Help: E28 Turns Over But Won't "Catch" After 6 Mos Sitting

Help! My '85 535i had a dead battery and sat for 6 mos (under a car cover).
Now the battery's good, 1/4 tank of good gas, turns over just fine but the
engine won't catch. I've jiggled all the fuses, disconnected and reconnected
the battery negative cable to reset the computers, still just runs the
starter without catching. I know there's a ton of info out there on "no
start" problems, but I'm hoping the fact that it ran great before it sat so
long will help rule out some of the possible problems. Where do I begin?
TIA!! Scoobey

On Sat, 12 May 2007 05:46:39 GMT, Scoobey (AT) nospamDISPUTESOLUTIONS (DOT) ORG wrote:

Help! My '85 535i had a dead battery and sat for 6 mos (under a car cover).
Now the battery's good, 1/4 tank of good gas, turns over just fine but the
engine won't catch. I've jiggled all the fuses, disconnected and reconnected
the battery negative cable to reset the computers, still just runs the
starter without catching. I know there's a ton of info out there on "no
start" problems, but I'm hoping the fact that it ran great before it sat so
long will help rule out some of the possible problems. Where do I begin?
TIA!! Scoobey

Sounds like a dealer re-program ???

In article <yoydnUQ8rbtRydjbnZ2dnUVZWhednZ2d (AT) comcast (DOT) com>,
<Scoobey (AT) nospamDISPUTESOLUTIONS (DOT) ORG> wrote:

Help! My '85 535i had a dead battery and sat for 6 mos (under a car
cover). Now the battery's good, 1/4 tank of good gas, turns over just
fine but the engine won't catch. I've jiggled all the fuses,
disconnected and reconnected the battery negative cable to reset the
computers, still just runs the starter without catching. I know there's
a ton of info out there on "no start" problems, but I'm hoping the fact
that it ran great before it sat so long will help rule out some of the
possible problems. Where do I begin?

Check the fuel pump relay is working. And the main engine management one.

--
*Lottery: A tax on people who are bad at math.

Dave Plowman dave (AT) davenoise (DOT) co.uk London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

<Scoobey (AT) nospamDISPUTESOLUTIONS (DOT) ORG> wrote

Help! My '85 535i had a dead battery and sat for 6 mos (under a car
cover).
Now the battery's good, 1/4 tank of good gas, turns over just fine but the
engine won't catch. I've jiggled all the fuses, disconnected and
reconnected
the battery negative cable to reset the computers, still just runs the
starter without catching. I know there's a ton of info out there on "no
start" problems, but I'm hoping the fact that it ran great before it sat
so
long will help rule out some of the possible problems. Where do I begin?
TIA!! Scoobey

So the engine turns over? If not, the starter solenoid isn't engaging the
flywheel.
Air, fuel, fire. One isn't happening. BTW, the dealer does not reprogram one
of these ECUs.

Bill in Omaha
'86 535i

How do I check the relays? Thanks!

On Sat, 12 May 2007 19:45:15 GMT, Scoobey (AT) nospamDISPUTESOLUTIONS (DOT) ORG wrote:

How do I check the relays? Thanks!

12v battery few pieces of wire a bulb that works or a multimeter set to ohms.

or if you have to ask that question then I would advise you to get hold of a
local hot rodder or auto electrician or get it to a BMW expert.

I've got a multimeter. But which post to which post etc.? Alternately, can I
test the wires going into and out of the relays while it's in "run" to see
whether there's flow through the relay?

On Wed, 16 May 2007 15:02:00 GMT, Scoobey (AT) nospamDISPUTESOLUTIONS (DOT) ORG wrote:

I've got a multimeter. But which post to which post etc.? Alternately, can I
test the wires going into and out of the relays while it's in "run" to see
whether there's flow through the relay?

If your car has fuel pressure, a spark and compression (150PSI or thereabouts)
the next question is .....

Does it have a NIKASIL lined block.

If so it might be worth a few squirts of oil down the bores via the plug holes
to help seal the rings as there is reported a sever blow-by with nikasil bores
if left for a long time. However, if it wasn't burning oil before then it won't
after it just needs the extra sealing to get it going.

In article <kvam439r63ajctu8kks5v1cd10q1s3gbhe (AT) 4ax (DOT) com>,
<Oscar (AT) nowhere (DOT) com> wrote:

If your car has fuel pressure, a spark and compression (150PSI or thereabouts)
the next question is .....

Does it have a NIKASIL lined block.

On an '85 535?

--
*How much deeper would the oceans be without sponges? *

Dave Plowman dave (AT) davenoise (DOT) co.uk London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

<Oscar (AT) nowhere (DOT) com> wrote

On Sat, 12 May 2007 19:45:15 GMT, Scoobey (AT) nospamDISPUTESOLUTIONS (DOT) ORG
wrote:

How do I check the relays? Thanks!

12v battery few pieces of wire a bulb that works or a multimeter set to
ohms.

or if you have to ask that question then I would advise you to get hold of
a
local hot rodder or auto electrician or get it to a BMW expert.

Oscar,

with the other posts yopu have made asking about a Nikasil block and
suggesting dealer reprogramming, YOU need to go back for a software update