E39 wont start....Help! - BMW Forum

Siouxperman · 02-12-2011, 12:46 PM

Started my car ('02 530i) yesterday to warm up and everything was fine. Went back out and the car was off and wouldn't start again. Got a key in ignition lock message as well as one time getting a transmission lock message. Battery was going bad so I replaced that and no more transmission message. Car still wont start and still get the key in ignition lock message. Hit the starter a few times and still no luck. Any idea what the problem would be...starter, maybe the ignition switch, other electrical? I'm pretty much stuck at a friends house till I can get this fix so any help is appreciated.

Siouxperman · 02-15-2011, 09:25 PM

Well as of sunday my new battery was almost completely drained and had the car towed home. When new battery was put when turning the ignition would hear multiple click and the headlights would flash with those clicks. Also heard some clicking noise from the radio area. Sunday morning none of the panel lights would come on and interior lights were really dim and car would only click 2-3 times when trying to start. Today got home and the battery is completely dead.....Any ideas on what the problem could be?

witeshark · 02-15-2011, 09:53 PM

I'm thinking some serious short, maybe a bad ground needs to be hunted. It can't hurt to inspect the relays; maybe one or more is stuck... Good luck!

Youngproexec · 02-16-2011, 02:03 PM

funny thing, is that I had the exact same issue this morning. The car was fine last night, and wouldnt turn over this morning !! So I got a new batter. Now here's the thing, did you install the new battery yourself? If so did you remember to turn off all ( lights and radio) before disconnecting the battery? Also did you disconnect the negative wire from the ( old ) battery first then the positive ? Did you make sure that niether the positive nor negative battery touched? Did you install the new battery with the vent tube hooked up? Did you connect the positive wire first, then the negative on the new battery?

I kniw there's a lot of questions. But chances are there is a bad short, that would have resulted from improper installation. Please try your best to answer all the questions so I can determine a possible result.

Keep us informed

pagerussell · 02-16-2011, 03:40 PM

sioux,

when you say the car wont start, give us more details. is it turning over? or is it failing to do anything at all?

alos, and this mas seem strange, but what was the weather like?

My roomate has an e39 530i and he had some electrical problems that only acted up when it was wet and rainy out. Turned out to be fuses and alternator related. if you have a battery and electrical place nearby, try having htem diagnose your various electrical components. Could have been what you thought was a bad battery was in act a failing alternator.

Siouxperman · 02-17-2011, 03:41 AM

did all that young except for the turning off of the radio and headlights were on auto. Alternator is practially brand new. I have had problems with the final stage unit, went bad about a month after i got it and replacement lasted another month before it went. dunno if that could be in anyway related.

danzee · 02-17-2011, 09:01 AM

The best way to solve this is to methodically step-by-step track down what is pulling the excessive current starting at the battery terminals. This means checking for excessive current in each connection/wire as they branch out. Some parts may be done by measuring, others by disconnecting. Much easier with a schematic (Bently manual has them).
A "shotgun" approach is rarely successful without a lot of pain and expense, but you might try checking some of the relays as was suggested earlier. It's quick and easy and might bear fruit.

If you feel are not equipped and/or skilled enough to do it yourself, move the car to a Competent auto tech and tell him you want the source of the current draw traced - No parts swapping or experimentation.