E42 Engine Refuses to Turn Over!

[BostonGreen318]

This is my current dilemma. As of two weeks ago my '1994 318 is' refuses to start. The kicker is that my second car was damaged by a deranged deer early last week and rendered useless. Thus, I am without transportation. As for the 318, I need a quick answer or at least, a glimmer of hope.

Here are the facts . . .

A) Starter sounds but engine doesn't turn over.

B) No fault code!

C) Battery is reading about 75% power.

D) Fuel tank is half full!

E) Ignition spark test successful.

F) Made a series of new installations in the hopes that one would prove the culprit:

1) All new set of fuses
2) Set of spark plugs (The old set had what appeared to be dark, aged grease around threads, is this considered normal? Fuel injection issue perhaps?)
3) Fuel filter (After installation, kept the fuel line detached and turned ignition key to "run" in order to test fuel pump operation. NO fuel shot out and consequently, led to next step below.)
4) Fuel pump (Due to my haste, I've forgotten the color combination to the wiring harness set. I believe the black harness is situated on the bottom pins with the Green/Violet wire on left and Brown on right. As for the white harness on top, it's a fifty/fifty which side the Yellow/Brown and solid Yellow wires are positioned. If anybody knows, please fill me in. In addition, even after replacing the pump, there is nothing of the customary pump response signal when ignition key is turned to standby.)

G) Less recent replacements:

1) Fuel pump relay
2) DME main relay

Other concerns -
There is a mid-nineties era VIPER security system installed that I've never used or understood. It's the type that comes with two keychain-style remotes and a flip switch under the driver's side knee bolster. Further inspection exposed a bunch of poorly spliced wiring done with electrical tape behind the lower steering column that appears rather complicated.

I attempted at one point to disconnect this system but was never quite able to locate the wiring that connects up with the ignition switch assembly. Underneath the hood there was a siren device that I detached from a red and black wire which runs somewhere in through the dash. Could it be possible that this VIPER system is affecting the car's ability to start?

Any advice/suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks for reading.

[Big Evil]

Very well could be the aftermarket alarm system, had one do that to me in my '94 5 series. It depends on how it was installed as to how to remove it, mine had a main wire cut and bridged through the box. Took it out, reconnected the main line and no more problems. Good luck

[BostonGreen318]

Well . . .

Long story short - the engine finally turned over today. Helped it along with some gas for a couple of minutes, keeping it around 1,000 rpm's. Soon after, the car finally idled appropriately on its own. Oh, glory day.

I assume the new fuel pump helped.

My suspicion for the car not starting up immediately after the pump installation is that while disabled, it had been elevated on lifts for about a week. I was thinking that maybe the steep incline was preventing the fuel from running through the lines.

Anyway, thanks Big Evil for the one and only bit of advice.

[BostonGreen318]

The original thread title reads "E42"; however, what I meant to type was "M42," obviously. Sorry for any confusion this may have caused.