E39 540i fuel problem?
Discussion
Hi all.
got 540I e39 1997 Which is a great car and very reliable.
just done over 3500 miles on a long haul trek through france to the riviera and back which was great driving.
Car did not miss a beat all the way but decided to breakdown couple of days after we got back about 200yards from my house!
best possible breakdown if it was ever to happen.
got the RAC out to take it to my house and on the drive.
The car just cut out while I was driving and managed to pull it near the kerb. tryed to start it up again and fired up for a few seconds then died.
just had a major service with new drive belts/water pump and everything that needed changing was done in light of the milage (154000)and in preperation for the france trip.
The RAC guy pulled off the fuel line to check if it was reaching the engine which it was under the normal pressure but commented it smelt odd and came to the conclusion it had contaminated fuel in the tank possibly??
As I was away for the weekend and the missus was using the car, i decided to give it a full tank of fuel before I left to keep her going and filled it up at a BP station with 95 unleaded which I have the reciept for as proof.
While in france I had been using 98 RON all the time, surely this should not affect it??
The RAC guy commented that sometimes they put the wrong fuel in the pumps or deisel and that this may be the problem but not definatly.
could it be a fuel pump/relay/regulator or anything like that?
This whole thing happend on Saturday evening. On Sunday morning I decided to check If thier was still fuel reaching the engine and pulled off the inlet line while having the engine cranked over.....no fuel was arriving at all?
Car will be going into my regular BMW specialist towards the end of the week but it's frustrating not knowing whats wrong with it till then.
Any idea's anyone???
All help much appriciated.
got 540I e39 1997 Which is a great car and very reliable.
just done over 3500 miles on a long haul trek through france to the riviera and back which was great driving.
Car did not miss a beat all the way but decided to breakdown couple of days after we got back about 200yards from my house!
best possible breakdown if it was ever to happen.
got the RAC out to take it to my house and on the drive.
The car just cut out while I was driving and managed to pull it near the kerb. tryed to start it up again and fired up for a few seconds then died.
just had a major service with new drive belts/water pump and everything that needed changing was done in light of the milage (154000)and in preperation for the france trip.
The RAC guy pulled off the fuel line to check if it was reaching the engine which it was under the normal pressure but commented it smelt odd and came to the conclusion it had contaminated fuel in the tank possibly??
As I was away for the weekend and the missus was using the car, i decided to give it a full tank of fuel before I left to keep her going and filled it up at a BP station with 95 unleaded which I have the reciept for as proof.
While in france I had been using 98 RON all the time, surely this should not affect it??
The RAC guy commented that sometimes they put the wrong fuel in the pumps or deisel and that this may be the problem but not definatly.
could it be a fuel pump/relay/regulator or anything like that?
This whole thing happend on Saturday evening. On Sunday morning I decided to check If thier was still fuel reaching the engine and pulled off the inlet line while having the engine cranked over.....no fuel was arriving at all?
Car will be going into my regular BMW specialist towards the end of the week but it's frustrating not knowing whats wrong with it till then.
Any idea's anyone???
All help much appriciated.
The octane rating of the fuel is unlikely to cause that to happen. The other feature of fuel worth noting is the volatility- Low volatility fuel is sold in hot places like New mexico and Arizona- however the BMW calibration engineers would have catered for this and the E39 probably has Volatility detection.
Besides the volatility of fuel in Europe is pretty much similar.
The symptoms don't sounds like a fuel contamination thing to me. Relay sounds likely perhaps?
A few weeks ago I was running a Jag S type on part ethanol part normal fuel (NASTY stuff- work done for the Brazillian market) and forgot cater for this on the calibration. The car probably ran leaner- but you couldn't tell while driving around. It didn't miss a beat. The same would be the case for the BMW with a rigourous sign off procedure.
Besides the volatility of fuel in Europe is pretty much similar.
The symptoms don't sounds like a fuel contamination thing to me. Relay sounds likely perhaps?
A few weeks ago I was running a Jag S type on part ethanol part normal fuel (NASTY stuff- work done for the Brazillian market) and forgot cater for this on the calibration. The car probably ran leaner- but you couldn't tell while driving around. It didn't miss a beat. The same would be the case for the BMW with a rigourous sign off procedure.
On most all German cars with fuel injection, if you lose the ignition (tach) signal to the fuel pump relay or control, the fuel pump won't run.
First things first, check for a spark. Know what you are doing on these though, or you will get a really severe shock and/or damage the ignition.
First things first, check for a spark. Know what you are doing on these though, or you will get a really severe shock and/or damage the ignition.
M3 Mitch said:
On most all German cars with fuel injection, if you lose the ignition (tach) signal to the fuel pump relay or control, the fuel pump won't run.
First things first, check for a spark. Know what you are doing on these though, or you will get a really severe shock and/or damage the ignition.
Does it not fire the pump for a couple of seconds beforehand to pressurise the system though or at least check for fuel flow whilst cranking...
Ok, the cars back.
You only realise how practical and diverse these E39's are when you have to do without it for a few days!
Got a 9 month old baby and getiing him and his luggage in the beemer is a doddle. while it's been in the garage, the missus has been using the Impreza which is a 2-door and a pain in the a$$ to get the little one in and out the back.
The car went to an independant german car specialist who I've known for some time and have a good rapport with. They are normally quite honest and fair with the work I've had done in the past.
I don't know if it's me getting paranoid that they might have pulled one over on me this time or what but the way they delt with this problem was strange.
They initially changed the fuel pump which they thought was at fault and this did'nt solve the problem. They then replaced the relay and still no luck.
In the end they put it down to an electrical fault and traced it to a break in the loom supplying the relay with power but could not pinpoint exactly where. They gave the relay a new power supply switched by the ignition and this cured the problem.
In all it cost me £225.00 including the fuel pump and relay.
Although I am by no means a skilled mechanic, I would have thought they would have checked the the relay and fuel pump were recieving power first before replacing them?
I suppose it is a good idea that both were replaced in light of the mileage on the car but I can't help feeling this may have been done at an uneccessary cost.
Is it possible to have a break in th loom??
any advice appriciated.
thanks
sorry for the spelling!!!!!!!!!! zzzzzzzzzzz
>> Edited by carlito on Thursday 20th October 23:08
You only realise how practical and diverse these E39's are when you have to do without it for a few days!
Got a 9 month old baby and getiing him and his luggage in the beemer is a doddle. while it's been in the garage, the missus has been using the Impreza which is a 2-door and a pain in the a$$ to get the little one in and out the back.
The car went to an independant german car specialist who I've known for some time and have a good rapport with. They are normally quite honest and fair with the work I've had done in the past.
I don't know if it's me getting paranoid that they might have pulled one over on me this time or what but the way they delt with this problem was strange.
They initially changed the fuel pump which they thought was at fault and this did'nt solve the problem. They then replaced the relay and still no luck.
In the end they put it down to an electrical fault and traced it to a break in the loom supplying the relay with power but could not pinpoint exactly where. They gave the relay a new power supply switched by the ignition and this cured the problem.
In all it cost me £225.00 including the fuel pump and relay.
Although I am by no means a skilled mechanic, I would have thought they would have checked the the relay and fuel pump were recieving power first before replacing them?
I suppose it is a good idea that both were replaced in light of the mileage on the car but I can't help feeling this may have been done at an uneccessary cost.
Is it possible to have a break in th loom??
any advice appriciated.
thanks
sorry for the spelling!!!!!!!!!! zzzzzzzzzzz
>> Edited by carlito on Thursday 20th October 23:08
Yes I read it, but I didn’t get what power supply they did change to get the car going because they changed the fuel relay and I didn’t work and then they mention the change the power supply, are they meaning they change the power cables for the fuel relay? Sorry if I don’t understand it, but I don’t get what power supply is 
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