nathanbro 0 Report post Posted November 10, 2017 Hi all. New member here. Just to start off, im not new to cars and ive owned and worked on my fair share. Now for the car. Its a 2000 318i E46. We had just received it from a friend a couple days earlier. A couple of times the car wouldn't start, but it was the battery cable loose. As we were in a rush we just jiggled it, started the car and kept going. The car was running fine with no issues. Then we pulled up to pick a friend up from the Airport. We shut the car off as normal and wen to start, the battery again. I went to the rear to hold the battery while he started the car. As he turned over the engine, I saw a spark around where the earth cable bolts to the bodynear the wheel well. Turns out the negative cable wasnt bolted down fully and the loop was jiggling. Upon noticing this, I took the tools out and tightened all the cables and battery etc. The car never started again. First thing first. We checked ALL fuses and Relays, multiple times. I tested for spark, and there was none. Although the engine turned over fine. Something odd, is that the MIL or CEL does not come on at all. Not at ignition or start. Nothing. There are no codes. The key is recognized as it beeps when the door is open with the key in. Is there anybody who has experienced similar? If the spark at the earth cable caused an issue, what could it have possibly done? I will reply to answers asap. Thanks Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nathanbro 0 Report post Posted November 10, 2017 For anyone interested. I have just done the cluster test. Lights up like a Christmas tree. But NO lights in the bottom left(CEL or MIL) when it should do so when doing diagnostic check when turning to ignition 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mad_Max 227 Report post Posted November 11, 2017 Simple thing first. Where you tightened the earth strap on the body, remove that and clean it right up with sandpaper, and try that. There is a good chance that that earth isn't allowing enough volts through to start the car. Seen it a couple of times before with the exact symptoms you describe, a good clean of the connection fixed the issues. Try that and if that doesn't work, start looking elsewhere. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
