E21 randomly shut off while driving, cant start it back up
Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2025 5:40 pm
Hi everyone im new to this forum and i have had my 1983 320i for about a year now. The car has been running fantastic for the last year with the occasional tough cold start but nothing major and ive always stayed on top of maintenance.
I was driving home from work just last week when the car suddenly shut off with no indication of anything going wrong. The car stumbled for about 2 seconds then all power from the motor stopped. I was able to tow my car home to take a better look, I immediately thought it might be an issue with the fuel system (Jetronic system) as it seemed like it was a sudden fuel cut.
Things i have tested or done.
-Tested the spark plugs and they are all producing spark
-checked the air filter and its brand new
-checked the fuse box and replaced the main fuse with a another fuse i had in the car. The new one and old one were clicking when the ignition was put to auxiliary.
- the high pressure fuel pump does seem to be producing pressure and supplying the fuel distributor but i don't have a pressure tester so i have no way to verify the pressure.
- I took the airflow meter and the fuel distributor out and cleaned everything as best i could also i checked all the screen filters including the warm up valve filter and everything looked brand new. The diaphragm in the distributor had no signs of wear at all too.
I know there are a thousand different testes i can preform to find the issue but im relatively new to the M10 motor and i don't know all the tips and tricks. Anyone's impute would be greatly appreciated and thanks for reading through this
I was driving home from work just last week when the car suddenly shut off with no indication of anything going wrong. The car stumbled for about 2 seconds then all power from the motor stopped. I was able to tow my car home to take a better look, I immediately thought it might be an issue with the fuel system (Jetronic system) as it seemed like it was a sudden fuel cut.
Things i have tested or done.
-Tested the spark plugs and they are all producing spark
-checked the air filter and its brand new
-checked the fuse box and replaced the main fuse with a another fuse i had in the car. The new one and old one were clicking when the ignition was put to auxiliary.
- the high pressure fuel pump does seem to be producing pressure and supplying the fuel distributor but i don't have a pressure tester so i have no way to verify the pressure.
- I took the airflow meter and the fuel distributor out and cleaned everything as best i could also i checked all the screen filters including the warm up valve filter and everything looked brand new. The diaphragm in the distributor had no signs of wear at all too.
I know there are a thousand different testes i can preform to find the issue but im relatively new to the M10 motor and i don't know all the tips and tricks. Anyone's impute would be greatly appreciated and thanks for reading through this