Hello, may seem odd joining BMWCCA when I live 'just up the road' from the source but I'm trying to restore a 1985 6 cylinder 320 convertible and you guys seem to be the most 'hands on' of Bimmer clubs. I need help with the ignition system! Jim McKenna
Welcome to the club & forums Jim, hopefully we'll either be of some assistance, or be able to get you to somebody who can!
Thanks for reply. All the checks in the Haynes book left only the coil to replace (secondary resistance test gave open circuit).Checked all HT cables and plugs-fine. Still no sparks. Is it possible for the Ignition Control Unit to measure up correctly but still not work?I can't find the post about resetting the Service Interval warning light-I think it gave two options for the diagnostic socket-I have the small socket. Jim
With the caveat that this type of diagnostic is not my strong suit, I don't know why the si-board would have any effect on the ignition circuit. One problem I had one time was the pulse-sensor wire was broken internally, and without that signal, the ECU wouldn't trigger the fuel pumps. http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=1113&mospid=47309&btnr=12_0076&hg=12&fg=05&hl=2 Maybe something here will be of help - also, carry the discussion further in the E30 or d-i-y forums; if you work out a solution, later on it would be difficult for anyone to find the discussion buried here in member introductions http://tis.spaghetticoder.org/e30/320i_(M20)_CONVER/ Not sure if the Bentley manuals for the E30 or Bosch Fuel Injection may be helpful, but the Bentley manual I believe is a good bit more detailed than Haynes, just fyi. If you have a bad ECU, you can end up chasing a lot of false leads, sometimes its helpful to pop in another ECU, if you can get one or borrow one that works for your car.
Perhaps email one of the club's TIPS reps directly - all I can suggest is reviewing the ignition wiring circuit diagrams, hopefully in the spaghetticoder link above. Unfortunately, I haven't experienced the same problem, at least, not yet!
