BMW 3 Series E30

since 1983-1994 release

Repair and operation of the car

Your hardware has to be faultless – time which you have, there is same money which, we hope, at you is too. Do not lose either that, or another. If goodness knows where the gone tie or the pant leg burned by the iron can become the reason of failure of a business meeting what then to speak about the car which does not want to be started for an hour before the appointed negotiations.

... Early in the morning, just shaved and full of great plans (the child – in school, the wife – in hairdressing salon, and itself – to forge labor kopek), you jump in the car, "a key on start" and... That for the devil... Once more. Still... Nervous manipulations with a key and pedals of success do not bring. Day is spoiled from the very beginning. Plans and mood – are up the spout.

Calm down. It is not necessary to rush in the English suit under a cowl and, smearing a tie oil mud, to try to make the diagnosis. In 5 minutes, most likely, do not cure. Take other car, and treatment of the got sick friend leave till the evening. Charge it to doctors with good reputation, especially, better if you have expensive car, and you not the specialist. Will be so cheaper. And if your friend is well familiar to you and you consider yourself the healer – well, try if not laziness to be soiled or there is no exit of another.

It is necessary to start diagnosis quietly

Study mentally symptoms. The first – whether twists a starter? And if yes, that, how vigorously? You already know the answer – remember that occurred in the first attempts to start the car. If you do not remember – try once again.

If the starter does not twist at all and does not even click the traction relay at inclusion of ignition, then it or is faulty (it is possible to close a cowl and to follow the advice given above: "Take other car."), or a trouble with the accumulator – it was disconnected or sat down. Only in rare models the power-supply circuit of a starter can be protected by a safety lock – ampere so on 300 – simply to find it, especially, if to foreknow where it is. If the accumulator is guilty, then at the same time also all electric equipment, as a rule, does not work. The elementary and most mild case – flew or one of plugs, but the accumulator as it should be became soiled. Tighten fastenings of plugs on it and on a starter (if is). If it becomes clear that the accumulator completely sat down (forgot to switch off for night of a headlight), it is possible to leave nevertheless. But with assistance. Here, as they say, options are possible. It is possible to try to be got from a push, from a hill or from the tow. Do not try to bypass reefs: the car with an automatic box or electronic injection of fuel (if there an electric gasoline pump) does not manage to be started these ways. It is necessary to get a light from the neighbor. However, at some cars it can lead to damages of the computer (read the instruction to the car). If twist a starter, but inertly (business happens in the summer, it is a subject of a separate conversation in the winter), most likely, the accumulator is almost absolutely discharged. It will be visible on weak light of headlights or a sickly signal. In this case the above-stated options of assistance come into effect.

If the starter twists vigorously, and the engine does not react to attempts to bring him, safely exclude everything from further reflections, connected with the accumulator. Expostulate on system of ignition or supply of fuel, you will not be mistaken. At diagnosis and treatment of each of them system approach is required. It is better to begin with ignition – there malfunctions are more often. Especially during wet weather.

From a spark will flare up...

So, it is necessary to look for a spark. Your car can be equipped with the classical (elementary) contact system of ignition quite difficult electronic contactless or some combined option. Anyway the system consists of three parts. Part one – low-voltage (contacts of the breaker in classical system or the special sensor in electronic, plus the box with an electronic stuffing forming a spark). Part second – the raising transformer called in the world by the ignition coil. Part third – high-voltage (the mechanical or electronic distributor and wires on which the high-tension current is brought to candles). And it is natural, candles. An inspection of all this economy should be carried out on stages and better to begin with the end.

Stage first. High-voltage part of system. Check whether there is a spark on the central wire is that which connects the coil to the distributor. The tip of a wire needs to be taken out from a distributor cover, to bring closer to any detail having good contact with the mass of the car (it is painted or not, does not matter) and to fix so that between a tip and the chosen detail there was a gap of 5-7 mm.

Esliz ignition at your car electronic, it is necessary to fix a wire especially reliably – if falls to weight, electronics will instantly die. For the same reason it is impossible to strike a wire on the case. To hold with a hand it too we do not advise, even not the – will great strike with current.

Stage second. Turn the engine a starter. At the same time you watch what occurs on a wire tip. Two options are possible. More favorable – the spark is. Powerful, accompanied with loud click. It considerably narrows the field of further searches.

First of all it is necessary to uncover the distributor. Under it it can appear damp and dirty. On such "conductor" the spark willingly slips anywhere, only not there where it is necessary. To wipe, clean and dry up. At the same time harmlessly to clean contacts of the distributor, for example, a small skin. Examine so-called "runner". If on it or on a cover of the distributor you find a dark trace of electric breakdown, the detail should be changed.

In the most biased way check the wires going from the distributor to candles. Wires and their tips have to be dry and pure. If with them, in your opinion, everything is all right, it is possible to put a cover into place, to restore connections and to try to start the engine. If malfunction was concealed under a cover – the engine will be started or, at worst, at least will begin to sneeze. A symptom too favorable – you on a right way. However, it is necessary to turn out, clean and dry candles – in attempts to start the engine you filled in them with gasoline. If the engine does not even sneeze, candles all the same should be turned out, cleaned and checked. It is simpler if there is a spare set.

If you already reached a stage of a reversing of candles, it is possible to check quite effectively (and it is effective) all system of ignition in general. Having connected high-voltage wires to the turned-out candles, collect candles in a bunch as carrots, and wind directly by their carving part with a naked soft wire. Make sure that the wire has contact with each candle, but does not concern the central electrodes. Connect the free end of a wire to weight. Having arranged a bunch of candles in the place, convenient for observation from salon, twist the engine a starter. At the same time between electrodes of candles in turn (according to an operating procedure of cylinders) have to slip cheerful sparks. If this is so, then all system of ignition as it should be. The engine sound at the same time will be very unusual – be not frightened, it turns with the turned-out candles. Long you do not twist. It is worse if at the second stage of check other option takes place: there is no spark between the central wire and "case". Means, it is not high-voltage chains. Further searches will be more difficult, estimate the time and desire. If that and another available, start the third stage. Check whether tension on the ignition coil moves. It is easy to make it a tester and if it is absent, it is possible to use a podkapotny bulb. However, couple of wires are required to connect it to the coil. In classical system of ignition it is necessary to connect a bulb between the weight and an entrance of primary winding.

At the third stage, as usual, two options are possible too: tension on the coil either moves, or is not present. If moves, the coil – breakdown or short short circuit is guilty that, however, happens extremely seldom. The coil should be changed. More often there is a bad contact in fastening of wires to the coil. Or the same wet dirt on which the spark flows away it is not known where. Sometimes the coil is polished to gloss, but under it invisible very narrow strip of dirt – the quite good conductor remains.

If at the third stage you were convinced that tension on the coil does not move – electronics or contacts and unreliable connections is guilty of a low-voltage part of system of ignition. (The switchboard and, more rare, the sensor in the distributor case) you will not cope with electronics – their diagnostics requires special equipment. It is possible unless to pull the sensor socket on the distributor case – suddenly will help. If you have a car with classical contact system of ignition, it is possible to look for further.

Uncover with the distributor and examine contacts of the breaker – they can be oxidized, especially, if the car some time stood without the movement. Contacts need to be cleaned carefully a thin skin or a special file.

Pull the cleaned contacts so that they became isolated, were disconnected. Tension on them only 12 volts therefore it is possible to pull fearlessly. If cleaning did not help and tension on the coil, still, does not move, once again we advise for a while to finish attempts of resuscitation of the car as difficulties will begin further.

If tension appeared (when pulling contacts the bulb blinks), restore everything unscrewed and sorted, you start the car and, maybe, still will get on well at the affairs. If it is not got, but already at least sneezes – turn out candles and...

Do not press to a floor – will not help

It can turn out and so that all system of ignition was checked, in it everything is all right, and the engine though you burst, all the same is not started. Means, problems with other of the systems mentioned earlier – a power supply system, i.e. supply of fuel in the engine.

If you have a car with injection (injector system of giving) of fuel – do not touch it (to system). You can only come to conclusion that it broke: the spark is, fuel approaches – means, it, darling. Treatment only in a hospital. In house conditions and at handicraftsmen to repair it it is useless and it is even harmful.

In the ordinary carburetor engine the fuel system is simpler – a tank, a gasoline pump, a set of pipelines and the carburetor. Here it is possible to pick most. First of all it is necessary to be convinced that gasoline comes to the carburetor. Disconnect a hose from the carburetor and press the lever of manual pumping of fuel. If quite powerful stream of gasoline – everything normally hammered, it is time to pass to the carburetor. Happens so that gasoline to the carburetor moves regularly, but for some reason does not come to it. If there are time and desire, remove the air filter then ask somebody to press an accelerator pedal sharply. Or you can sharply pull for a rope of the drive of a butterfly valve. At the same time you look in the carburetor from above (the air gate is open, differently you will see nothing): if in the first diffuser the gasoline stream did not appear – means, it is not in the float-operated camera. It is not there because the needle of the valve stuck or (happens not really often) the fuel filter in the carburetor is completely hammered – it is located in front of the float-operated camera. Or jets got littered. The filter is cleared by a purge, however at absence at you the necessary skills it is better not to contact carburetor interiors at all, to deal with jamming of the needle valve, a contamination of jets and other subtleties – let it is done by experts.

If the stream in the diffuser is, pay attention to the starting arrangement of the carburetor – it quite often fails. On foreign cars since 70th years, automatic control of the air gate is applied. The device without your participation depending on temperature of the engine closes or slightly opens the gate, it is how necessary, enriching mix at launch of the engine. If this automatic equipment works, it is possible to try manual manipulations with the air gate, but there are a lot of options and there are no universal councils. Before manipulations connect and fix the disconnected earlier fuel hose. The air filter can be not installed yet. If it is got, let's the engine get warm and good luck (previously having returned into place the air filter). . If at fuel supply check the gasoline pump turns out that gasoline from a hose does not go or a stream very thin, the reason should be looked for in the got littered pipelines, the filter of thin purification of fuel or the gasoline tank – you can quite show the workmanship, having pumped over a fuel pipe the tire pump in the direction, the return to the movement of gasoline, i.e. from the carburetor to a tank. In a tank the booming, gurgling sounds have to be heard.

With the filter of thin purification of fuel everything is simple. Though almost on all modern models it is executed in the transparent case, degree of its impurity visually cannot be defined. The dirty filter will allow to start the engine, but will not allow to go normally. If it is hammered completely – you will not start the engine. The most effective check: to remove the filter and if is not present new, temporarily to replace it with a suitable tubule, for example cases of a ball pen, it is better transparent – it is visible how gasoline flows. Do not try to clean the filter – soldered (or stuck) the case does not understand.

If you came to a conclusion that the fuel pump does not work for your car, and spare near at hand is not present – "Take other car...".

We left the rare, but the most unpleasant diagnosis finally. If the starter works normally, you already spent plenty of time and were convinced that ignition and food in a full order, and the car, nevertheless, is not started – it is worth examining a camshaft drive belt. However, solve, this inspection can be carried out also at the beginning, especially if the engine already passed more than 60 thousand. Complexity is in what should be removed or at least partially to unbend the top part of the plastic casing closing a belt. Perhaps, at a belt teeths – at belts as at people, teeth are lost from an old age were cut off. In this case the camshaft does not rotate and the engine will not work. It is clear, that the toothless belt demands replacement (this trouble does not threaten those who has a car with the chain drive of a cam-shaft). The procedure of replacement of a belt is not difficult, but is troublesome. It is carried out in a hospital. It is good if everything is limited to replacement only of a belt, but not bent valves or all head of the block – it happens too.

About the atherosclerosis reasons

Let's try to explain why the blood system of the car sometimes is surprised "atherosclerosis". Gasoline – car blood. And blood has to be pure and run on pure vessels. And ourselves are guilty that in vessels over an admissible measure "cholesterol", as a rule, collects. Whether often you use a canister for a doliv of gasoline in a tank? If yes, that chances to litter a fuel pipe and filters increase, especially if your funnel without network. In a canister the garbage, a rust, sand usually accumulate and if a canister inside colored, then and paint particles. It is clear, the smaller number of an intermediate container is used on the way of gasoline from a column to a tank, the better. As it is strange, even on the most mean gas station of dirt in tanks in the specific relation it is less, than in a "house" canister. Scourge of our gas stations not so much dirt, how many water. But here we are powerless. On our memory only one swindler was burned on dilution of gasoline and that not water, but asinine urine, and not in life, and at cinema (see. "Gentlemen of good luck"). So it is necessary to be reconciled. However with own hand not to add water to the domestic diluted gasoline, try to hold always a tank full. In an incomplete tank condensate, especially in off-season when there are sharp temperature drops accumulates.

It is less than parasites

It is necessary to tell a couple of words about the accumulator. As on the majority of modern cars it unattended, is not present sense to provide here maintenance instructions. Let's give some additional advice how longer to keep the accumulator viable. Be not fond of a napichkivaniye of your car of additional consumers of energy. The fact that the opredenny stock allowing to be connected to two-three "parasites" is provided in power balance of the car, does not mean that it is possible to hang six horns and ten fog lights on the car – have sense of proportion. Besides, if you connect unforeseen chachkas independently, the probability of damage of isolation is high. And in general as practice, any shows, the surgery which even is most qualified in a car electrical wiring has an effect sooner or later. Troubles.

If your accumulator is near death, try not to gulshit the engine during uncountable stops in the city. Nothing so forces the battery as frequent use of a starter.

And the last (it concerns not only the accumulator, but also all electric equipment in general). Remember: all plugs, contacts, tips of wires have to be dry and pure and it is good to adjoin to "destinations". Dirty, greasy isolation makes the way sooner or later, and the podgoraniye and oxidation of any contact surface can serve only (and sufficient) as a cause of failure of system of ignition. Or fire.

On it it is possible to stop. Meticulous motorists, undoubtedly, paid attention to some superficiality of our councils. We admit, we intentionally do not wish to go deep into a jungle. Not to provoke you to self-treatment – it does not result in good. The understanding of the nature of pains in the bottom of a stomach does not mean on the right that you have to delete at yourself an appendix. But you have to describe to the doctor appendicitis symptoms precisely. Very much helps treatment.