'95 325i No Spark

[Jake97]

Hey all,

I've spent countless hours reading through the forums, haven't found an answer so here I am posting up my question.

I have a 1995 (made in Oct. '94 so EWS1 & OBD1) 325i E36. I bought it as a crank but no-start car. It currently cranks and gets fuel now that I replaced the Crank position sensor with a new OEM Bosch unit (tested 537 Ohms). But still no spark I'm guessing, as it won't start.

It definitely gets fuel now though, I can smell the gas coming out of the tailpipe and if I crank it long enough, can even see the vapors. I've cleared out the engine though by unplugging the fuel pump relay and cranking for a few seconds, so definitely not flooded.

Brand new Main & Fuel pump relays, oem parts just to make sure. New fuel pump, hanger with level sensor, etc. *NO RADIATOR* installed currently, could this be it? I doubt it... I have a brand new coolant tempt sensor (blue connector one for the DME) should I install it? How do I test the current one installed in it? Hard to get to when I'm working on a weekday outside in the dark.

I'd like to test my coils/plugs this Saturday, I'll look up a YouTube video on how to do that, but wouldn't mind some guidance. I have a new radiator / fan shroud / expansion tank / hoses / coolant ready to go in once I get it started... I'd like to get all that done on Saturday if possible.


Thanks for the wisdom 🤙

[Eric93se]

Could be corroded DME (open it up). Could be bad Cam sensor.

[Jake97]

The DME seems to be working fine as the fuel pump and starter work, and I have a CEL. The camshaft sensor wouldn't prevent it from running, it would just make it run poorly... Still should check it though, good suggestion.

[spyderg0d]

Theu started adding ews11 early in production year of 94... My made in august 94 325ic had ews11 with silver label.

[Sleepyhead97]

Hi. You have not confirmed no spark. Start there. Pull coil, put any plug into coil. Reconnect coil. Ground plug--put a wire with alligator clamps on threads and put other end of wire to ground post--turn key look for spark. May need helper.

[Jake97]

Update: multiple coil packs were bad and the rest were weak. I replaced all the coil packs (they looked like oem units from >200k miles ago) and now it will try to start but still won't. Confirmed it is getting spark now. I'm thinking compression and will be looking into that as soon as I can get my hands on a tester.

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Additionally, I have confirmed it's EWS1; red-top 413 DME

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Still need to check the cam sensor though

[spyderg0d]

Dme top doesnt matter. Its the chip and the module that holds the ews. The dme themselves are identical and are very prossibly swapped in any non original owner car. But if you have spark, its not the ews.
A cam sensor will not keep an obdl or 413 car from starting since it gets base spark and injector timing from the crank sensor. Many memvers have ran cars with cam sensors unplugged for diagnostics.

If you had bad coil packs, sometimes a hard reset is needed to reset the variables the ecu tried to use with the bad coilpacks (obviously to no avail, and would keep the car from starting with good coil packs as well).

A few cranks without spark? (before you replaced packs maybe?) Wont unflood the cylinders. And even if they did flood and the car hasent ran, theres a very high probability that the cylinders have washed.. Pour a cap of motor oil in the cylinders, crank it with the coils off and the plugs in with the fuel relay pulled for a few seconds to disperse the oil. Let it sit for a few hours. Put everything back together and start it up.. Cylinder wash is also misdiagnosed as low compression sometimes, For obvious reasons they are symptomatically the same thing, just not actually.

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I would also pull the injectors and test them to make sure they are operating and flowing.
Also i would drain the tank via the fuel line and relay jump then put new gas in if everything was fine. I had ethonol gas go bad after 9 months just over winter storing last year. Who know what was in your tank when you boaght the car.

[pizzaman09]

Pull the fuel relay fuse and cranking it should dry it up quickly. Continue to crank it a bit, even if it does sputter and try to run untill it doesn't try to sputter at all. After you've dried it up, put the fuel pump fuse back in and it should try to run. It can also help to have a helper put the fuse in while you are cranking.

[95RedBMWe36M50]

The DME does not control the fuel pump or starter. Fuel pump is controlled by a relay switch in the fuse box, starter is controlled by solenoid on starter. Still could be a bad DME.

The DME seems to be working fine as the fuel pump and starter work, and I have a CEL. The camshaft sensor wouldn't prevent it from running, it would just make it run poorly... Still should check it though, good suggestion.

[Jake97]

Alright, just did compression. The results are pitiful. Cylinder 1, 3-6: 0psi. Cylinder 2: 15psi. No grinding noises heard, so hopefully not valves or timing. Just a really stupid bad headgasket. Could also be rings. But it's getting proper fuel & spark at this point, so DME, fueling, & ignition systems are all working properly.

I have a new headgasket, valve cover gasket, & head bolts all ready to go for when I have the time.

Any ideas on what else it could be? It's rather odd, to say the least, that 5/6 cylinders have 0 compression...

[Jake97]

Just added a dollop of oil to each of the cylinders, primed, and re-did compression... results went up exponentially across the board. So, pretty darn positive at this point that I have toasted ringlands.