E30 Zone

dont know if it is called the dme-the but under the dash at the ecu-but was pointed in the direction of replacing it as my 325i sport is refusing to start-at first we thot a wiring prob/relay/fuel pump prob as it wasnt priming up-then today we found no spark and dry plugs,checked the earths and were left puzzled..so went to my local specialist who said it was common for these units to need replacing so bought one at the breakers,still to fit it tho but was wondering if this is infact true to be a common problem

If its the 073 ECU they can cause proplems.
How old is the car ?

89 f plate,84k from new although the car is very rarely used..

So it will be a 173 or 380 ecu ? they are normally ok.
fit it and see what happens.

I would be looking at the crank sensor before the ECU.

Make sure the sensor is clean, and also that the wire is not damaged at all.

Ian.

The 073 has been known to fail, but it is a very rare occurence. 173 and 380 are bullet proof normally. TBH, I don't know whay your 'specialist' is a specialist in, but it doesn't sound like it's BMW electrics.
ECU (=DME) is one of the last things to suspect, not the first.
As Ian says, crank sensor is prime suspect.

well fitted the dme today-and it fired up fine so problem solved as far as i can see-the crank sensor w2as next on the list if that failed-but for the moment im happy again!!thanks for the replies!!