Jeff Bergman

Hey folks. I'm having a new problem. I just replaced my battery not too long ago with a Bosch battery with 850 cold cranking amps. Battery should be good???

Here's my issue. Occasionally, randomly, the car just won't start. All accessories work, but car won't turn over. If I'm patient, eventually it will start and when it does, it starts strong. It seems like there's some kind of intermittent problem, like a short.

It happened tonite. I tried connecting a "jump starter" to the car and it didn't start. I disconnected it, waited about 5 minutes, then the car started and started strong.

Anybody have this issue?? Could it be programming?? A relay?? etc....

Kind of frustrating. I don't trust the car now. I'm trying to avoid the dealer butttt....

Thanks folks.

frchdragon

I would suggest that you check the battery voltage and then your starter. Could be that the solenoid is getting weak.
Not sure if you can access it but try tapping on the starter (long piece of wood) while someone is trying to start the car). If it works then chances are that the starter is the issue.

That or anything that could prevent starting such as the neutral switch, alarm, ignition switch...

Jeff Bergman

Thanks frchdragon. I found a bunch of threads about an IVM which seems to be common. I posted on another thread for some more info, but it sounds like that could be it. What people have described is exactly what I have been experiencing. I'm hoping to find a good video on it but no luck yet.

frchdragon

Seems like this could be it:
https://5series.net/forums/e60-discu...-137742/page2/

IVM or why my engine runs sluggish??? N62 applies to ALL cars with it. E53/e65/e60/e63/e64/e66 | BMW Logic7 site

Might want to check the board to see if you can see any damage.

Jeff Bergman

Thanks frchdragon. After reading about so many similar situations like mine, I decided to go to the stealership and buy a new IVM. ($140) w/tax. Seems like many people paid less but that's the best they would do. I figured I would give it a shot. It was quite easy to replace. I work slowly and I was done in 30 minutes. Since it was an intermittent problem, I just have to wait and see. Kind of frustrating not knowing if I'm going to get stuck again. Oh, and just my luck, the idiot that I am. I set the old one down next to the new one. The old one wasn't dirty and looked EXACTLY like the new one. I lost track of which one was which. What a knucklehead. So if it doesn't work, I'll try the other one. LOL.

star69me

Wow I was having the same issues as you and the first thing my indy shop said was ivm module and sure enough problems solved..

2007 550i non sport model
Jet black

Jeff Bergman

Thanks everyone for the feedback. Since it's an intermittent problem, it's a "wait and see" game. Hopefully this will take care of it. I'm tired of getting stuck out and about.

bimmerZ

Jeff, the exact same thing happened to my 08 550i as well. I got stuck in front of a client's house. Luckily it started after several minutes of trying. After lots of forum reading, I replaced the IVM and haven't had an issue since. Hope that fixes your issue as well!

Jeff Bergman

BimmerZ. Thanks for adding your feedback. My confidence is growing. I've been driving the car for 2 days now and so far so good, but I don't want to jinx it LOL.

I am still not positive if I re-installed the new module, or the old one since they looked exactly the same. The only difference I noticed were some light scratches on the electrical contacts on one of them which I assumed was from making contact with the connectors. I hope I'm right.

Thanks again for your feedback. We apparently have the same car. Aside from these little issues, I absolutely love the car.

bimmerZ

Jeff, I would say that the scratches on the terminal would be a good indicator of the old part. I know from when I changed mine they looked almost identical since there is very little "wear" externally on a module like that.

It seems as though we do have the same car. I love my 550 as well! What a fun car to drive and its still looking sharp after the years of use. I am having a very frustrating issue with my instrument cluster (located on another thread) but other than that, it has been a great vehicle.