E60 Discussion Anything and everything to do with the E60 5 Series. All are welcome!
Sponsored by:
Sponsored by:

Completely Dead Car

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old 02-13-2019, 09:06 AM
  #1  
srj
New Members
Thread Starter
 
srj's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2019
Location: DC
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
My Ride: E60 530i
Default Completely Dead Car

Hey Everyone,

New to the forum but not new to more problems with my car! This one was an odd one, I woke up to my car completely dead yesterday. I had to manually insert the key to open the door. When I tried to start it, nothing happened. There was no crank, no electronics turned on, the light that shows what gear the car is in was gone. From what I can remember, I could not hear a humming sound coming from the fuel pump. So I decided to call AAA and get the car jumped and it started up just fine. The guy said the voltage was low on the battery and that we need to change it. It has been exactly 4 years with this battery and it hasn't shown any sign of needing to be replaced. Another odd thing was that I could not open any of the other doors besides the driver door from the inside, so I kept climbing over the other side to check to see if any fuses where gone.

If anyone has any suggestions as to what the problem is I would happy to hear that, based on my googling it is the starter. The car started up this morning with no problem.

Thank You!
Old 02-13-2019, 11:15 AM
  #2  
New Members
 
audiophool's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Chestermere AB
Posts: 757
Received 13 Likes on 13 Posts
My Ride: 535xi
Model Year: 2008
Default

Your battery was completely dead (below 10v). Charge it up then have it tested at a parts place - most offer free battery testing. If it fails, you need a new one. The starter motor isn't your problem. How cold was it when it died?
Old 02-13-2019, 12:00 PM
  #3  
Senior Members
 
NoQuarter's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Indiana, USA
Posts: 1,380
Likes: 0
Received 3 Likes on 3 Posts
My Ride: 2007 530xi: Sport, NAV, PDC, HUD, Cold Wthr, CA, Logic 7, HD Radio, SAT, Custom NCS coded options 2008 535xi: Sport, Night Vision, NAV, PDC, HUD, Cold Wthr, CA, Logic 7, SAT, Custom NCS coded options, Rear Seat Heat Retrofit, Passport 9500ci
Model Year: 2008
Engine: N54
Default

agreed. you think it is not the battery but 90% chance it is.
Old 02-13-2019, 02:55 PM
  #4  
Members
Senior Members
 
KyleB's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Tampa Bay, FL
Posts: 2,539
Likes: 0
Received 10 Likes on 6 Posts
My Ride: 530i
Model Year: 2004
Engine: M54
Default

1. car completely dead
2. AAA jump starts car
3. after jump start, car runs normally

you need a battery.
Old 02-13-2019, 05:23 PM
  #5  
New Members
 
Valhalla519's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2019
Location: Canada
Posts: 80
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
My Ride: 525I
Model Year: 2009
Engine: N52
Default

Battery
Old 02-13-2019, 08:34 PM
  #6  
New Members
 
FormerE30Owner's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Montreal Quebec Canada
Posts: 571
Received 10 Likes on 10 Posts
My Ride: 2005 545i, premium package, 6sp manual, cold package, navigation package.
Model Year: 2005
Engine: N62
Default

[QUOTE=srj;1598940

If anyone has any suggestions as to what the problem is I would happy to hear that, based on my googling it is the starter. The car started up this morning with no problem.

Thank You![/QUOTE]
Your problem is the battery. It won't be long before the car doesn't start again. You say that you had no signs that the battery was going bad, but actually the door lock problem was the first sign. Also, 4 years on a battery is about average, especially for the E60s.
Old 02-14-2019, 04:23 AM
  #7  
New Members
 
tttomttt's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2018
Location: Melbourne Beach FL
Posts: 29
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
My Ride: 2005 530i
Model Year: 05
Engine: m54
Default

As somebody mentioned take the battery to an auto parts store or even Walmart. They will not only check the battery they will charge it for free if it is in fact low at the time. After charging they will recheck the battery with a load tester to confirm whether the fault is the battery or something else. This is the first thing you must do. Every other troubleshooting will be based on the battery test.
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
frankfurt
Bluetooth & Cell Phone Forum
2
02-16-2019 09:21 PM
sandy83
E60 Discussion
3
04-01-2014 08:52 AM
skipper
E60 Discussion
18
12-31-2013 02:03 AM
petertn
E60 Discussion
9
09-25-2011 02:21 PM
e60insd
E60, E61 Parts, Accessories and Mods
16
07-29-2008 09:07 AM



Quick Reply: Completely Dead Car



All times are GMT -8. The time now is 03:56 PM.