E30 Zone

tried starting my car this morning (325)wouldnt fire up never gives any probs normally ,but today no chance .but when the ignition was on i could here a buzzing noise, its coming from the black box that holds 3 relays under the bonnet, dont exactly know which one was buzzing ,but wondered which one would stop the car firing. there are 2 orange relays exactly the same and 1 white ,any help on how i can test which one thats dead ??? im thinking its the one that controls the fuel pump ?

There's another current thread on this subject, and loads in the archives!

rite ive searched for all i can on this now ,ive tried the fuel pump tests ,an no fuel coming through, ive bridged the relays still no pump so im almost sure the pump isnt working,is there anything else to try before i pull the pump out ,an try source a replacement ?cheers

Take the rear seat off, unscrew the inspection cover, and, with all the fuel pipes back on, bridge the relay again and belt the fuel pump with the handle of a hammer or similar. Usually brings it back to (temporary) life.

ok ill give it a go, should i switch ignition on to do this or no diffrence ?

alpinachris wrote:ok ill give it a go, should i switch ignition on to do this or no diffrence ?

Probably a bit late to answer now, but no difference.

been out again this morning to try that method ,an still no sound from the pump ?ive made sure i get power to the pump plug ,by bridging the relay terminals, and im getting power ,so im hoping its deffo the pump, b4 i go buy a new one ,im also gettin a funny noise in the dash when i turn the ignition over ??right behind the radio wots behind there that mite have something to to with turning the engine over ?it sounds like a valve opening or closing ?any clues ?

Only thing behind the radio is the heater. If you have aircon, it could be solenoid valves associated with this, but apart from that, I've no idea.
Have you tried violence on the fuel pump when it's powered up?

yeah ive hit it hard with block of wood an it makes no sound, an no joy ,well no air con either just seems im hearing clicks an noises that i never heard b4. how about behind the glovebox area then any valves that make a noise when ignition switched on,? im also gettin buzzing from the icv that i never noticed b4 i know its sposed to but seems loud now ?plus the relays seem to buzz also ?

#update# ive taken pump off and checked it ,an works fine off the car but not in the car ??i have no spark at the plugs either ?i have obc in the car, wud this in any way stop me getting power to the pump or to the ignition ??really strugglin now and still wondering wot the buzzing was, first under the bonnet ,then wot sounded like behind the radio ???any more help appreciated ?

Pump should have worked in the car when you bridged 30 and 87 of the fuel pump relay socket. Try it again, and if it doesn't work, you need to find out why.
Get yourself a 12V 5W or 21W bulb connected to a couple of pieces of wire - best test instrument ever!
I use a indicator front repeater bulb and bulb holder complete with about 300mm of wire.
If the pump doesn't work, connect the bulb between 30 of the relay socket and car body or engine and check that power gets to here. If so, put the link in place, and check at fuse 11. Finally check at the fuel pump connector.
OBC CODE immobiliser function can cut power to the ignition and the fuel pump relay, BUT NOT if it's bypassed as above.
Sure you're bypassing the correct relay? Wire connected to 87 should be green/purple.
Switch the ignition on and connect your lamp between the + terminal of the ignition coil and car body. Should light. Check that it stays lit when you crank the engine. It will dim a bit, but should stay lit.

yeah deffo used the rite relay terminals 87(green/purple) 30(red)and did get power to the pump plug<ill try the other suggestions tomorrow evening after work now (no garage ,car on road in the rain)and hopefully i can get closer to solving the problem .thanks again for taking the time to help

If you got power to the pump plug, then don't forget the earth return (brown wire) from here is part of the circuit as well. Ends up at a stud on the left rear of the rear seat pan.

so i just run a continuity test on the earth wire from the plug aswell ?

Plug your 12V lamp into both pins of the connector.

update ,ive checked everything an power going everywhere it should, power to relay power, to fuse 11 ,power to pump ?try the car ,starts ,drive for a bit ,and it stops again ,on testing ,i have no power feed to pin 30 at the relay socket ,so i have a bad/intermitant connection to this pin ?its a plain red wire that at fault ,wondering where this feed comes from to try check the problem with this feed ?.....thanks again in advance

Other end of that wire is one of the smaller ones attached to the positive battery terminal.

rite i think the faulty connection is the wire that traces the main positive lead from the battery to a positive socket under the bonnet, dont know if it feeds anything else on the way ?but ive not got power at this point atm .im thinking, is it ok to just take a feed of this socket and bypass this dodgy wire ,can i just tap into the main feed

Take it your battery is in the boot!
There's a fuseible link in the smaller wire from the battery +. This appears to be faulty.

yeah i think its the problem ,ive taken a feed from the conector under the bonnet for now an it working fine at the minute, ill try on the weekend to trace that wire and try find the fused link an get it sorted properly ,thanks for all your help once again ...cheers