Flooding can be costly ...

[bobwilmott]

Hi Guys.
I have three or four problems with my E34 1988 530i SE Auto (RDH here in England), so I'll post them separately. This one is that the other day, 200 miles from home, I started the car in the morning, then switched off to get something from my hotel room, then tried to start it again but it wouldn't. The engine turned OK but didn't fire up. Flooded ! I found another means of transport for the day's work and returned to the car in the evening, in the expectation that the flooding would have cleared. It hadn't. Called the AA (which I had to join there and then at a cost of £151.00 to get immediate assistance) and the first-class AA man who came within half-an-hour confirmed it was flooded. He cleared it by removing the fuel pump fuse and cranking the engine, and said that in future I should drive for at least five minutes before stopping/re-starting. That's fine, but what if I forget and do the same thing again one day ? Anyone got any ideas how else to prevent flooding ? And if it does happen again, is there a way that one person can clear it ? The AA man said it was a two-man job, with me cranking the engine while he played with the fuse and also with what looked like the leads of a battery booster or something of the kind.
Thanks,
Bob

[Martin in Bellevue]

I'd replace the fuel pump relay & the main relay.

[bobwilmott]

I'd replace the fuel pump relay & the main relay.

Thanks Martin, I'll give that a try.
Bob

[ryan roopnarine]

Hi Guys.
I have three or four problems with my E34 1988 530i SE Auto (RDH here in England), so I'll post them separately. This one is that the other day, 200 miles from home, I started the car in the morning, then switched off to get something from my hotel room, then tried to start it again but it wouldn't. The engine turned OK but didn't fire up. Flooded ! I found another means of transport for the day's work and returned to the car in the evening, in the expectation that the flooding would have cleared. It hadn't. Called the AA (which I had to join there and then at a cost of £151.00 to get immediate assistance) and the first-class AA man who came within half-an-hour confirmed it was flooded. He cleared it by removing the fuel pump fuse and cranking the engine, and said that in future I should drive for at least five minutes before stopping/re-starting. That's fine, but what if I forget and do the same thing again one day ? Anyone got any ideas how else to prevent flooding ? And if it does happen again, is there a way that one person can clear it ? The AA man said it was a two-man job, with me cranking the engine while he played with the fuse and also with what looked like the leads of a battery booster or something of the kind.
Thanks,
Bob

the battery booster was probably his insurance against murdering your battery. you could probably do it as a one man job by taking out all of the sparkplugs and fp relay and cranking it over like that (but make sure you have a source for a jumpstart during and afterwards).

[bobwilmott]

the battery booster was probably his insurance against murdering your battery. you could probably do it as a one man job by taking out all of the sparkplugs and fp relay and cranking it over like that (but make sure you have a source for a jumpstart during and afterwards).

Thanks Ryan, I'll try that if it happens again. Bob.