BMW 3 Series no spark

Car: BMW 3 Series
Variant: 316i coupe
Model Year: 1994
Categories: Running Rough, Starting & Power Loss
about 3 months ago i fitted a new front exhaust pipe with cat, i had to take the lambda sensor out of my old system after a month of good motoring i noticed on acceleration i would get a sort of flat spot the car would then backfire and clear its self , i knew it was due its service so i set to it and did a full service oil, plugs, oil filter and a new set of leads as the old ones were aged , the problem still persisted then a few weeks later the car failed to start i had to get it brought home by my breakdown service , the guy said he did a simple test and found the car had no spark on the plugs he thought the coil pack was the problem , so i bought a second hand one from a local breaker , it worked ok but still the same old fault a flat spot then a backfire !! then it stopped sparking once more , since then i have put another coil pack on bought and fitted a cam and crank sensors a PEAKE meter but that`s having communication problems my question is could the lambda sensor have failed? its the only thing i have not yet changed that has to do with engine management,
Posted: May 30, 2013 (11 years ago)
Could check wiring to sensor , very often that is what's faulty rather than sensor itself .
Posted May 30, 2013 (11 years ago)
does fuel pump run for a few seconds when you first turn ignition on if not i would re- check crank sensor and as mentioned the wireing to it under the inlet manifold also the cam and crank sensor plugs i believe are the same so check you have not got them mixed up when changeing the sensors a faulty lambda should not prevent car starting or prevent coil pack working could also be ecu fault but check all wires first
Posted May 31, 2013 (11 years ago)
after checking every thing suggested (thanks every one ) i got a good second hand ECU this has made no difference , i now wonder if it is some thing to do with the electronic alarm , it is one that works the central locking also reading the hand book if any thing in side the car is tampered with after the alarm has been activated the car will not start it would need the master key to reset the system ! tho i did not get the master key ! i just wonder if the fault has been this component failing ? please help also i need to know where this is located on my Coupe its not behind the glove box could it be on the driver side under the dash ?
Posted Jun 12, 2013 (11 years ago)
i have checked all the wiring and it s ok , i changed the sensors one at a time so there was no mistake there and they are in fully, i am now looking at the EWS module only after taking the dash apart i can not find one ! who ever i found out the there is an after market alarm system fitted a Gemini! maybe the first owner lost the key with the transducer in side it ? i just dont know i have checked all the solder joints and they seem ok i wonder if this alarm could be the problem ? but as i still have the none sparking and injectors not working it has to be some thing with the immobilizing system, was my model car fitted with an EWS module, i can not find any thing in my Haynes Manuel, but the hand book that come with the car shows three keys one is definitely a transmitter key ? so i think it must have had one and it had been removed and this after market alarm fitted , but if this is the fault why in the past has my car been running ok and the alarm sounding as i drive ? (only by mistake that is )ohh the fuel pump does not work as it is i believe shut down like the sparking and the injectors the car in fact is immobilized !!
Posted Jun 13, 2013 (11 years ago)

This problem is archived

If you're having a similar problem please click below to re-post this problem, you can then customise it to suit your situation.

Join the community
Got a question? Can you answer other questions here? If so please...
More problems with the 1994 model year BMW 3 Series

We have 3 problems and solutions in our database for this model year of the car.

View all BMW 3 Series Problems