My 85' 528e wont start! Help!!!!!!!!!

[p beemre]

HI all Im new here,
Anyway, I have a 1985 BMW 528e that wont start. it happened this past Friday, I trite to stat it, initially got it running like an old lawnmower and it would die in less then a moment. I now get a lot of seemingly endless cranking and it wont start. I get the smell of gas when I try to start it so I think I have fuel. I think the problem maybe the distributer, or something to do with the plugs, any way can someone tell me

A. How do I get the distributer open? How do I get at the roater?

B. How do I get at the plugs and how do I get them out?

Were is the fuel pump relay located? were is the fuel pump?
Any help would be very much appreciated as I presently live a distance form the nearest shop

Thanks very much!!!!!!

PS The car had been running rough for a while befor this. a few days befor, on a trip to the local hardware store. I stalled on a hill after stopping for a stop sing ( let the clutch up to quick). I could not get the car to re-start. My dad, who was with me, tried and got it to start after a few failed starts. when it started, the car produced a lot of black smoke but then ran like new. no more rough running! Then this happened, I don’t know if this may have anything to do with my present problem, I just thought I would pass it along in case it did.

Thanks again!

[grimBMW]

the dizzy cap is held on by three screws, under the black snap on cover cap, easy to find with some common sense, then the rotor is screwed on under that,

car needs three things to run,, Air, gas, spark,, the coil is on the fire wall infront of the wheel well, you can put a light on it and see if that is toggling,, you can either hold the coil wire or put a spark plug in it to ground to see if there is spark,,, you can pull the gas line off the Cold start injector and see if the fuel pump is working,,,

check all your fuses too

good luck

[4-Door Flunky]

When you've got a problem that starts as intermittent and then goes all the time, I recommend checking the fuses.
Mine had a problem like yours. All of the fuses LOOKED fine. It turns out old fuses can have a bad connection, even if they look OK.
I bought a whole kit of fuses on eBay for ten bucks and replaced them all. That solved my problems.
Flunky

[p beemre]

Hi everyone!
I gave my dis a good cleaning and it still woud not start. that was a few weeks ago. Today My father gave it a try, with out doing anyting ealse to the engin, and , with a few jabs of the gas peddel, it stated!!!! It wonce again gave a huge puff of thick black somke when it turned over. What is interesting is the fact that my range indicater on the OBC began working again but just for a short time. Also, the cloock neded to be reset,it displaed dashes like the power had been cut gess it might be the fuses. The indicator lights on the dash went nuts. The oil service lite on the dash came on and then swiched back to the inspection light. it dose this often now. anyway thanks for the help everyone!

PS can anyone tell me if the fule range mode on the OBC works of the ECU or engin computer, or is it off the sending unit in the tank?

Thanks again!

[tech510]

Hi there I have had the same problem with my car when I first got it. The problem is very simple it is just your fuse that allows the power to go from the battery to the starter with powers the plugs. The fuses shouldnt cost you any more that 2 bucks a piece and can be picked up at any automotive store

[pollofromporter]

My 85 528e won't start either. It was idling rough before but I thought one of the pumps was quitting on me. I was driving and spinning tires and then it wouldn't start anymore. So I replaced the auxiliary pump inside the tank and I checked the main pump, changed the pump fuse and now it delivers gas. It still didn't work so I checked the ignition coil for resistance like the book says, and it's good, it delivers spark and took the sixth spark plug cable and it sparks too so I don't think it's the distributor rotor. The book says I can't adjust timing that it's controlled by the ECU. I don't know what else to check; any advice on what the problem could be? thank you

[dudethedog]

Here is something else you might want to check out. Your air filter. You may be starving the engine of air. Then check your vaccum hoses on the motor. These BMW's run real bad if you have a vaccum leak. I put a new motor in my '84 528e, and it wouldnt start at first either. My problem was bad vaccum hoses. My leak was near the air flow meter box, which is located near the air filter box. I read someone elses reply about fuses, thats a good idea to check them out. Checking the cap and rotor is a great idea as well as spark plugs.

Good Luck