Starter motor? EWS? What else?

[turquise1]

Hey guys,

After a successful valleypan gasket replacement, now I have other problems with my X5 2001 4.4 (at 190k miles).

Basically, I turn the key and no crank as all the lights inside are on and the battery measures good. This happened to me a couple of times before and interestingly from one of them i could recover by getting a jumper (I thought the battery didn't have enough power). Right now, nothing seems to help. I tried to jump start and still no crank.

I first blamed the Immobilizer and checked all the fuses in there and tried to start the car with another key which did not help either.

So, now I am thinking its the starter motor and it kind of makes sense because it was never changed before.

So, my question is, is there a way to test this? Where is located exactly? I have been reading that it is right by the transmission but I have seen different opinions to get to it either from the top by taking the intake out or from the bottom. Which way is the best? I did not see a DIY for this for a 4.4. Do you guys have any links?

Thanks for all the help in advance..

Ozzie

2001 X5 4.4 'Bluey'

[upallnight]

You can always jump the starter solenoid to determine if it is the EWS or starter or starter solenoid. If the engine turns over with jumping the starter solenoid that eliminates the starter and starter solenoid as the problem. Could be the EWS is not sending a 12 volt signal to the starter solenoid to engage the starter. Could also be a break in the line to the starter solenoid. This was the case when I owned an Audi A6.