Hard Start in an '87 E30 325Ci

m20power · Post by **m20power** » Wed May 25, 2011 6:01 am

Look under the intake manifold from the driver's side of the car. There is a round connector fixed to a bracket under intake runner 3-4. Unscrew the halves of the connector to inspect the pins/sockets.

I use a bamboo skewer stick to clean the sockets, small file on the pins - using contact cleaner. Light coat of dielectric grease on reassembly, should last another 20 years. HTH.

Bob

jnscaldwell · Post by **jnscaldwell** » Wed May 25, 2011 6:27 am

m20power wrote:Look under the intake manifold from the driver's side of the car. There is a round connector fixed to a bracket under intake runner 3-4. Unscrew the halves of the connector to inspect the pins/sockets.

I use a bamboo skewer stick to clean the sockets, small file on the pins - using contact cleaner. Light coat of dielectric grease on reassembly, should last another 20 years. HTH.

Bob

I think in the '87 E30 that the injector wiring is integrated into the main wiring harness. There is no round connector under the manifold. I found this out when moving engines and harnesses around from different year cars. This is probably why OP is having trouble finding it. The later model cars all have the "injector harness" style wiring. It seems that 87 had several quirks BMW decided to deal with in subsequent years.

victory1auto · Post by **victory1auto** » Wed May 25, 2011 6:35 am

I believe Jeff is correct re the '87 2.5 motors not having the multi-pin connector under the intake manifold. I just removed the intake manifold on one and there was no connector. Quite a PITA snaking and un-snaking all those wires.

nik74tii · Post by **nik74tii** » Wed May 25, 2011 7:20 am

Hi All,
Here is a picture I took last night after replacing the engine block to frame ground strap. There is a round connector near the engine end of the ground strap. (It looks like a ship's wheel.) A shielded wire runs from it up into an unknown location. Is this the "round connector" I am looking for?

If not, I do have two sets of wires grounding at the shock tower terminal. One set has 8 or 9 brown wires meeting at a common terminal.

I understand that this was the earliest production run of the E30 convertible with manufacturing date of 8/87. It appears that things changed slightly during 9/87.

Thanks Again,

http://www.flickr.com/photos/11240358@N02/5757781823

jnscaldwell · Post by **jnscaldwell** » Wed May 25, 2011 7:35 am

nik74tii wrote:Hi All,
Here is a picture I took last night after replacing the engine block to frame ground strap. There is a round connector near the engine end of the ground strap. (It looks like a ship's wheel.) A shielded wire runs from it up into an unknown location. Is this the "round connector" I am looking for?

If not, I do have two sets of wires grounding at the shock tower terminal. One set has 8 or 9 brown wires meeting at a common terminal.

I understand that this was the earliest production run of the E30 convertible with manufacturing date of 8/87. It appears that things changed slightly during 9/87.

Thanks Again,

http://www.flickr.com/photos/11240358@N02/5757781823

Nik,
The connector in your photo is for the oil level sender. Your car does not have the multi-pin injector wiring harness, the injector wiring is integrated into the main wiring harness.

nik74tii · Post by **nik74tii** » Wed May 25, 2011 8:08 am

Cool! I'll clean the contacts at the shock tower, replace the relays in the auxiliary compartment (main, fuel pump and O2 sensor) and hope for the best!

Stay tuned!
Nik

nik74tii · Post by **nik74tii** » Tue May 31, 2011 5:37 pm

So here is the update: I had added a new ground strap from the engine to the chassis (under the air intake manifold), cleaned the grounds at the shock tower. I replaced all three relays in the "auxiliary compartment" near the intake manifold: main, fuel pump and O2 sensor. The first start (after standing untouched for 4 days) was perfect. The next morning, and all four times thereafter, the start takes 10-15 seconds of turning over and some depression of the gas pedal to start.

I am now looking for some other ideas/approaches. My ideas are:

1. New fuel pump to increase fuel pressure
2. New pressure regulator
3. New transfer fuel pump (in the gas tank)
4. ??

All of these items are either pricey, difficult to replace or both. I'd appreciate your comments and reasoning!

Cheers,
Nik

nik74tii · Post by **nik74tii** » Fri Jun 10, 2011 9:48 am

Hello All,
I have reviewed the thread again, looked at the Bentley manual and thought about the behavior of the car. My current conclusion is that the fuel pump doesn't create enough pressure. My measurements back in 2009 indicated a "running" pressure of 40 psi; 3 bar should be >44 psi.

My next move will be to replace the fuel pump (this is an 8/87 convertible so it has a suction pump in the tank and a separate fuel pump near the driver's rear wheel). Does this sound reasonable or do you have other thoughts?

BTW, I can get a replacement Bosch pump for just under $200 online.

Thanks to all for the helpful suggestions along the way. I really do appreciate your comments.

Nik