[WWWWW]

{NEWB}

Where is the ECU located? I can't find a source to locate the starter relay?
Is there a decent manual available? Something like a Bentley or OEM - not a chilton's. Are the CDs that I see on Ebay worth anything?

I'm loving my car however, hating the work right now. (she's just sitting in my garage till I can start her)
I've so many questions and I've read a lot of posts but, can't seem to find what I'm looking for.

Please excuse my ignorance -- I am new.

 

[ard]

{NEWB}

Where is the ECU located? I can't find a source to locate the starter relay?
Is there a decent manual available? Something like a Bentley or OEM - not a chilton's. Are the CDs that I see on Ebay worth anything?

I'm loving my car however, hating the work right now. (she's just sitting in my garage till I can start her)
I've so many questions and I've read a lot of posts but, can't seem to find what I'm looking for.

Please excuse my ignorance -- I am new.

Wow, quite a beginning. How is it you acquired an M5 that doesn't start? I cannot imagine taking on such a task unless I worked on them myself day in and day out. (Give me a Q45 and that'd be no problem.)

I suspect there are hundreds of things that would prevent starting. The service manual on the e39 is useful, (Bentleys) but not Mspecific. The CDs are also OK, but not as user friendly as the old paper manual (at least for me..)

A code reader is essential, I would think.

Good luck

A

PS Maybe describe what exactly it IS doing when you try to start it....

 

[WWWWW]

Wow, quite a beginning. How is it you acquired an M5 that doesn't start? I cannot imagine taking on such a task unless I worked on them myself day in and day out. (Give me a Q45 and that'd be no problem.)

A Q45? - Paleeeze! (lol) I'm new to the forum but not to my car. I picked her up last Feb and haven't had a problem. .. until this last weekend.

Symptom: clicking starter - won't turn over. Now, this is as of today. I've charged the battery and attempted a "jump". - no luck.
This started with the "clicking" on Sunday. Since, I wasn't even able to get that to happen.
Ok, so now I believe that it's a grounding issue and not the starter relay. (which I thought I had fried on Sunday)

Hence my new question; where the hell is the engine ground strap and/or the starter's connections?

Thanks in advance.

 

[ard]

A Q45? - Paleeeze! (lol) I'm new to the forum but not to my car. I picked her up last Feb and haven't had a problem. .. until this last weekend.

Symptom: clicking starter - won't turn over. Now, this is as of today. I've charged the battery and attempted a "jump". - no luck.
This started with the "clicking" on Sunday. Since, I wasn't even able to get that to happen.
Ok, so now I believe that it's a grounding issue and not the starter relay. (which I thought I had fried on Sunday)

Hence my new question; where the hell is the engine ground strap and/or the starter's connections?

Thanks in advance.

Agreed, the Q is not in the M5 league (but the old Q whupped up on the E34 M5s), but spend enough time under the hood of any car and you just know what to check... that's all I meant by that

I saw your 'new beast' post with the 'unknowns' and just assumed you were a new owner.

I'd look at the battery- maybe do a search here? Seems that sometimes jumping/charging might not impart enough umph...

A

A

 

[Beamer_usa]

Symptom: clicking starter - won't turn over. Now, this is as of today. I've charged the battery and attempted a "jump". - no luck.
This started with the "clicking" on Sunday. Since, I wasn't even able to get that to happen.
Ok, so now I believe that it's a grounding issue and not the starter relay. (which I thought I had fried on Sunday)

Hence my new question; where the hell is the engine ground strap and/or the starter's connections?

Thanks in advance.

I had the clicking starter problem, had to replace the battery $291 from the $tealer. Good Luck - keep us posted

 

[mottati]

i didn't see the year of your car, but i'd agree to try a battery. An oe battery can fail between 3 and 6 years, on the shorter side if the car is not a daily driver.
Mike

 

[jjc1843]

Battery. The BMW starter draws some significant power. A lot more than you would expect. Most other cars couldn't turn over my 6 cylinder 525i, let alone a beast. This is from experience.

Note: Do a search on battery--you can go the aftermarket route for significantly less $$$ than through a dealer.

Good Luck.

 

[M-Fünf]

Even if it is the battery, he mentioned that he jumped the car and it still didn't start...Shouldn't a jump start the car even if the battery is completely dead?

 

[BmwNut]

I dont know enough about the situation to diagnose it well enough, but some BMW's even if jumped will not start with a dead battery. My moms E34 needed a 3/4 ton diesel Dodge Ram to be connected to it before it would start. If the battery is more than 3 or 4 years old it would be wise to replace it even if that isnt the issue.
How many miles on the car again? The click click click noise usually denotes no power, whereas if it cranked and didnt fire I would say you have a fuel delivery issue.
I'm not sure where the grounding strap is on the car. My experiance with those is that the car will crank for a little, and then once the impedance in the strap goes up it stops cranking. That is assuming though that it is still attached, but it worn.
I would jack the car up and then look underneath to find the grounding strap, or call a local stealership and see if they can point you in the right direction.
:cheers:

 

[M-Fünf]

i didn't see the year of your car...
Mike

Mike, profile shows it as a 2000 Oxford Green, so the battery is OLD...

 

[WWWWW]

Mike, profile shows it as a 2000 Oxford Green, so the battery is OLD...

I can only believe that this is correct - after reading your posts, I'll just get a new battery. (the marker eye shows green however, they've lied before)
I'll post tomorrow. (if not, at least I have a battery for my mower :biggrin: )

thanks for your input!

 

[ard]

Chemically it is fully charged (hence the 'green eye'), but due to oxidation of the plates it's ability to deliver 'cold cranking amps' is nil.

When you use cables, the cables are not that capable of delivering a lot of amps: even heavy cables are usually just lightly clamped onto the battery posts- you've got 4 separate contact points to worry about (+ and - on both cars). Two people placing serious force on the clamps can help. Although the teeth on the clamps look serious, there isn't a lot of square inches of contact to allow current without arcing/heating/current limiting

Good luck-

A

 

[Beamer_usa]

Mike, profile shows it as a 2000 Oxford Green, so the battery is OLD...

Mine is a 2000 and I changed the battery back in January

 

[jhowton]

Symptom: clicking starter - won't turn over. Now, this is as of today. I've charged the battery and attempted a "jump". - no luck.
This started with the "clicking" on Sunday. Since, I wasn't even able to get that to happen.

I agree with everyone else that it's likely the battery, mine did exactly the same thing when it finally gave up the ghost and charging it didn't help.

I bought a new one from Batteries Plus for $130, it's exactly the same as the stock one I took out except for the stickers.

Regards

 

[Anita]

I'm not sure this will be of any use, but when my battery got drained, it took a lot of battery to get it going again--I had to get a jump from the tow truck's battery!!!

Here's the post: http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=42027&highlight=battery

Good luck!

And welcome to the board BTW. There are quite a few of us midwesterners hanging around the board (see jhowton above for example)

Anita

 

[hudson]

I can only believe that this is correct - after reading your posts, I'll just get a new battery. (the marker eye shows green however, they've lied before)
I'll post tomorrow. (if not, at least I have a battery for my mower :biggrin: )

thanks for your input!

W

A quick way to check your battery. Turn the ignition on to position No 2, then turn on the headlights. If they stay bright for 5 minutes or so the battery is probably OK. If not get a new battery.

Hope that helps

Joe

 

[ttboyvanc]

I had the same problem, the battery I had showed green, but when I put in a new battery, car started right away, no worries since... I think you need a big power source, and also good jumper cables that allow more current to get the beast going if the batt is completely dead. And even then, you will have start-up problems every now, so yeah, just get a new battery!

 

[Pip]

Re: Starting issues

Am I right in assuming that I should have 'heavy duty' jump cables in my boot/garage and that the 'normal' ones I currently have will melt/overheat?

If so can anyone reccommend where to get them from in the UK. Preferably not from the 'Stealership' .

Pip

 

[hudson]

Forget the jumper cables. Everyone should have a Booster Pac in his or her garage.

http://www.mytoolstore.com/clore/booster.html

I use the ES5000 for my shop and it works perfectly. No need to wait for help or another car. If the battery is completely dead the Booster Pac will still start the car and you can leave it hooked up as you drive. I haven't used my jumper cables for 5 years,

Joe

 

[icsfsedod]

I echo battery as well. My 99 328i battery failed and the tow truck couldn't even jump it. Install a new battery and she's started fine ever since.