X5 immobilized/crank but won't start/low battery voltage/stranded after cold temps

[xmac]

2001 X5 4.4 with 103,000 miles

Posting this after a bad experience and being stranded in really cold weather in Yosemite. Sorry for the long post, but I hope it helps someone else in a similar situation.

Situation:

Drove family out to Yosemite with fluids changed (oil, coolant, <32degree windshield washer fluid), snow/ice tires, everything checked out before the drive. Arrived fine, checked into cabin. Overnight, it was ~15-17deg F outside with ice/snow. I locked the car and got the standard beep.

First sign of problem:

Went out in the next morning to get something out of the car and the key remote did not unlock the car. I then manually unlocked the drivers door lock. I went to crank the car and it would turn over but not start.

First ATTEMPT to fix - JUMP START:
I figured it was a low battery so I called the cabin maintenance folks over for a jump start (thanks to the Redwoods in Yosemite crew). I put the jump start cables on, allowed the battery to charge for a while, then I tried to start it but again just cranking, but not even an inkling of starting. They called another guy with a DVM (volt meter) and we tested all fuses in the glove box and passenger rear compartment - ALL GOOD. We pulled the white cover off of the positive red cable terminal block (in the spare tire well, mounted vertically) - ALL CONNECTIONS GOOD. I pulled the engine acoustic cover off and pushed the Schrader (bicycle type) valve on the fuel rail and no fuel squirted out. I immediately started thinking the fuel pumps died or had a problem. We pulled the back seat off where the fuel pumps are and all cables looked OK. But no power seemed to go to them when I cranked and the maintenance guy tested. After several attempts to crank with no luck, I thanked the crew and they took off. Battery voltage was 11.4V, so I thought maybe the battery was at too low a voltage to fire up the computers.

[With 1/2 a bar of cell phone coverage, I searched for posts on Xoutpost for "cranks but won't start" posts and found people who noted snow or cold temps and the X5 not starting the next morning, getting towed into the dealer, getting a new battery and all was good. I thought OK must be the battery ]

Second Attempt - Warm the battery up:
I decided to pull the battery and bring it into the cabin and warm it up since daytime temps were still in the 30's. I kept it in the cabin overnight where it was a warm 70 degrees. The next morning, I installed the battery and tried to start the car but it seemed weak and didn't start.

Third attempt - BATTERY CHARGE:

I pulled the battery out and took it over to the only gas station in the area. For $30, they charged the battery and did a load test after a couple of hours of charging. (Forgot to ask them to measure the voltage while I was there) I hand carried the battery 2 miles, put it in, started to tighten the negative post and with very little torque, snapped the stupid special wedge bolt that tightens the cable onto the post. ARGHHHHH!!! I was able to squeeze the clamp with pliers and snug it onto the post as best I could. I then tried to start the beast but once again, strong cranking but no start. I then remembered the onboard hidden menus, so once again searched xoutpost and found the method to enable it, pulled up the test 9 (voltage) and had 11.8 volts display on the dashboard. I locked and unlocked the car several times in case somehow the alarm system was being weird, tried to start and NO START. I opened up the coolant expansion tank thinking I may have goofed the 50/50 mix and cracked the block. It was fine but with the key in position 2, I noticed the auxiliary water pump was not running. (If you follow the proper air bubble burping procedure when changing coolant, you run the aux pump until bubbles go away) It was odd but then I didn't know at that point what was going on.

At that point, we call roadside assistance, setup a tow truck. USAA would only tow to the nearest town (16miles), Oakhurst. I then setup a uhaul truck and car hauler.

[I searched for immobilized, EWS, alarm and found posts and sort of convinced myself the X5 was immobilized but we only took one key]


Fourth Attempt - Jump Start :

When the double cab flatbed arrived, we tried to jump start again with 13.4V displaying, it still cranked very strongly but would not start, still no fuel on the fuel rail. We loaded the X5 and headed out. On the way down the mountain, I negotiated a good price to drive us all the way to Silicon Valley.

Fifth attempt ARRIVED HOME:

We arrived, unloaded into the garage and the driver took off. I immediately went and grabbed my second master key, locked the car, unlocked the car, and then went to start but only moved to position 2 to check battery voltage. The hidden test 9 showed 11.6V - surely it won't start. I then popped the hood and opened the coolant reservoir - water was squirting from the auxiliary pump. I decided not to check the fuel rail since I was in the garage. I went back, cranked it and START!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I pulled it out of the garage, let it idle, turned it off and locked the car. I pulled out the key that had not worked, unlocked and went to start it - START!!!!!!! I had just paid a huge chunk of money getting towed home only to have a second master key start the car. I drove it around the block and parked back in the garage. I then drove in another car to buy a 2 gauge negative battery cable with a STANDARD battery post clamp and bolt.


The next day, I checked test #9 again and found 11.8V. I then changed the negative cable with a 30 inch from the local auto parts store. After doing some research, I found that full charge should be in the 12.4-12.8V range. I pulled the battery covers and noticed that the 4 outer cells of 6 had much lower acid levels the the 2 center-most. I added distilled water to the 4 cells until the level reached the top cover plastic in each well. (the same as the two center ones) My wife drove the car to run errands, and when she returned, I tested the battery leads in the engine compartment - 12.2V, after the car went to sleep (no orange dot glowing in the transmission shift knob P position), 12.3-12.4V. The low electrolyte was likely the cause of all these problems.

_________________________

I hope this story helps someone if ever in a similar situation. Here are things I learned:


* With a low battery on a cold morning, the EWS system thinks someone is trying to disconnect the battery to disable the alarm and will completely lock the car out. I believe if I had charged up the battery and had a second master key, this problem would have been resolved.

* Take multiple keys on road trips, including the valet key (Even the valet key is registered in order for Valet's to start the car)

* Setup premium roadside assistance on an out of warranty car like AAA which would have covered all costs, including hotel, one-day rental car, tow 200 miles...

* If your car will crank but won't start after a cold spell, open up the coolant expansion cap with the key at position 2, if no flow, you may be immobilized, if you are comfortable with it (at your own risk), push on the fuel rail valve to see if you get a burst of gasoline. BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL AND DON'T DO IT WITH A HOT ENGINE!! If no burst, you are likely immobilized.

* If it can be avoided, don't lock/arm your car if parking overnight in extreme cold

* CHECK YOUR BATTERY ACID/ELECTROLYTE LEVEL AT LEAST ONCE PER YEAR AND TOP OFF WITH PURE DISTILLED WATER OR ELECTROLYTE AND CHECK THE LEVEL BEFORE A LONG ROAD TRIP


I want to give a huge thanks to Bill from Merced Performance Towing - good people.