2005 X5 4.8 NO start ONLY CRANK

[Amendez92]

my 4.8 wont start it will crank just fine..Replaced the battery assuming it was weak still no luck..Bought a new Fuel pump relay still no luck...The only time it will kind of start but quickly die out is when I remove the fuse pump fuse #47 in the glove box and keep my foot on the accelerator. I read somewhere to do that if it is ''flooded''. Wondering what other things I can try before i give up..Thanks ahead of time for any advice..

[Freestyler]

Start by figuring out if the problem is fuel- or ignition related.

Turn the engine over. Then take out one of the spark plugs and visually check if it is wet or dry.
If wet, then your problem is with the ignition. And if dry, your problem is fuel related.

If it's fuel related, the first thing i would check, is the fuel pump.

[Amendez92]

Originally Posted by Freestyler

Start by figuring out if the problem is fuel- or ignition related.

Turn the engine over. Then take out one of the spark plugs and visually check if it is wet or dry.
If wet, then your problem is with the ignition. And if dry, your problem is fuel related.

If it's fuel related, the first thing i would check, is the fuel pump.

Pulled out one of the spark plugs. Looked a little wet not sure how wet it's supposed to be. They seemed to have some oil built up on them and dark towards the tip. I know its hard to judge from pictures but any advice is good advice at this point. I just bought the thing 2 weeks ago..

[Freestyler]

Originally Posted by Amendez92

Looked a little wet not sure how wet it's supposed to be. They seemed to have some oil built up on them and dark towards the tip.

Yes it's actually hard to see if the 'wetness' is unburnt fuel, or a oily carbon build-up.
If you have no spark/ignition at all, i would expect it to be a lot more wet from unburnt fuel.

If possible, put the spark plug back in the coil/lead socket and place it so the threads on the spark plug touches the engine block -and so that you will be able to see it from within the cabin when you turn the engine over.

Do you see a spark in the spark plug gap when turning the engine over?

[upallnight]

Check for spark, no spark means the ews is not acknowledging the code from the transponder chip in the key.

[Amendez92]

Originally Posted by upallnight

Check for spark, no spark means the ews is not acknowledging the code from the transponder chip in the key.

Not sure what you mean by check for spark? .. It cranks fine I heard somewhere that if the key was the issue it would not crank at all?,Thanks

[upallnight]

To check for sparks you will have to remove one of the coil pack from a sparkplug, connect a spare sparkplug to the coil pack, make sure the body of the spark plug is connected to ground or a metal part on the engine, have someone crank the engine. You should see a spark from the sparkplug.

You replace the fuel pump relay, but did you check to see if the fuel pump is working?

You can remove the gas cap, have some one turn the key to the start position and listen for the hum of the fuel pump spinning. The fuel pump will only spin for a couple of seconds and if the engine doesn't start it will shut down.

How much gas is in the tank? If it reads less than half you could have a bad transfer pump and the side that the pump is located in could be empty.

[Amendez92]

Originally Posted by upallnight

To check for sparks you will have to remove one of the coil pack from a sparkplug, connect a spare sparkplug to the coil pack, make sure the body of the spark plug is connected to ground or a metal part on the engine, have someone crank the engine. You should see a spark from the sparkplug.

You replace the fuel pump relay, but did you check to see if the fuel pump is working?

You can remove the gas cap, have some one turn the key to the start position and listen for the hum of the fuel pump spinning. The fuel pump will only spin for a couple of seconds and if the engine doesn't start it will shut down.

How much gas is in the tank? If it reads less than half you could have a bad transfer pump and the side that the pump is located in could be empty.

Thanks again will try again, now that you mention it she does show less than half a tank I will add some gas and see if that helps..

[Amendez92]

Originally Posted by upallnight

To check for sparks you will have to remove one of the coil pack from a sparkplug, connect a spare sparkplug to the coil pack, make sure the body of the spark plug is connected to ground or a metal part on the engine, have someone crank the engine. You should see a spark from the sparkplug.

You replace the fuel pump relay, but did you check to see if the fuel pump is working?

You can remove the gas cap, have some one turn the key to the start position and listen for the hum of the fuel pump spinning. The fuel pump will only spin for a couple of seconds and if the engine doesn't start it will shut down.

How much gas is in the tank? If it reads less than half you could have a bad transfer pump and the side that the pump is located in could be empty.

Added some gas to it and start it up after a few tries..Thanks alot what does this mean the level unit is bad? or should I just try to have more then half a tank at all times.? ..Again thank you very much :thum bup:

[upallnight]

Originally Posted by Amendez92

Added some gas to it and start it up after a few tries..Thanks alot what does this mean the level unit is bad? or should I just try to have more then half a tank at all times.? ..Again thank you very much :thum bup:

Unless you replace the transfer pump, you must keep the tank above half empty in order not to have this problem. Running the fuel pump when there is no gas on that side of the tank will eventually wear out the fuel pump.