E30 Zone

hey everyone...

the names Edith, im 21.. ive jst recently bought a 318 from a close friend of mine- was in good working order until late last night...

the engine switches on, then the rev's die and the car cuts out- ive checked the HT leads, all the levels of the oils etc... everythin seems fine- im about to go check the oil filter atm- anyone else got any suggestions?

need ASAP help as ive jst declared my C2 off road for the winter and this is my only transport! alternatively - if you live in the Hamilton/Glasgow area- wanna pop past mine n have a look?

any help would be GREATLY appreciated!

Edeyx

Welcome

When you say youve declared your C2 off the road, I hope you mean an Alpina C2 and not a Citroen Mind you, any Citroen declared off the road is going to be a good thing

If the 318i idles and then dies, it could well be a split intake hose causing an air leak, well sucking in un-metered air really. (BTW you will get a better response to the problem if you post in the Tech section)

Hi Welcome to the zone I am sure somebody can help,maybe a Mod. will swich post to tech. section.

Welcome to the zone, and consider the post moved!
Problem, if I've interpreted the symptoms correctly, sounds like the fuel pump or pump relay to me.
Split air hose shouldn't really affect idle, as the AFM signal is ignored at idle.

its a citroen C2... but i like it...

ive noted all your problems down and i'll get someone a lil more mechanicaly minded to have a swatch tonight... cheers guys!

eden318 wrote:its a citroen C2...

Hmmph!! You should have left us all thinking it was the Alpina!

please dont bully me lol.. i get enuf stick of other poeple lol

jst gutted about the 318 tho- got it friday night and i was havin SOOOO much fun it in for the one day that it ran ok... now its jst sittin outside my house all dead and lifeless...

the engine starts... the rev's go high... then stagger down, splutters a lil then cuts out on me... not impressed

Brianmoooore wrote: Split air hose shouldn't really affect idle, as the AFM signal is ignored at idle.

My 318i (when it had the M40 fitted) had an idle problem in that it would idle for a short while and then the revs would drop until it cut out - replaced rubber intake boot and problem solved, the rubber was all split around the bend in between the corrugated bits. Come to think about it, my 325i Sport had the same problem when I first got it, although not so bad.

Didnt realise that about the AFM though.

Brianmoooore wrote:

eden318 wrote:its a citroen C2...

Hmmph!! You should have left us all thinking it was the Alpina!

eden318 wrote: please dont bully me lol.. i get enuf stick of other poeple lol

Dont take it to heart, its a friendly forum really. Its just its a french car

eden318 wrote: please dont bully me lol.. i get enuf stick of other poeple lol

jst gutted about the 318 tho- got it friday night and i was havin SOOOO much fun it in for the one day that it ran ok... now its jst sittin outside my house all dead and lifeless...

the engine starts... the rev's go high... then stagger down, splutters a lil then cuts out on me... not impressed

Still has to be better than the Citreon, even in its present state!
This sounds even more like a fuel pressure problem.
How happy are you playing with the oily bits under the bonnet?
First thing I would do is pull out the fuel pump relay (under plastic wiring cover against the bulkhead) and link together pins 30 and 87 of its socket with a short piece of wire, and see if this helps things.
If it does, you probably need a new relay. If it doesn't, lift out the rear seat squab (pull up at the front - two spring clips) and listen to see if you can hear the fuel pump whirring away under the oval black metal cover on the driver's side.
Don't forget to remove the wire afterwards, as the pump is powered continuously with the wire in place.

woooooosh!

omg that went right over my head- but i'll print out what youve said- and go to the car n see if i get what you mean..

as for "playin with the oily bits under the bonnet"- im a girl who doesnt mind gettin her hands dirty if it means the job gets done!

and i know my car is french crap- but twas the last thing my papa bought for me before he passed away so its kinda special to me!!

eden318 wrote:woooooosh!

omg that went right over my head

Brian often has that effect it seems

eden318 wrote: and i know my car is french crap- but twas the last thing my papa bought for me before he passed away so its kinda special to me!!

I know what you mean, there is a similar reason why I wont be selling my Sport

Like I said, dont take the banter to heart its all a bit of fun, much like a french car, sorry there I go again

eden318 wrote: as for "playin with the oily bits under the bonnet"- im a girl who doesnt mind gettin her hands dirty if it means the job gets done!

So youre 21, dont mind getting your hands dirty and drive an E30 - if you lived a touch further south you would be the perfect woman!

i never test drove it- or even sat in the e30 until the day i went to collect it from my mates bit... im happy ive bought it cause its gonna be alot fun! i wanted a lil project for over the winter n i think it'll be fun!

if you wanna come up and help me play with the oily bits- more than welcome lol

will have a look at the fuel pump tonight if theres enough light when i get back from hell (sorry- i mean work )

guys it was my beemer she bought, i feel terrible. can ran perfect for me then this happens.
edith hun, ill get up as soon as possible to have a look at it (provided u dont hurt me lol)

stephen- dont be so daft son! you know i wont hurt you- i'll jst ask loadsa questions on how you fixed it so i can do it myself next time... and that'll annoy you more than be hurting you

my 318i did the same, would start and die, what had happened was the AFM (Air Flow Meter for edith's sake!!) had blown apart ( it backfired through the TB (Thottle Body) and blew the bottom plate off of the AFM) this apparantly can be caused by pushing the throttle when starting in injection cars., after checking fuel issues we noticed the plate under the AFM, removed it, a bit of glue and four self tappers and put it back together (Grevans of Plymouth said it could not be done) and started and ran perfectly from then on. So i cannot see how too much unmetered air cannot cause this problem mr moooore!!

mrlee

MrLee- thankuuuuu lol.. i was guessing what AFM meant before lol

i shall say to stephen what you said and see if it works...

mrLEE30 wrote:my 318i did the same, would start and die, what had happened was the AFM (Air Flow Meter for edith's sake!!) had blown apart ( it backfired through the TB (Thottle Body) and blew the bottom plate off of the AFM) this apparantly can be caused by pushing the throttle when starting in injection cars., after checking fuel issues we noticed the plate under the AFM, removed it, a bit of glue and four self tappers and put it back together (Grevans of Plymouth said it could not be done) and started and ran perfectly from then on. So i cannot see how too much unmetered air cannot cause this problem mr moooore!!

mrlee

An E30 should start and idle perfectly well with the convulated hose removed from the car. If the air meter flap is moved it will cause problems, and if the TPS is faulty it will cause problems.

hi there! you could (or get stephen to! lol) check the breathers aren't blocked with crap? just a thought and won't take much doing, my old fiesta done that and ran like a dream when it was cleared out!