non starting e36M3 with S50B52 engine

[robberrick]

2 weeks ago I parked the car and locked it after a 200km round trip.
The next morning it cranked but would not start.
I checked:
fuel fuse, fuel relay(Changed around relays) and decided that I would change out fuel filter and fuel pump(24 years old)
still no start.
checked 12v power at pump - no power
This car is pre EWS theft protection so should not be the problem but has had an after market alarm fitted which I disconnected some years ago.
Some say it could be the crank angle sensor.
Where do I find this sensor and is there any way of testing it.

[shogun]

moved from E36 to E36 M3 forum

[Carpy2]

I presume by crank angle sensor they are talking about your crankshaft position sensor (BMW calls it a pulse generator). I have replaced both my crankshaft and camshaft position sensors before, and the symptoms were basically the same for both. Car felt fine on the drive home, then maybe felt like it lost a tiny bit of power. Next morning it would turn over but not start.

In both situations my car threw a CEL code telling me which sensor had gone bad, do you have any codes?

Crankshaft position sensor is the orange/gold arrow in the photo below. About 8 o'clock from your thermostat housing. Moron95M3 (despite his name) has a good writeup on doing the CPS. Unfortunately, the photos are photobucket watermarked, but you don't need too many photos.

Pic1.jpg

P/N is 12141726065, #9 in the diagram below:
diag_28.png

If you unplug it you should be able to measure the resistance, I'm not sure what the value should be... something > 0... lol. But I would try to get codes read if you have them before you end up replacing everything to find the issue.

[blckstrm]

2 weeks ago I parked the car and locked it after a 200km round trip.
The next morning it cranked but would not start.
I checked:
fuel fuse, fuel relay(Changed around relays) and decided that I would change out fuel filter and fuel pump(24 years old)
still no start.
checked 12v power at pump - no power
This car is pre EWS theft protection so should not be the problem but has had an after market alarm fitted which I disconnected some years ago.
Some say it could be the crank angle sensor.
Where do I find this sensor and is there any way of testing it.

By the way - if you can - put your old stuff back. If it lasted 24 years without trouble, you're just asking for trouble with new parts. I've converted from the "proactively replace" mantra to the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" group. Based on doing "preventative" maintenance, then having the new thing die on me (both my M3 and my Escalade). Obviously not the filter, but the pump for sure. Or at least keep it on hand.

[NeilM]

checked 12v power at pump - no power

Unfortunately that's not a valid test.

When you initially turn the ignition on the pump is pulsed briefly to assure fuel pressure for starting, but then isn't powered continuously until the engine is detected as running. I can't be certain that your S50B32 Euro's ECU behaves the same way as ours, but nor do I see why it wouldn't.

Neil