2001 E53 3.0i No Crank no Start.

[j_lopez]

Hello good people of Xoutpost, I am new here and this is just my second post. My X5 has decided to die on me on a very cold morning (-30C ) the day before the demise of my X5 all is looking good and dandy, I even filled her up to the brink of the fuel tank. The car started good but with a bit of grinding, I suppose from the starter not retracting fast enough due to the cold, ( I also might need to mention that the week before that the temperature went up so there was loads of moisture everywhere like i mean in the roads just thawed all together and i suppose water went everywhere too in the car) Okay here is the chronological events that happened and what i did to trouble shoot it (Unsuccessfully)

1. Keyed in and tried to start- All the lights went on but a bit faint, but i tried anyway, as far as i remember there were no crank and the system just dried up (the battery ad lights started to go)

2. Called a friend with a 2001 mazda 3- Tried to jump with an alligator jump lead, (I followed the manual and did it correctly from the engine bay)- No crank - No Start!

3. Thinking that the battery might be the culprit i took it out and thawed it with a battery warmer and charged it the same time. After overnight of thawing and charging- Battery charger reads 100% and the battery is actually a bit warm to the feel.

4. Went back to the X5 now facing two problems, - Feck! without the battery, it is difficult to pop the rear door. good thing I realized that when you put the battery from the jump terminal it will power everything, so were good. Installed the battery and 3X checked every thing but still no crank although all lights are on and bright, even the day time driving lights are bright!

5. Called my indie mechanic and thawed the thing to his garage,

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Indie mech diagnosis

1. Starter motor bad- Told him to check the fuses on the engine bay, in particular the Integrated power supply ( Not sure if the 3.0 has this BTW)

2. Indie checked back and said it is not the starter as they had energized the started and it was ruled out.

3. Indie is now saying it is in the steering column, somewhere in between the steering column and the starter the power wont go through.

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My friends I need your help in reviving my X5 as I miss it so much I cant even eat my favorite corn flakes in the morning. any ideas on what could this be?

Follow up question and note

Q- is this the ews?

Note-

I am confident it is not the key battery as I was able to get in the car using the key's unlock (remotely)

I am leaning to conclude that it is a fuse somewhere- but I already checked all the fuse in the glove box and the ones at the compartment bay at the back.

Q- is there any other fuse box that I can check to rule out the fuse theory
Q- Should it be a steering column that is needed does it need programing from the stealership?

Thanks and hope you guys can help me out of my misery

[g300d]

Neutral safety switch?

Try shifting from park to neutral than start?

Just a wild guess, hope you get it sorted

[j_lopez]

Hi I tried that, and Still no crank no start, thanks for the input though

[upallnight]

Should bring it in get it scanned. If you have a bad EWS the scan will let you know. Could be the antenna pickup for the key chip is bad.

If you have another key try the other key.

[Jungerishere]

Could be ignition switch. Try cleaning the contacts. DIY link below...

But as mentioned above, try different key first.

Ignition-Switch-Rebuild-DIY

[upallnight]

Your indy can check the signal wire to the starter solenoid. If it doesn't have 12 volt when you turn the key to the start position than that is the reason why the starter is not turning.

There are many reasons why there is no 12 volt to the starter solenoid. On my Audi the signal wire had a break in it so I just located the break in the wire and spliced a new wire from the break to the solenoid.

[srmmmm]

Do you have a second key that you can try? I have the same problem with my wife's E46. My key will lock and open the car, turn the ignition switch cylinder, but will not energize the ignition or starter.

2002 X5 3.0 269,600 miles
2004 325i 117,700 miles

[LeiZ]

Let many other people already said, try the 2nd key first, and get back to us. If the coil in the key goes bad, the ignition switch won't send signal to starter motor, because the system is thinking the key is a cut-out duplicate, not with the chip.

If the starter is good, it's either key or ignition switch. Otherwise, it should at least crank. Oh wait, what if the crankshaft (NOT camshaft) positioning sensor goes bad in the cold temperature? Can you hook up a OBDII reader and check if there's any code throwing up?

[j_lopez]

Hi guys thns for the help! Iam i doomed now? Coz i only have one key? Any other route to verify it is not the key?

[Jungerishere]

Originally Posted by j_lopez

Hi guys thns for the help! Iam i doomed now? Coz i only have one key? Any other route to verify it is not the key?

Turn the key to position 2 for 30 seconds (without starting) then try starting. Heard from several sources that this method will start the car if having sync issues with the key. Worth a try...