Help! M60 B40 Crank But NO Start....

[Kees 581]

Help! M60 crank but no start.

Hi everyone, yesterday my 540i decided to do something it’s never done before, not start. – And its slightly confusing.

Here is the context: On Saturday I took the car out as it was getting reviewed for a YouTube video.

The car performed flawlessly throughout the day, and once the review was done I took it back to my garage to swap it for another car of mine which was getting reviewed. Car was perfectly fine.

Then yesterday I went to move the car out of the garage so I could try figure out why my interior fan speed isn’t working (it seems my second resistor sword has failed), and this is when the car refused to start.

It has fuel, and I can hear the fuel pump prime when I turn the ignition on.

Given that it was perfectly running the day before and when I parked it, I’m scratching my head on what has gone wrong.

Maybe crank shaft positioning sensor?

Also, this is most likely a coincidence, but I had the interior fan speed resistor sword out of the car to inspect it prior to the car refusing to start. When the car failed to start I plugged it back in just to be sure it somehow wasn’t causing the issue, and of course the car still wouldn’t start.

Does anyone have any ideas?

Seems odd the car could have a mechanical failure overnight. Maybe something electrical instead?

Edited November 6, 2023 by Kees

[Eagle 1519]

Is it getting spark? Pull plug\coil, make sure its no flooded then ground it and crank.  Bad CPS shouldnt trigger the fuel pump and or coils.

Slight bump in rpm on the gauge when cranking too is another basic test but easy enough to do the proper resistance check on the M60 with a multimeter.

 

 

[Kees 581]

23 hours ago, Eagle said:

Is it getting spark? Pull plug\coil, make sure its no flooded then ground it and crank.  Bad CPS shouldnt trigger the fuel pump and or coils.

Slight bump in rpm on the gauge when cranking too is another basic test but easy enough to do the proper resistance check on the M60 with a multimeter.

 

 

Pulled a plug out today, did smell of fuel so it could be flooded. Exhaust also smells of fuel. 

I tried cranking it with accelerator down to see if that would clear the potential flooding but to no avail. Will probably pull all the plugs on the weekend.

I am yet to test if I'm getting spark, will have to wait until the weekend when I can get a mate to give me a hand. 

 

I also disconnected & reconnected the battery to see if that helped - no luck of course. RPMs aren't moving when it cranks but rewatching an old start-up video shows the needle never moves until the car fires up.  

 

My current theory is maybe something wasn't happy after I pulled the sword out, the car refused to start and engine flooded. Now with everything back together it won't start - not because something electrically is preventing it, but because it's flooded. Not sure if this is accurate thinking though. 

[Eagle 1519]

Yeah if it has spark then pull all the plugs, fuel pump relay and crank it over without them for a bit and retest. Pump could also be priming but not supplying correct pressure at rail. Pulling the fuel return at the rail if is the basic way to check.  

[Kees 581]

Update! 
 

Car has been scanned and there were heaps of codes for the immobiliser. Cleared them and this is the one that is sticking.

 

I believe it could be for the on board computer as they store a code for the immobiliser and then somehow it’s lost it. 

[Eagle 1519]

Weird code and wording but aftermarket scan tool so no surprise.

If it is the OBC immobilizer then you could try a reset. Ive seen the procedure at some point but cant remember. Google search will yield no doubt.

[Kees 581]

18 minutes ago, Eagle said:

Weird code and wording but aftermarket scan tool so no surprise.

If it is the OBC immobilizer then you could try a reset. Ive seen the procedure at some point but cant remember. Google search will yield no doubt.

Yup currently reading up on it. 
 

These were the initial codes it had: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 10, 2023 by Kees

[Kees 581]

I have an update just in case this somehow helps someone in the future. 
 

So yesterday I started packing up my tools as I want to start working on my latest car (post incoming). 
 

Anyway, I thought I’d give the car one last crank and it fired up immediately. 
 

So there’s 3 possibilities: 

1. it’s some form of intermittent electrical fault. 
 

2. Leaving the key in the ignition for the last 2 days somehow fixed it (I doubt this) 

 

3. I decided to apply some pressure to the panel below the steering column which usually has another panel attached (it was off because of me taking the blow resistor sword out), maybe some kind of loose contact under there? 
 

Time will tell if it’s fixed or intermittent, but I’m just glad it actually starts now. 

[Driftit 1945]

Watchdog reset is an initialized reset either by you or by reaching a certain programed parameter such as no response from a module for a period of time.  Often initialized by a fault or loss of coms somewhere in the system.
The E34 EEPROM I would say it is talking about is the one on the back of the speedo cluster that holds your Mileage etc.  So you could be right about a loose connection somewhere.  Especially if the cluster has been out.