190E 16V Fuel Distributor No Start? Help!

[Dowst]

Greetings all, first post here! Have been active in the E30 online community, and pleased to find this site after purchasing a 1986 US Spec Cosworth that does not run and has been sitting in a collection for nearly 15 years!

I will be the fourth owner of this car in the past year, none of the previous have been able to get her started.

I'll get right to it:

Car will not start, mixture is far too rich--fuel flow rate at injectors is enormous, about 5cc of fuel per injector, per SECOND whenever fuel pump is running, enough to fill the sump and lower intake plenum in no time when cranking during initial diagnosis. Previous owner has replaced many parts--ignition system, pump, pump relay etc. Car will start after priming pump for a second, then disabling pump and cranking (until all fuel is burned off in combustion chamber).

I have read quite a bit about the KE-jetronic system, and am relatively sure that the issue is a faulty fuel distributor that is not regulating fuel flow, but instead simply sending full volume/pressure to the injectors from the FPR.

Before I she'll out $500 for a rebuilt fuel distributor from German Star, I want to be absolutely certain that is is the problem. Could it be bad fuel injectors that are worn out and are allowing too much flow? Could it be a bad FPR that is producing too great of pressure to system after it, causing too much flow? Both of these parts are significantly cheaper than the distributor, so would hate to have them be the problem after dropping big $$$ on a rebuilt distributor.

I suspect that it is indeed the distributor, as fuel reaches the injectors whenever the pump is on (confirmed this by jumping pump at relay plug).

Many thanks in advance, and looking forward to contributing as I get this Cossie back on track (literally)!

[chasinthesun]

You may have bigger issues with the fuel system , I have the same car and was all over the map trying to get it started ,the best thing is to start at the tank ,only after controlling a rusty fuel system was I able to get my car running and performing normally.You dont have to replace the gas tank ,if done properly you can line it w/ the product called redcoat ,this was my biggest improvement to the idle .Next was a careful removal of the fuel distibuter and its sm. o-ring underneath ,I then put the part into a sonic cleaner ,you dont want to open this up ,or it becomes a big paperweight shortly after ,let the sonic cleaner do the work with new gumout fluid you can buy at your local parts house.The injectors will need replacing also ,then you can chase any vac leaks with a smoke machine if you can get one ,I found a few zip ties will work for a short time.I had it running and idleing like a champ ,the worst thing you can do to the KE system is let it sit .I spent around $300. and was able to get around the cost of new parts ,dealer prices is wallet shock.

[chasinthesun]

I started after mant tries for a good idle at the fuel sytem ,I only successfully had it running after performing the above ,you can examine your fuel filter easily enough to start with ,buy a new one first and match it with the one off the car ,then open it up with a reciplicating saw after soaking it in a bucket of water (gas inside) ,the paper element should be somewhat clean .If you have no excessive sediment I would find out how to see what your fuel pressure has at the inlet of the fd, you may have a weak fuel pump or pumps.I did have to replace both filters and pump ,my yr only had 1 pump.

[Dowst]

Thanks for your suggestions, it's not the first time I've heard that a contaminated fuel supply system can cause long term issues! Fortunately, my tank looks brand new inside with no rust or varnish at all--looks like new. A previous owner has also installed a new primary pump as well as brand new accumulator and filter--I am certain that fuel reaching engine bay is clean as a whistle!

Buy anyways, a new discovery have been made! I
Unscrewed the the fuel distributor from the air mass
Meter body, and low and behold, found that everything worked as it should! With pump jumpered at relay plug, no fuel reached main four injectors! It seems that a previous owner had adjusted the mixture to be so rich (at the adjustment post) that even at rest position the plunger barrel at the fuel distributor was depressed to WOT position!

I did notice that I could hear the cold start injector spraying with the fuel pump hard wired on with engine off, should this be the case or is there a problem?

Thanks again!

[chasinthesun]

So its running know? The website 190rev was very helpful in seeking many answers to my delimia ,you can search their site and have other owners chim in who also have a working understanding of the cosworth 190e ,this car has some unique futures .A volume of printed material about the Q & A from their site can be printed out about Fuel Related Issues.Another possability is that the owner before you may have opened up the fuel distibutor which is a big no no ,with all the new parts being replaced in the fuel system It sounds like their was some tinkering going on which can get you in more trouble especially at the FD.My guess is he lost interest after spending $xxx and a REBUILT FD was to big of a price to pay for final success.The sonic cleaning is an old motorcycle carb trick which I read over on 190rev back in the day ,you simple buy a Harbor Freight sonic cleaner ,$34. a gallon can of Gumout parts cleaner ,$20 and set it up to run several times during a 2 day period ,the cheap sonic cleaner can only run at 5 minutes at a time,with the FD in the solution,the amount of sediment was amazing.I would read some more about the method ,youtube has some vids, and make your own thoughts about which way you want to head ,if your next step is going for the rebuilt FD then the steps to Sonic clean is only a small price to pay comparing the 2,this is exactly were I was and decided it was worth a try.