Car Start Then Immediately Stalls, Now Car Cranks But No Start.

[Hugh Jass]

2004 330Ci ZHP - 103k Miles. Automatic.

Left my car in the garage over the weekend and when i got in today and tried to start the car, it started & the RPMS were jumping from 800-1200 and then stalled within 2 seconds. Tried this again 2 more times and gave it gas while the car was on and it would still stall out on me & now the car is just cranking without starting at all.

Note: It's 31 degrees out here in new york. car was cold at the time of start up.
Car has about a little less than a quarter tank of gas, Gas light juts came on.
SES has been on. Mechanic told me about a month ago its because my "car is running lean"
New to this forum stuff & not a car guy at all so i don't really know what I'm doing.
I had a 2004 330Ci (Standard) last year and the car would just crank and would not turn over after leaving it for 5 minutes. Turned out to be the fuel pump that time.

Please, any advice or solutions would be very helpful!

[Vas]

Had a similar issue about a week ago. Make sure the battery is fully charged , pour some fresh gas into it and crank it over.

I had to crank mine for about a minute before it finally turned over.

[3ZHP]

That sound like a BIG lean symptom, something like an intake hose gone bad. Lean is when the car has to much air and not enough gas to burn. The lean diagnosis may have been a small air leak and now it's to big for the car to stay running at idle.

Way back when PCV valves were changed out yearly. One check to see if the system was working properly, was to pull the valve out with the car running. This made a huge vacuum leak and leaned out the engine so much that it wold stall. If it didn't that meant there was a blockage in the PCV system.

Get a can of starting fluid and a friend. Open the hood and start the car. have the friend spray the starting fluid near the lower intake boot. If the engine smooths out and runs, you have a vacuum leak that's picking up the starting fluid and richening the system to run.

[Hugh Jass]

So you guys don't think its a fuel pump issue?

[poke08]

So you guys don't think its a fuel pump issue?

I was going to suggest the fuel pump since my car did the exact same thing when my pump went bad. Also, when the key was in position two, I wasn't able to hear the fuel sending. How many miles does the car have?


edit --------
Never mind, just noticed it has 103k. It could be the fuel pump if its still the original.

[Hugh Jass]

Your car also stalled before it fully went out? The first time this happened to me, the car just wouldn't start at all, all i would get is the crank but no turnover. This time i stalled on me about 3 times & now it won't start at all, all i get is the crank. I also kind've forgot what the fuel pump sounds like when in Key Position #2. Not sure what kind of noise to listen out for..

[quikryptonite]

When the key is moved into position two (make sure everything else is as quiet as possible i.e. radio, etc...) you should hear a little hum sound accompanied by a flowing sound of fuel from the back seat when the fuel pump starts to do its thing.

You can check this video (symptoms at :05 and then you can barely hear the pump at 9:47)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqVGpkan0rE

[poke08]

Your car also stalled before it fully went out? The first time this happened to me, the car just wouldn't start at all, all i would get is the crank but no turnover. This time i stalled on me about 3 times & now it won't start at all, all i get is the crank. I also kind've forgot what the fuel pump sounds like when in Key Position #2. Not sure what kind of noise to listen out for..

Yep. It started up fine, then kinda struggled and shut off. I tried to start it again and it barley turned on and stalled and then it just cranked after that and didn't turnover

It's a really simple diy. Took me 15 mins taking my time.


When the key is moved into position two (make sure everything else is as quiet as possible i.e. radio, etc...) you should hear a little hum sound accompanied by a flowing sound of fuel from the back seat when the fuel pump starts to do its thing.

You can check this video (symptoms at :05 and then you can barely hear the pump at 9:47)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqVGpkan0rE

This.

[poke08]

Any updates?

[Hugh Jass]

Thank you so much everyone. It turned out to be the fuel pump. Sorry for the late reply. Now I have another problem with my car :(

[fredo]

Description of new problem ?