Re: E36 M3 Stalled, won't start

[alex.fadeev@xxxxxxxxxxx]

"Mark Cecil" <mjcecil@domain.elided> wrote:
> Since nobody seems to know, or maybe even care what happened with my
> no-start issue, 

You had a no-start issue?
;-)

> I will say this...  After letting the car sit for the workday, I was 
> able, after 2 or 3 tries, to start the car.  My companion watched the
> tailpipe, and confirmed my first suspicion:  the car had been flooded,
> as was indicated by the significant amount of unburnt gas coming
> from the tail.  After some two or three minutes holding the car in the
> middle of the rev range, the car seems to be back to normal.
> Now my question evolves into:  How is it possible to flood the engine
> in this way? 

By 'this way', I assume the repeated restarts (to clear an OBC message ;-) 
you've described in your last email?
If so, stop doing that. Seriously. 
If you have an OBC error message, address the problem, not the messenger! 
The most frequent cause are either a burned out bulb or a failing brake 
pedal switch. 
Next onto the no-start. Every time you restart the car, the DME dumps 
extra fuel into the cylinders for exactly 1 second. If you try one too 
many times in rapid succession, you might theoretically flood the 
cylinders. Not likely, but not impossible either. 
To clear the flooded cylinders, run the starter with the gas pedal floored 
(WOT throttle opens up air delivery). Usually that blows out enough 
gasoline to start the engine.
OR it could be another problem altogether that just happens to manifest 
itself as a non-start or a flooded engine. 

> That is, by turning the engine off and on again with the car rolling.

Quit doing that. I would not be too surprised if the DME is not coded to 
cope with such a bizarre running condition!

HTH,
alex f
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