3 Conv. EC42001-EC43174
M3A Conv. EC38005-EC40502
M3/4 EE05001-EE09665
M3A/4 EE10002-EE14165
M3/2 EY72008-EY81023
328i/2 ET00009-ET08059
328iA/2 ET30015-ET38036
328iC ET60003-ET67400
328iCA ET90006-ET99999 EY85000-EY91136
323i/2 EH40001-EH43356
323iA/2 EH60002-EH63662
323iC EA15000-EA18321
323iCA EM20001-EM23874
528i BV50010-BV56850
528iA BW00026-BW49997 GT90000-GT97785
Z3 LC00020-LC16358
Z3A LB62000-LB63999 LG20000-LG20708
Z3 M coupe LC60010-LC60950
Z3 M roadster LC85002-LC89198

Correction: The crankshaft position sensor needs to be replaced with the same type of sensor that is currently being used on the M52TU engine. Along with replacing the sensor an adapterharness must also be installed in order to supply the sensor with a 12V operating voltage instead of the 5 volts currently being supplied by the DME. NOTE: SOME VEHICLES LISTED IN DCS MAY ALREADY HAVE THE NEW STYLE SENSOR INSTALLED, FOR THESE VEHICLES A CHECK/VERIFICATION WILL ONLY BE NEEDED.
Procedure: The following steps must be followed when replacing the original M52 crankshaft sensor withthe new M52TU sensor.
1. Remove the crankshaft positionsensor which is located below the starter motor.
Remove the Sensor (1)
If the sensor currently installed in the vehicle has a connector directly on the sensor which can be disconnected, then the new sensor is already installed. No further action is required and the DCS contact can be closed.
Note: Illustration shows location of component with air filter housing and air mass meter removed. It is not necessary to remove these components to perform this repair.
2. The electrical connection of the crankshaft sensor to the engine harness is located below the intake manifold.
To access this connector, the cap of the oil filter housing ( should be removed and the oil filter and housing should then be covered to prevent dirt from getting onto the oil filter.
3. Disconnect the crankshaft position sensor (1) from the engine harness.
Note: This illustration shows theplug connectors with the intake manifold removed. It is not necessary to remove the intake manifold in order to gain access to these connectors and complete this repair.
4. 4. Remove the fuel rail cover and unplug the VANOS solenoid valve plug connector (2).
5. 5. Install the new crankshaft position sensor (1) P/N 12 14 1 709 616and O-ring P/N 12 14 1 748 398.
6. Install adapter harness P/N 12 51 4 592 703.
a. Connect (1) to the new crankshaft position sensor.
b. Connect (2) to the engine harness connector which was previously connected to the old crankshaft sensor located below the intake manifold.
c. Connect (3) to the VANOS solenoid valve located on the VANOS unit.
d. Connect (4) to the engine wiring harness connector which previously connected directly to the VANOS solenoid valve.
7. After the adapter harness has been installed secure the harness lead going to the VANOS solenoid valve (1) to the VANOS oil line with 2 cable ties (3).
Note: The harness lead going to the VANOS solenoid valve should not be under tension. The harness lead should be able to move.
Parts Information: Part Number.......... Description............. Qty.
......................12 14 1 709 616 Crankshaft position sensor 1
......................12 51 4 592 703.... Adapter harness.......... 1
......................12 14 1 748 398...... O - ring 17x3............ 1
......................61 13 1 377 134....... Cable tie................. 2

NOTE: The early style Crankshaft position sensors are no longer available from the Parts Department. Any retailer stock of Part Number 12 14 1 744 492 should be returned to your facing PDC using : Return code: TEC 36
Order and invoice numbers do not need to be provided.
Defect Code: 00 12 27 01 00
Work Package #1: Replace crankshaft sensor & install adapter harness.
Models: E36 - 323i/iA, 328i/iA and M3
E39 - 528i/iA
Z3

Work Package #2: Check if new crankshaft sensor is already installed. Replacement not required.
Models: E36 - 323i/iA, 328i/iA and M3
E39 - 528i/iA
Z3
Labor Operation: 00 52 019 Labor Allowance: 3 FRU

http://bavarian-board.com/uploads/kb...ion_Sensor.pdf

[ArcticM]

If I go to bmw dealership will they know if this was ever performed on my car?

[shogun]

Yes, they know based on the VIN, also there is a mark near the shock mount, when the job has been done. Although my M3 is a US version and originally was sold in the US, the work was done here by BMW in Japan free of charge. I just asked them at the parts center and they checked with my VIN for outstanding recall work. See my link in above post, all is mentioned there, quote: ...In order to determine if a specific vehicle is affected by this Recall , it will be necessary to utilize the "Service Menu" of the DCS (Dealer Communication System). Based on the response of the system, either proceed with the corrective action or take no further action. ......After the vehicle has been checked and corrected, obtain a label (SD 92-124) and with a ball point pen print your dealer code (5 digits) on the Recall Completion Label (see illustration). An initial quantity of 100 labels will be sent to all BMW automotive centers. Peel the label from its backing and affix it to the left front strut tower (in the engine compartment) next to the Vehicle Emission Control Label......For California centers only it is required by the California Code of Regulations that an executed orange "Vehicle Emission Recall - Proof of Correction" certificate (SD92-084, see illustration) be provided to each customer (for vehicles registered in the state of California) once the Recall on their vehicle has been completed.

I even got for my old 11/88 E32 750 a new radiator cap free of charge, also found by the dealer in outstanding recall items by the VIN. There was a recall many, many years ago, but I still got a new cap free.

[marvinstockman]

See if car will start and run for a few seconds on starting fluid, or carb cleaner.