Hi everyone. 1997 Z3 1.9L it starts for a brief second and stalls right away. It has over 120K miles on it and I had no record of a fuel pump change so I went ahead and replaced it with a Bosch Fuel Pump, also replaced the under dash Fuel Pump Relay. Replaced many of the hoses and clamps and changed the fuel filter. Also replaced the spark plugs and air filter. Just wondering if this has happened to anyone before and what was the problem. I also hear once it stalls a little small backfire in the exhaust not loud but a little poop poop. I also drained all the fuel out of the tank and replaced it. The car ran fine 3 weeks ago with no issues. It has a new battery too. I would appreciate any helpful info on this. I'm ready to get it running again. Thank you.
1997 Z3 1.9L Wont Start Stalls Right Away New parts too
- Thread starter Fonzie
- Start date
- Joined
- Nov 25, 2012
- Points
- 178
- Location
- Newport, South Wales,UK
- Model of Z
- Z3 M43 1.8 (1999) and Z4 E85 2.5 (2003)
Cam position sensor was my first thought, have you put a code reader on it to see if any codes have been set, that should be your first move before throwing parts at it.
Hey!!!! Thank you all for the tips. I did put a code reader to it when it first happened and I got nothing. Still nothing. No warning lights on which is frustrating. I was hoping it would show a code. Maybe it didn't run long enough to pop up a code. Last time I drove it there was no issue and no light on. It just happened when I went to start it that day. So maybe it needed an actual drive cycle or something similar to trigger the light. I am not sure.
- Joined
- Nov 25, 2012
- Points
- 178
- Location
- Newport, South Wales,UK
- Model of Z
- Z3 M43 1.8 (1999) and Z4 E85 2.5 (2003)
Also check over all of the rubber inlet bellows from the Maf to the intake manifold and all of the other vaccum pipes rubber and plastic, check the rear edge of the inlet manifold for any split or missing rubber blanking caps that sit on some small pipes that emerge from the back of the manifold, they rot out and fall off. A massive air leak may well be the cause of you non start issue or camshaft sensor as said earlier. Put the code reader on it again see if anything has set a code since you last scanned it.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Apr 1, 2016
- Points
- 208
- Location
- Maybole , South Ayrshire
- Model of Z
- Z3 Individual Dakar / Orinoco Individual
I have seen this issue ( or similar symptoms) on a zed I looked at for a guy I know in Ayr scratched my head over it for several days no codes showing changed a number of parts for known working ones to no avail.
Had a flash of inspiration after reading something online I removed the lambda sensor from the front pipe .
Turned it over started up sat idling ( if rather noisy) .
Turned out it had had an aftermarket cat fitted which had broken up and blocked the exhaust a piece of it had got stuck inside the centre section and restricted the exhaust causing it to fire up then stall.
Could be worth a look if everything else gets you nowhere.
Stephen.
Had a flash of inspiration after reading something online I removed the lambda sensor from the front pipe .
Turned it over started up sat idling ( if rather noisy) .
Turned out it had had an aftermarket cat fitted which had broken up and blocked the exhaust a piece of it had got stuck inside the centre section and restricted the exhaust causing it to fire up then stall.
Could be worth a look if everything else gets you nowhere.
Stephen.
Hey everyone. Just a quick update. Thank you so much for all your replies. I checked all fuel lines all were clear and routed properly. I went ahead and charged the battery even though it is fairly new was reading 12.32 V but just to be safe because someone said the DME is very sensitive to Voltage. I also used this time to cleaned all the battery connections and make sure my ground was secure and rust free. I checked the engine for vacuum leaks and even removed an 02 sensor (thanks for the idea Stevo7682) and tried to start the car to see if any blockage in exhaust. That was a great idea. Thank you for that.
It has felt like a timing issue to me because of the back fires. So I disconnected the Mass air sensor and it didn't help. I checked all fuses with my multi meter. Then I removed the cam shaft position sensor from the block and it started right up. So I am pretty sure that is the problem. I didn't know you could just remove it from the block and start the car but you can. It didn't spray any oil out of the hole either. I am still waiting on the new one to come in but I am quite sure this is the problem and it did indeed keep the car from starting or running. I read lots of posts that said the car would still run and that wasn't true in my case. It completely kept the car from running. Also while your replacing the Cam sensor think about if you want to replace the intake gasket and there is a vacuum hose or PCV hose underneath the intake and mine was cracked at the intake side. More than likely that hose will be original so it can't hurt to replace it to avoid vacuum leaks. It can take over a week to get this part so if you are in a hurry its best to pre order these parts before starting the project and that way it won't delay it. I truly hope this can help someone else. Thank you again for all your help. This is a great forum.
It has felt like a timing issue to me because of the back fires. So I disconnected the Mass air sensor and it didn't help. I checked all fuses with my multi meter. Then I removed the cam shaft position sensor from the block and it started right up. So I am pretty sure that is the problem. I didn't know you could just remove it from the block and start the car but you can. It didn't spray any oil out of the hole either. I am still waiting on the new one to come in but I am quite sure this is the problem and it did indeed keep the car from starting or running. I read lots of posts that said the car would still run and that wasn't true in my case. It completely kept the car from running. Also while your replacing the Cam sensor think about if you want to replace the intake gasket and there is a vacuum hose or PCV hose underneath the intake and mine was cracked at the intake side. More than likely that hose will be original so it can't hurt to replace it to avoid vacuum leaks. It can take over a week to get this part so if you are in a hurry its best to pre order these parts before starting the project and that way it won't delay it. I truly hope this can help someone else. Thank you again for all your help. This is a great forum.
jaguartvr
Zorg Guru (I)
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2017
- Points
- 95
I had this on a 2.2, it turned out to be the MAF. No codes showing and it made no difference when the MAF was unplugged, they normally drop into a default setting. Auto electrician found a problem with it, replace and the problem solved.
It would just catch on cracking but die the moment the key was released.
It would just catch on cracking but die the moment the key was released.
If you have tried everything suggested here then i cant think of anything else.
Someone more experienced with cars may correct me but i would also check the gearbox and whether that stalls the engine.
Someone more experienced with cars may correct me but i would also check the gearbox and whether that stalls the engine.