1994 318i FUEL SYSTEM SHORT

[saucey]

hey guys this might be one that hasn't happened before. I just got my 318 project back on the road after replacing the driveshaft. Before its accident, there were leaks. I drove this car for probably 5 full 20-30 mile cycles and finally decided to go through the wash (bad idea). In the wash i was on my phone (just a happy man with his running car) and when i looked up to exit the wash she was dead. would not start, thank the lord the car behind didnt touch us. However the problem gets worse. I go through the ritual check list as best i could with my fingers, examine the fuse box, mcheck fuel pump. crank it with no fuel to clear the cyclinders. still nothing. the fuel pump and relay were replaced about a year ago, since then the car has had less than 1k miles so i dont believe it would be either of the two. The real bad part is that I went home to get personal stuff done and call a tow. When I arrived to the parking lot both the driver and I noticed what was unfortunately a full tank of gas puddled in the parking lot streaming from the car. meaning that while I was gone the fuel system had a dream the car was running. This ties back to the injectors because the fuel was actually leaking from the intake. Anyone have any guidance on diagnosing shorts? I think this could be either a fuel system short or possibly a corrupted dme however the car in acc functioned as it should.

[shogun]

Moved from E36 DIY to E36 forum

[Eric93se]

Wow that sucks, must have been quite the moment when you realized where the fuel was exiting.

So you've learned the hard way to never use a car wash especially in an older e36 that floods the DME compartment AND has a DME that has an unprotected circuit board (no conformal coating.

Don't try cranking the engine till you do a bunch of things. Most likely you DME has an internal short, start by getting a can of Deoxit 5% and an old toothbrush, remove the DME and open it up get access to both sides of the board, liberally spray everything all connectors and traces, scrub and repeat 2x. Its very important that its 100% dry before installing, blow it off with compressed air, wait 24hrs before even considering it.

Next your going to want to see if you bent a rod when you tried to crank it over, pull all the spark plugs, get a long rod that fits and let it rest on the piston top, manually crank the engine and mark the rod to indicate the top of the stroke, all pistons should make the same mark otherwise you bent a rod.

Also the oil is 100% ruined so do not try to start it without an oil change.

[saucey]

Wow that sucks, must have been quite the moment when you realized where the fuel was exiting.

So you've learned the hard way to never use a car wash especially in an older e36 that floods the DME compartment AND has a DME that has an unprotected circuit board (no conformal coating.

Don't try cranking the engine till you do a bunch of things. Most likely you DME has an internal short, start by getting a can of Deoxit 5% and an old toothbrush, remove the DME and open it up get access to both sides of the board, liberally spray everything all connectors and traces, scrub and repeat 2x. Its very important that its 100% dry before installing, blow it off with compressed air, wait 24hrs before even considering it.

Next your going to want to see if you bent a rod when you tried to crank it over, pull all the spark plugs, get a long rod that fits and let it rest on the piston top, manually crank the engine and mark the rod to indicate the top of the stroke, all pistons should make the same mark otherwise you bent a rod.

Also the oil is 100% ruined so do not try to start it without an oil change.

Hello, just got the chance to crack into her today, its been dry for about a week. Disconnected battery, pulled the DME, obvious signs of debris but most importantly the bottom was damp. 100% was flooded.
Upon cracking into it I noticed the board was scattered with what looked like to be corrosion/white chalky sort of residue coming from the little intricate pieces that I know nothing about. Would that be a sign of a short?
Once I am out of school for the week I am going to for sure follow your instructions on the proper cleaning, measuring stroke, and oil change. I appreciate the advice

[Eric93se]

Yup clean it all thoroughly. Take in focus pics before and after for us to see.

[Eric93se]

When you get it going again for a future mod you can thoroughly vacuum out the cowl and add a couple more drains. Search the forum for what others have done.