Crank, no start

[Duc Ryder]

Hello all,

I have been a member of this forum for a long time, but I have never felt the need to post since there is so much useful information and there are so many knowledgeable people here, I can usually solve any issues by looking up and reading the threads. Great forum really.

But I have recently come across a situation I can't seem to solve so here I go:

CAR: 1995 automatic 325i M50 Single VANOS OBD1, EWS II, silver 413 DME. Completely stock, 100k miles. Have had it for 4 years and it's been extremely dependable. It always started easily no matter what the weather, never overheated and mostly ran excellently, albeit with poor fuel economy which I attributed to VANOS failed seals.

PROBLEM: Two months ago, while driving, the plastic three-hose fixture that goes to the heater core gave up and I had a big leak. I caught it on time so car didn't overheat.
But because of no time, etc, the car sat for two months until I had vacation time to work on it.
I decided that since I would have to remove the intake manifold to fix the leak, I would take advantage and do the VANOS seal change too, along with replacing a leaking head cover gasket.
I did all, and all went smoothly and with no hitches thanks to all the great info here, Beisan procedure, Pelican parts procedures and the Bentley manual.
I have to say I am extremely anal and check everything I do 2 or 3 times to make sure I am doing it correctly and by the book. Photos, notes and organization are something I do to avoid mistakes.

BUT NOW MY CAR WON'T START. Cranks, but does not start.

THINGS I HAVE CHECKED
-Brand new battery.
-Compression: about 150 PSI in each cylinder.
-Spark: taken out coils and put them against ground with new spark plugs and cranked the car. Each gave spark. Plugs are new Bosch items correct for the car.
-Fuel system: pump good, and working when bridged at the relay receptacle, good 45 PSI pressure at the entrance of the rail in this test. Cleaned pump strainer and Have recently changed fuel filter.

BUT I HAVE DISCOVERED THE DME DOES NOT SEND A GROUND SIGNAL FROM PIN 1 TO TERMINAL 85 OF THE PUMP RELAY WHEN I TURN ON THE IGNITION KEY. No priming.
I rigged a little tester and found the ground signal from the DME is only present when the key turns all the way to start, but as soon as I let go of the key, the line goes dead.

MY QUESTIONS
1. Would this be a CPS issue? I performed the OHM test on the Bentley, but the value they want is 1280 (page 130) and I got 519, which is closer to what I have found in this forum people usually get, the magic number being 590 or 600. (Unfortunately I have no access to a code reader.)
2. Would this be a damaged DME?
3. Can the DME in my car be swapped straight out for another one, given that my car has EWS II? A red label 413? Will it need to be reprogrammed?

Sorry for the long essay, but this problem has my head spinning badly. I mostly work on motorcycles (mechanics, rebuilds, modifications) And I have always come out ahead, until now.

Your help and patience will be greatly appreciated.

[Eric93se]

Nice work so far DucRyder, !

So you've basically confirmed your cam, crank sensors are working. Its normal for the DME to energize the pump for 1 second, this prevents flooding also confirms can sensor is good. You found spark so crank sensor is good.

Check all your connectors and vacuum lines, I suspect a vacuum leak, check that the Idle valve is plugged into the manifold and the connector is on.

- - - Updated - - -

Try unplugging the mafs before trying to start it.

[spyderg0d]

Absolutely positive you inserted the vanos hellical gear correctly? The vanos procedure doesn't involve removeing camshaft does it?

[xxxxxxx]

Does it fire at all?

[Duc Ryder]

Eric93se
There are only two vacuum ports in this car, the one for the fuel pressure regulator and the one for the brake booster. Both seem to be good. Only if the booster diaphragm got damaged while parked would I suspect it.
IAC motor is correctly plugged and serviced too.

spyderg0d
Yes, I am positive I did it the right way. No, cams don't have to be removed. I used the correct tools to set the cams and crank timing correctly, and I figure that if cam timing were off, there wouldn't be compression, would there?

xxxxxxx,
No, it doesn't' fire, but spraying starter fluid in the intake makes it want to go.

I wouldnt damage anything if I bridge the fuel pump and crank it to see if it starts right? Haven't done this to avoid any electronic damage.

Thank you all for your help!

[spyderg0d]

The fuel pump does not prime on obd1 e36. The fuel pump is only activated on obd1 cars when the crank is turning. My 95 325ic does not prime, my 93 318is does not prime, every 328is ive owned did prime.. If your fuel pump turns on when cranking then its acting appropriately.
You mentioned above there are only 2 vacuum lines on the intake. You missed the brake booster vac line, the oil seperator vacuum line that runs to the top part of the aic to manifold connector.

Check and test all fuses with a meter because you NEVER KNOW. Lol.

I would also take that advice as to try starting with the maf unplugged.