330e F30 will not crank

[jojackson4]

Gents this is doing my head in
Swapped starter motor as original was throwing a time out error but worked fine
And cranked the engine perfectly

Swapped for a new starter put it all back together and it will not turn over all I get is the symptoms of a flat battery clicking and a small amount of turn on the engine
Battery is good also had jump leads on it
Directly to the battery no change
Then done the jump leads to the starter and earth strap no change

I’m at a loss with it 3 bolts and 2 wires
How hard can it be

Anyone got any ideas

[E30M3SE]

Refit the old starter and see if it starts.

[jojackson4]

Old one has the same symptoms now

[E-bmw]

There is one of 2 things at play here.

The battery IS flat.

The starter isn't wired in properly to allow sufficient current to reach it when starting.

1. What is the actual battery voltage EXACTLY?

2. Does the voltage drop when you turn the starter on?

3. PROPERLY check all high-power connections at engine/battery/starter.

[jojackson4]

Voltage is 14.2v
All conductors are clean and tight the car started and drove onto the ramps new starter motor fitted and the problem started so refitted the old one and it’s the same

[Hoofy]

If it's anything like a modern pain in the arse car then try swapping out the battery for a new one, code the battery to the car and see what happens.

[danb79]

Re-code the battery to the car; and then re-register it - that covers both bases

But also check that the terminals are corrosion free; same with the earth straps

[jojackson4]

Battery code has been taken out of the problem I think as I have ran jump leads directly from the battery to the starter and ground strap and it made no difference

[E-bmw]

jojackson4 said:

Voltage is 14.2v

No it isn't.

Either your meter is reading wrong or your battery is goosed.

[E-bmw]

jojackson4 said:

Battery code has been taken out of the problem I think as I have ran jump leads directly from the battery to the starter and ground strap and it made no difference

But you are still using the same battery.

[s p a c e m a n]

You ran jump leads directly from the battery to the starter and jumped the solenoid or tried to start the car from inside?

If you jumped the solenoid and it didn't do anything then the battery or started is dead, if you did it from inside then the car is broke.

[jojackson4]

E-bmw said:

jojackson4 said:

Battery code has been taken out of the problem I think as I have ran jump leads directly from the battery to the starter and ground strap and it made no difference

But you are still using the same battery.

Yes the same battery that started the car fine 35min before this happened also the battery is 12 months old genuine BMW item
Yes I know they can go tits up but not in 35mins
Also have tried with jump leads to a running car also makes no difference

[bigdom]

jojackson4 said:

Yes the same battery that started the car fine 35min before this happened also the battery is 12 months old genuine BMW item

It doesn't mean the battery is bad though. The other thing to review is the IBS lead, non geniune of those can throw lots of issues.

[danb79]

Voltages of the battery need to be c12.4v engine off / c14.4v engine running (when it's running)

What's the voltage of the battery at the battery first; and then what is it at the charging points in the engine bay?

As above; the IBS could be playing havoc here too, have you unplugged that?

What about earthing points, have they been checked for corrosion/seating properly etc?

[E-bmw]

jojackson4 said:

E-bmw said:

jojackson4 said:

Battery code has been taken out of the problem I think as I have ran jump leads directly from the battery to the starter and ground strap and it made no difference

But you are still using the same battery.

Yes the same battery that started the car fine 35min before this happened also the battery is 12 months old genuine BMW item
Yes I know they can go tits up but not in 35mins
Also have tried with jump leads to a running car also makes no difference

In that case as per earlier you made a mistake in wiring the original in then the same mistake while replacing the original or you broke/damaged/disturbed something in the original swap & it still isn't right.

Having said that you still can't have 14.2v on a battery with the engine not running, so I still have doubts that you have bottomed that side of it out.

My best advice.

Go through the "job" with a fine toothcomb, make sure every wire/terminal/eart is correct, tight & secure, then get another battery/car to try to jump it off straight onto the starter.

[jojackson4]

So after a lot of digging it looks like it’s gone into a fail safe mode as 2 protocols have become misaligned and need a BMW ODB program to sort it out I can get it to start by pushing the start button once then putting it into manual on the gearbox it will then start up
All this because the battery was disconnected to fit the new starter motor

This car really does pi££ me off


Thanks for all the replies gents

[E-bmw]

jojackson4 said:

So after a lot of digging it looks like it s gone into a fail safe mode as 2 protocols have become misaligned and need a BMW ODB program to sort it out I can get it to start by pushing the start button once then putting it into manual on the gearbox it will then start up
All this because the battery was disconnected to fit the new starter motor

This car really does pi££ me off


Thanks for all the replies gents

I must admit that my musings above were based on "old school" car electrical fault finding, rather than the possible interactions of ECUs etc.