Engine cutout whilst driving??

[Jetl3on]

Morning,

Anyone come across this?

Symptoms: It sounded funny at startup, revved much higher than normal, but then it calmed down, so I ignored it.

Poodling along at 20mph, it suddenly revved up and lurched forward for about 2secs, then stopped. I thought I had been heavy on the the accelerator by accident, so didnt think much of it.

Moments later, engine died completely, as if it ran out of petrol, rolled to a stop, then started up again no problem.

Can anyone suggest a likely cause, idle control, fuel pump maybe?

Thanks

[ProToZyKo]

Could it be fuel pump relay? Check under the black thingie next to the air filter, there you can see 2 or 3 relays, tap them when engine is running, see if it dies.

[Jetl3on]

I dont think so, as the car revved up, the fuel pump relay wont allow that apparently. I have been reading that the ICV or DME relay could also cause this, as well as throttle position switch and coolant sensor and MAF unit

[Brianmoooore]

Don't discount the fuel pump/relay. An engine that dies because of a weak mixture will increase in revs before it dies.

[Jetl3on]

Thanks for the responses.

[Ranchero]

This sounds identical to the problem that plagued my last E30. Just before Christmas of last year I experienced this sudden speeding/lurching before the engine stalled. I had to call out the AA man who managed to get it going again just enough to limp home.

I tried numerous tests to diagnose the fault; checked the intake hoses, TPS, ICV, blue temp sensor, AFM and even changed the fuel pump, but it still continued to stall.

The thing that made the most difference and eventually got it going for long enough to get to an MOT station was checking and cleaning the spark plugs, as they were heavily sooted.

It's difficult to say whether this was the real underlying problem as it failed its MOT for rusted sills and was subsequently scrapped.

[dirtybry]

hello,
i had the same problem on my e30.
i checked everything under the bonnet, eventually i found the fault it was the wire from the front crank sensor, the wire goes across the front of the engine ( just behind one of the pulleys ) what happened was the plastic retainer had fallen off and the wires rubbed against the pulley until the wires were exposed, because the wires were not secured they moved around ( whenever the wires touched the pulley, they shorted out causing the car to loose power)

i fixed it by taping the wires up and then securing the wires with a cable tie.

i hope this helps you.


bry

[Jetl3on]

hello,
i had the same problem on my e30.
i checked everything under the bonnet, eventually i found the fault it was the wire from the front crank sensor, the wire goes across the front of the engine ( just behind one of the pulleys ) what happened was the plastic retainer had fallen off and the wires rubbed against the pulley until the wires were exposed, because the wires were not secured they moved around ( whenever the wires touched the pulley, they shorted out causing the car to loose power)

i fixed it by taping the wires up and then securing the wires with a cable tie.

i hope this helps you.


bry

Yep, thats the one, a £90 dodgy crank case sensor.

[srmalek]

hi, this problem happen to my e30 as well, firstly i guess its the fuel pump, then i check at the local garage , its the crank sensor