B3 (E93) Fuel Flap problem

Got a question about your ALPINA ask it here !
You've got the car now you need to know something, techincal advice, specific questions etc.

Moderators: Charles, neil, D4

Post Reply
User avatar
TonyS
A
A
Posts: 97
Joined: Tue Aug 14, 2018 3:03 am
Location: Hertfordshire

B3 (E93) Fuel Flap problem

Post by TonyS » Fri Jul 09, 2021 12:42 am

Yesterday the fuel filler body flap (not the cap itself) would not push click shut. :(
As you push it closed, you can feel the spring move in and latch in, but it does not retain the flap flush and stay closed.
Instead it stays open a few degrees with about a 20mm gap on the rear edge and is actually fully movable by hand.
Visually I can't see anything untoward or broken on the flap. (... it has a plastic inner skin with a kind of latch 'tongue' plus a cross-drilled spigot for the central locking pin)
I figure it has something to do with the latch 'tongue', but I am at a loss as to the cause.
When I manually press the spring plunger it clicks in and stays in, then pressing it again it clicks in and comes back out - which is all as expected.

The only way it will now stay flush to the body is when I lock the car whilst simultaneously holding the body flap in position, so that the central locking pin will engage.

Has anyone else had experience of this kind of fault ?
Any clue as what to check etc would be gratefully appreciated.
B3 BiTurbo Cabrio #121 (E93) + Quaife ATB LSD
X1 2.0 Twin-Scroll Turbo xDrive #zillion (F48) ... really useful, if only an XB1 existed !

--- but when you are up to your ears in alligators it can be relatively difficult to remember that your original idea was to drain the swamp --- hmmm

tiger
Posts: 12
Joined: Mon Mar 02, 2020 5:05 pm

Re: B3 (E93) Fuel Flap problem

Post by tiger » Fri Jul 09, 2021 4:45 pm

If I read this correctly a similar thing happens routinely on the 1 series of the same era: e.g. here

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/top ... 4253&i=120

A bit of a faff to sort out but doable

User avatar
TonyS
A
A
Posts: 97
Joined: Tue Aug 14, 2018 3:03 am
Location: Hertfordshire

Re: B3 (E93) Fuel Flap problem

Post by TonyS » Fri Jul 09, 2021 10:50 pm

Thanks for that Tiger - it seems like a very suspiciously similar problem - I am investigating
B3 BiTurbo Cabrio #121 (E93) + Quaife ATB LSD
X1 2.0 Twin-Scroll Turbo xDrive #zillion (F48) ... really useful, if only an XB1 existed !

--- but when you are up to your ears in alligators it can be relatively difficult to remember that your original idea was to drain the swamp --- hmmm

User avatar
TonyS
A
A
Posts: 97
Joined: Tue Aug 14, 2018 3:03 am
Location: Hertfordshire

Re: B3 (E93) Fuel Flap problem - SOLVED

Post by TonyS » Wed Aug 04, 2021 1:49 pm

After much head scratching I have solved this issue without having a significant empty feeling in the wallet - but I feel a bit silly that I didn't spot the problem earlier.
To all intents an purposes it seemed like the closure spring had broken somehow, so I bought a second hand fuel pot assembly cheap from ebay.
However, it turns out that there was nothing wrong with the Fuel Flap mechanism and so did not have to replace it - this is a relief as I had determined that disassembly is non-trivial on the cabriolet.

To explain ... I got this problem after filling up the tank last month, but I have only just re-filled the tank yesterday, which is when I spotted the real problem.
The images show that the filler cap has a rubber captive cord that supposed to stay anchored in a slotted hole in the outer flap - but it had come loose and rested in the cavity that the plastic hinge retracts into causing the flap to not close fully.
Filler Cap.JPG
Filler Cap.JPG (222.15 KiB) Viewed 802 times
So a simple problem solved simply by a spot of glue on the end of the cord to make sure it doesn't happen again. :D
The attachment Fuel Flap.JPG is no longer available
Attachments
Fuel Flap.JPG
Fuel Flap.JPG (262.17 KiB) Viewed 802 times
B3 BiTurbo Cabrio #121 (E93) + Quaife ATB LSD
X1 2.0 Twin-Scroll Turbo xDrive #zillion (F48) ... really useful, if only an XB1 existed !

--- but when you are up to your ears in alligators it can be relatively difficult to remember that your original idea was to drain the swamp --- hmmm

User avatar
JohnW
ALPIN
ALPIN
Posts: 534
Joined: Sun Feb 16, 2014 3:32 am
Location: Bolton
Contact:

Re: B3 (E93) Fuel Flap problem

Post by JohnW » Wed Aug 04, 2021 9:27 pm

Those are the fixes we all like. They do tend to rot and snap off I’ve noticed.
JohnW
2008 B3 BiTurbo Coupe #161
Previous: 2011 D3 BiTurbo Saloon #373, 2014 F30 320iX M Saloon, 2009 M3 DCT Coupe, 2008 B3 BiTurbo Coupe #074, 2009 E82 123d Coupe, 2006 E92 325i Coupe, 2002 E46 325iSE Coupe, 1998 E36 318iSE Saloon

Post Reply