alijanjan 3 Report post Posted June 12, 2009 Hello guys, my e38 is refusing to crank it was runing fine, i started the engine, just fine, then while i was waiting in the car for my wife, i decided to turn it off. when i tried again, just does not want to crank at all, nothing happens it more looks like an ews problem or somthing like that The situation : - When you swith the ignition on all seams normal but when you try to start it nothing happens (no crank, no sounds, nothing). I should mention that changing the mode on the auto box shows up in the dash (PND234 etc...) so I tend to think it is not related to the park/neutral sensor in the box. just a note that lately the battery was a little weak, but this time it does not seem to be the battery Any help is greatly apreciated ! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BM WORLD 1261 Report post Posted June 12, 2009 battery has to be real good to start the v8's . Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alijanjan 3 Report post Posted June 12, 2009 battery has to be real good to start the v8's .you are right about the battery but doesnt it have to at least ake some noise when trying to start? it just doesnt do anythingthansk Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BM WORLD 1261 Report post Posted June 12, 2009 you are right about the battery but doesnt it have to at least ake some noise when trying to start? it just doesnt do anything thansk you can just get nothing , also if jump starting make sure you have big thick jump leads not cheap $20 ones Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alijanjan 3 Report post Posted June 12, 2009 you can just get nothing , also if jump starting make sure you have big thick jump leads not cheap $20 onesThankswill give it a try. however, all the elelctrical equipments are working perfectly fine, including light, horn etc. and when measuring the battery, it reads 12.37v cheers Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
turbolizard 38 Report post Posted June 12, 2009 Hello guys, my e38 is refusing to crank it was runing fine, i started the engine, just fine, then while i was waiting in the car for my wife, i decided to turn it off. when i tried again, just does not want to crank at all, nothing happens it more looks like an ews problem or somthing like that The situation : - When you swith the ignition on all seams normal but when you try to start it nothing happens (no crank, no sounds, nothing). I have had a similar problem with my e34 540, only ever after it has been running, and much more likely to be a problem on a hot day. All the lights come up, battery is good, but starter does NOTHING. I suspect a relay or solenoid but have not found it, although I have not looked hard as it was a very rare problem (say once a year). It started a couple of years ago and has recently got worse so I'm getting more interested in what is going on. It gets embarrasing having to ask for a push (it is a manual and starts easy with a push). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
*Glenn* 854 Report post Posted June 12, 2009 Only got your email a few minutes ago.... it was in my spam folder ? I'd try jumper leads on the battery first. It maybe a battery fault as suggested. Your lights and everything else may still work...however, try jump starting it at the battery first. Dont use the under bonnet terminals.. hook up dirrect to the battery Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alijanjan 3 Report post Posted June 12, 2009 (edited) Only got your email a few minutes ago.... it was in my spam folder ? I'd try jumper leads on the battery first. It maybe a battery fault as suggested. Your lights and everything else may still work...however, try jump starting it at the battery first. Dont use the under bonnet terminals.. hook up dirrect to the battery Thanks for your reply GlennI tried a jumper lead with my vw and no uck, still no even any noise. i hooked it up directly to the battery as u suggested i even tried the battery from the bmw and put it in the vw, started fine (of course its a much smaller engine), i had it runing with the battery for a while in case it needs charging. then put it back in the bmw , again no luck at all tried measuring the bttery's voltage, rad about 12.4 volts cheers Edited June 13, 2009 by alijanjan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Creaver 55 Report post Posted June 12, 2009 I had a similar problem. Battery flat as anything. Jumping wouldnt work, so we put it on my mates charger and voila. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alijanjan 3 Report post Posted June 13, 2009 I had a similar problem. Battery flat as anything. Jumping wouldnt work, so we put it on my mates charger and voila. tried a jumper lead with my vw and no luck,i even tried the battery from the bmw and put it in the vw, started fine (of course its a much smaller engine), i had it runing with the battery for a while in case it needs charging. then put it back in the bmw , again nothing at all Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cress 0 Report post Posted June 13, 2009 (edited) when i had issues in my 735, i found it to be a fulty fuse near the battery. there is two of them for the two seperate systems. my batteries werent charging properly in the car, it wouldnt start and other intermittent problems. the fuses are 80amp from memory, which is why you need a good size battery, even jump starting with smaller batteries werent drawing enough current, i had to use an aftermarket fuse and once i connected it up and got a new battery everything was fine again. Edited June 13, 2009 by Cress Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oldskool 4 Report post Posted June 13, 2009 Hey Fella, Had exactly the same issues with my e38..............first time it was starter mtr, wouldnt even clunk as they usually do when they are stuffed................. second time it was transponder in the key............... Hope it is something simple & cheap !!!!! Good luck with it. Cheers Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alijanjan 3 Report post Posted June 13, 2009 when i had issues in my 735, i found it to be a fulty fuse near the battery. there is two of them for the two seperate systems. my batteries werent charging properly in the car, it wouldnt start and other intermittent problems. the fuses are 80amp from memory, which is why you need a good size battery, even jump starting with smaller batteries werent drawing enough current, i had to use an aftermarket fuse and once i connected it up and got a new battery everything was fine again. Thanksdo you remember where the fuse was? i have checked all the fuses (that i could find), there are few fuses where the battery is. they were all fine however the highest rating was 30A. i havent seen any 80 amps fuse on my car. may be im not looking at the right place cheers Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alijanjan 3 Report post Posted June 13, 2009 Hey Fella, Had exactly the same issues with my e38..............first time it was starter mtr, wouldnt even clunk as they usually do when they are stuffed................. second time it was transponder in the key............... Hope it is something simple & cheap !!!!! Good luck with it. Cheers Thanksdo you know if its possible to check the transponder? the problem is that i only have one key and have no way to say if the particular key is at fault cheers Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alijanjan 3 Report post Posted June 15, 2009 Only got your email a few minutes ago.... it was in my spam folder ? I'd try jumper leads on the battery first. It maybe a battery fault as suggested. Your lights and everything else may still work...however, try jump starting it at the battery first. Dont use the under bonnet terminals.. hook up dirrect to the battery Hi GlennI am having the car towed tomorrow so you can check it. I just checked the ignition key wires, i do get a 12v on one of the wires (yellow/black) when the iginition key is on crank posiotion. cheers Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
*Glenn* 854 Report post Posted June 15, 2009 Cress is correct. There is a 80 amp fuse built into the secondary positive cable in the wiring loom. Its normally under the back seat and under a large piece of heat shrink. Have had to replace those before. If its faulty, it will have a crack in it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
*Glenn* 854 Report post Posted June 16, 2009 All sorted now Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
martyyn 2 Report post Posted June 16, 2009 and the problem was ? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
joshnz 2 Report post Posted June 16, 2009 Would be nice to know the fix ... so frustrating for other people with issues like this, might save them $$ getting it fixed if they know the cause of the symptoms! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alijanjan 3 Report post Posted June 16, 2009 and the problem was ? The problem was the start motor and thanks to Glenn, it’s all sorted now. Had to tow the car to Glenn, and it was sorted in half a day. He is the best in diagnosis and 95 percent of fixing the problem is actually the diagnosis. I could have replaced the starter motor myself but god knows how many other things I had to try/replace before I knew it was in fact the starter. I would probably first try a battery for 300 dollars. I have seen people spending three times the money to fix a problem themselves. It just cost a fortune if you don’t have the proper tools. Dont get me wrong, i do love DIY but provided the proper tools are available to me. Thanks all for your comments helps Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alijanjan 3 Report post Posted June 16, 2009 Would be nice to know the fix ... so frustrating for other people with issues like this, might save them $$ getting it fixed if they know the cause of the symptoms!as abovecheers Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
