3-Series (E21, E30)Chat relating to the BMW 3-Series from 1975-1983 and 1984-1991 line. Specific models: BMW 315, BMW 316, BMW 318, BMW 318i, BMW 320/4, BMW 320i, BMW 320/6, BMW 323i, BMW 320i. E30 Family models include: BMW 325e, BMW 325i, BMW 325is, BMW 325ix.
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Ok I have an 86 325 e... I bought this car from a guy he said it ran fine, test drove it and it did... i paid him and left his house, got on the freeway and headed home, it started getting dark I flip the lights on ...as i got off the freeway the car died... I started it back up put it in first gear and tried to take off and it died again ...it did this all the way home. Next day I go outside to see if I can find anything ..I see a vacuum line to the intake is sucking shut when you rev the engine so i fix it... car seems to run ok i take it for a test drive.. hhmmm stays running I thought I had it fixed, I take it to get emmissions on it done it passes with flying colors... I tell the wife the car is fixed she decides to drive it to work on the way there it's fine runs great no problems ..that evening she goes to leave work flips the lights on a quarter of the way home it dies again ..same thing as before .. so I go rescue her and leave the car at a dennys come back for it the nex day. I go to get the car with a trailor and we try and load it up, I go to start it , it wont stay running it starts up and then dies ...we finnaly get in on the trailor after I mess with the idle air control valve and it runs like ass but good enough to put it on there. Get it home I call my buddy whos a import mechanic He tells me he had another BMW doing the same thing and says the fuel pump in the tank is bad... 150.00 later i install it crank it up it runs good for about 20 minutes, I go to test drive it ....it dies again so now 6 monthes later it sits in front of my house mystery unsolved... I don't know what to look for everthing looks as it should, no cracks in the air intake, new fuel pump, all vacume lines are in good shape... any idias I don't want to drop a bunch of $$ in this car guessing what the problem is!
could the alternator be going bad? i dont know about the other symtoms but the first part sounded like the batt or alternator
__________________ 1991 Ford Taurs SHO 5 Speed White on Tan
1996 Chevy Lumina LTZ Rep 3.4L
1992 318i Coupe parts car
1992 325i Ls1 swap with a T56 6 speed 12.2 quarter mile
1976 Mercedes Benz 300D with a Ford 5.0L Fuel Injected soon to be Modded I am Captain Obvious
Do you know what are you losing? Spark, fuel, both? Sounds like a bad coil to me, once it gets warm it shorts out (been there done that). Also check the coil wire for gunk, and ohm check it. If bad, it can over load the coil.
sounds like the alternator, it could be a battery, flip the lights on when its not running, if it only stays on for a few seconds, its probably a bad battery
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