It's been in the single digits here for about a week and I have not messed with it since I last jumped it. The temps will be up next week and I will be more inclined to "play" mechanic. I am leaning toward a spark/fuel problem also and have the ether on hand to see what happens.
I let it run the other day for about 20 minutes because once it starts it will light the rest of the day. I changed out the plugs last year due to this same situation and it lit right up. I put in the high dollar multi-electrode plugs but that doesn't mean they're still all good. It ran really rough, but it ran the other day. I stopped there before I really screwed it up. I will pick up some new plugs in the event I have fouled out one or more by putting too much fuel in to try to start it.
I am by no means a mechanic but I have pulled and rebuilt motors before - but that was forty years ago. I am totally at a loss with the new fuel injection configurations (mechanical, electronic, combos). I may have a bad injector but I don't know how to test them or if I even can on my own. My economic situation has changed also with the "new" economy and that puts the BMW dealer out of the equation.
I will get back with you next week and probably make more sense by then. For now I really appreciate the moral support and having someone with some sense to point me in the right direction. We bought this car in '05 with 87k on it. I have put 110k on it with no problems, I do my own oil changes. Beyond that I have neglected what would be considered preventive maintenance because it has always ran strong and been really dependable. But it's been rode hard and put away wet once too often and it's time to pay the piper. I was planning to put some money into it this spring (run the valves, etc.) With a BMW mechanic on his own time when I lined one up with the friend I bought this from. I obviously didn't make it to spring. So let me get into some weather that isn't so brutal - no garage, and I will have more info/questions. Thanks again right now for just "being there".
Friday, October 18th, 2019 AT 3:39 PM
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