After Rain, Car Dies On Road Or Just Wont Start?? - BMW Forum

ws6firebirdta00 · 07-07-2005, 07:38 PM

hey guys, this isnt my car its my dads but here is the deal. its a 1994 325i vert, auto, 140,000 miles

i noticed this the first time i ran his car through the car wash and i came out and going down the raod about a mile later the car shut off on me. well after the car sat for a while i finally got it started but it ran like crap and missed so bad. put brand new plugs in it, the fuel filter and fuel pump are brand new as well. well this happens every now and then to his car and we noticed its normally after rain. today we got tons of rain and it shut off on him on the highway. last time this happened it flooded the cyls, he took it to the dealer cause we had no time to mess with it and they said nothign was wrong it just flooded out the cyls and thats why it wouldnt fire.

so i had him pull the fuse for the fuel pump today and hold the throttle open ( i wasnt sure how the computers on these cars are set up but i know on mine there is a flood clear at 80% throttle) so we pulled the fuse out so it wouldnt get gas. well he got it to start up but then after a while it shuts right off again on him. it can idle ok but then the rpms will fluctuate and it will die. sometimes it will rev up and others it will bog and die. the car is stock, only has a k&n filter and i noticed a line going to the air box still on the inlet side of the filter, was torn.

from waht i can figure its an electrical problem and its not getting enough spark to the car to fire right. no check engine lights are comming on either. i dont know if the vents on the hood are leaking water somewhere but i hope we can fix it tonight so we doesnt have to take my car out haha thanks guys

ws6firebirdta00 · 07-07-2005, 07:51 PM

ok so i have found it has to do with the cars computer DME i believe is what its called on these cars. once my dad gets home we will seal it off and make sure its totally dry. it sucks that such a great car has stupid little problems like that.

ws6firebirdta00 · 07-07-2005, 09:25 PM

looks like thats what it was, it was soaked in there. the car has formed a slight hesitation over time and i wonder if this is the DME that could be bad or just really wet. pretty piss poor design they have how the opening is there under the wiper cowl where the water can come in.

Rookie · 07-08-2005, 05:31 PM

I have heard about this problem. I seem to remember being told not to take an E36 through a drive-in car wash as it will flood the ECU/DME. That sounds like exactly the same problem I am glad that you got it fixed.

I can't believe the dealership didn't tell you that. I swear those guys have their heads so far up their ass they can't see day light. Fuckin' stealership, I bet they charged you to tell you that the engine was flooded and didn't run right!

94BMW325i · 07-08-2005, 07:17 PM

Well on cars besides BMW's that could be a problem with the distributor, but BMW's don't have distributors right? So I am guessing the DME or ignition coil?

e36_m3_Turbo · 07-08-2005, 07:37 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Rookie@Jul 8 2005, 02:31 PM
I have heard about this problem. I seem to remember being told not to take an E36 through a drive-in car wash as it will flood the ECU/DME. That sounds like exactly the same problem I am glad that you got it fixed.

I can't believe the dealership didn't tell you that. I swear those guys have their heads so far up their ass they can't see day light. Fuckin' stealership, I bet they charged you to tell you that the engine was flooded and didn't run right!

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yeah very true.

24valve · 07-10-2005, 03:52 AM

Not only that, but automatic car washes are very bad for your convertible's top.

napalm · 07-10-2005, 04:01 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by 24valve@Jul 10 2005, 03:52 AM
Not only that, but automatic car washes are very bad for your convertible's top.

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I have a 1995 325i Vert.

I had the same problem, only my car would always start but run very poorly. The car would run and drive fine if I drove it in the rain. If my car sat in a parking lot and was not running or in a 'cold' state the car would start, idle funny and running like it was on 5 cylinders.

That's because it was. I took the spark plugs out starting on the closest one to the front bumper. The last two spark plugs (closest to the firewall), were rusty on their ceramic tops. Water would evaportate when my motor was warm, but when it sat the rain would collect on top and run into the top of the spark plug cylinder. This is where the plug wires would arc out and cause the car to run w/ much less performance.

I'm not familiar with the DME issues etc. but on my car changing the spark plugs and ensuring they don't get wet anymore cured the problem.

Good luck

Dudesky_E36 · 07-17-2005, 11:30 PM

It's most definitely the DME flood problem. The dealership should do it for free, since it's a recall issue. They have to punch a larger hole in the drainage area just to the right of the unit above & behind the manifold so it doesn't flood the computer.

thekid · 07-18-2005, 05:02 PM

All you need to do is replace the hood cowl. If I had my cord for my DC I would take a picture of what I am talking about. But I will try to explain. If you were to go out to your dads car and stand next to the passenger side mirror and look down at the corner of the hood you should see that there is a hole in or part of the the corner of the plastic piece that runs the width of the car (the plastic that is around where the windshield wipers attatch) is broken off. This piece (actually it is 2 pieces) costs about $35 from the parts department at your local stealership. From ther all you gotta do is take off the wipers, remove the platic peice (I beileve it's 3ish of the rubber screw things that hold each piece in). Problem solved. Your out $35 and a half hour.