Died in the street today

[jdstrickland]

Sitting at the light, life is good. The light turns green, the engine dies. No CEL. It tries to start, but it runs very weak, and opening the throttle causes it to die.

I'm going after the fuel pump. It should be under the back seat, right? My E36 and E46 have the pump under the back seat.

[scourtaud23]

Its under the back seat on the right side.

I'm guessing you haven't tried INPA or any scanner to see if any issue arises?

[williamx5]

Good day!

Like StephenVA suggested in another post; Test, don't guess......

I think the easiest way to test for fuel loss is to replace it with manually added fuel... Just a shot glass full to get it start and idle like normal... Then it will die as the fuel is used...

The sure-fire way is to pull out the fuel pressure gauge... Need BMW adapter... My sunpro didn't come with it and I had fuel leaking when connected... NOT GOOD!

Not a terribly difficult swap... No indication of the vehicle or mileage, but my 540i went over 210K miles before the ORIGINAL fuel pump failed... No warning either... Highway speeds and then nothing...

Good luck and let us know what you discover please...

Cheers!!

[Overboost]

Originally Posted by jdstrickland

Sitting at the light, life is good. The light turns green, the engine dies. No CEL. It tries to start, but it runs very weak, and opening the throttle causes it to die.

I'm going after the fuel pump. It should be under the back seat, right? My E36 and E46 have the pump under the back seat.

Did you try the "give it a knock" trick to get home or check it once it cooled down? It does sound like the FP.

BTW, good to see you over here too!

[scourtaud23]

Simple tool to check fuel pressure, use a tire pressure gauge (or one to pump up the tires). You may need to hold it while someone else turns the key but it'll tell you if there is pressure or not.

[upallnight]

Originally Posted by scourtaud23

Simple tool to check fuel pressure, use a tire pressure gauge (or one to pump up the tires). You may need to hold it while someone else turns the key but it'll tell you if there is pressure or not.

Be sure to have a fire extinguisher handy if you plan on using this method to determine if there's fuel pressure in the fuel rail.

[scourtaud23]

Originally Posted by upallnight

Be sure to have a fire extinguisher handy if you plan on using this method to determine if there's fuel pressure in the fuel rail.

Sorry I didn't point that out, Whatever the method, whatever you do and as low as the risk is, always have one handy when you work on your car, specially when fuel or electricity is involved.

[jdstrickland]

You guys waaay overthink stuff. It's a simple DC motor, the windings are open. Using what I know to be true on the E46 and E36, I took the back seat out and the pump was right where I thought it would be. I hesitate to make a spark because I filled the tank less than 30 miles ago. They had a pump in stock at AutoZone for $150, no waiting. The maker is Delphi, they have been building stuff for longer than I've been alive

All is well. Started on the first try.

And, yes I checked for codes first.

[scourtaud23]

Its good news you solved your problem. As for overthinking, testing before buying parts is usually the best think to advise someone asking for help.
Had you changed the pump but it still hadn't started, overthinking would have been useful.

[wpoll]

Originally Posted by jdstrickland

They had a pump in stock at AutoZone for $150, no waiting. The maker is Delphi, they have been building stuff for longer than I've been alive

All is well. Started on the first try.

Great that it was a simple fix. For the record (as I'm sure someone is keeping track of these things - andrewwynn probably!) what is the mileage that the old fuel pump died at - assuming it was the original pump?