E53 3.0 crank, no start and my wits end
 

Good day all. New to the community here, but was referred here by another very complimentary member. Generally speaking I’m pretty good mechanically, but this has me stumped. Here goes…
A few months back, my X5 began eating my battery over a few days if I didn’t drive it I would jump it and drive it just fine. Eventually, it would drain overnight. I replaced the battery, as the old one was diagnosed as bad by an auto parts store. Battery would drain quickly, if unused, usually over 3 days. I began the process of searching for a parasitic draw. Waited until the X5 would go to sleep. Saw the draw drop the way it was supposed to as the car went into sleep. Problem remained. Not long after began to get the 4x4 light with the arrow light on. Then the DSC light showed up. The battery draining the whole time. Charging, jumping. Car would run well when I jumped it. Ordered up a Foxwell with the BMW stuff on it. Pulled the codes, cleared the codes. Jumped the car the next morning, but it would only crank, no start. Pulled codes again. Got some immobilizer stuff, so I went into the live view. I worried the key had a transponder issue. Watched the the computer accept the key and release the starter, and seemingly allow the car to start. Still just crank, no start. Listened for an observed the fuel pump pressurize. Went to the fuel rail and pressed the little valve thing and fuel sprayed everywhere. This is where my lack of skill really shows itself. Used one of those light things that checks voltage(looks like a screwdriver). Checked the coil packs and they light up. I assume I had check for fuel and fire. Figured maybe I had purchased the incorrect battery type. It wasn't AGM. Purchased another battery, AGM this time. Battery went dead over a few days. At this point I can’t even think straight. Pulled fuses, never found a bad one. I’m out of ideas and resolve. I’m willing to do anything to get this thing going as I know it runs great and I love it. Please advise me on any ideas you may have. I read through some similar threads, but couldn’t see a solution in them. Forgive me if I’ve missed something obvious. As a stubborn guy, I wouldn’t be asking for help if I didn’t need it badly. Thank you in advance. I’m willing to go the INPA route if necessary. I just don’t have it is all.

The most common cause for the fast drain battery is the FSU on the blower for HVAC. When battery gets too low too long the EWS is the main culprit of crank no start. Lots of the systems on e53 are controlled on the ground side not sure if injector is one of those but, I still would suspect two things: the EWS needs to be re-sync which of you have 5xx foxwell it should be able to do that or FPR; when wife's FPR o-ring failed not only would I get splurts of gas it also would read 50 psi but it took about 12 attempts of 10-15 seconds of cranking to get it to start after it sat a few days. Hard start cured completely after FPR replaced (turns out the 30¢ o-ring all it really needed but the car was old enough I felt fine replacing the filter/FPR).

You can verify spark with some starting fluid shot into the intake if you can find a vacuum line downstream of the MAF. I've read it's not good to spray into the MAF. I've run n62 motor for 20-30 seconds on a capful of lacquer thinner in the intake. Spark no fuel the engine will run on either of those. No ignition from starting fluid no spark that's the ECU on purpose not sending spark.

Thank you Andrew so much for the direction. I’ll start with the final stage replacement tomorrow, then the EWS sync. What is the FPR?

Which foxwell do you have? Almost certainly the EWS (immobilizer) has lost the rolling code from the DME during a low battery situation and is not allowing the car to start. You should be able to resynchronize with the foxwell.

Welcome.

FPR is Fuel Pressure regulator...I believe it is part of the fuel filter on the E53.

I happen to think all your issues stem from the parasitic drain that I don't think you have properly diagnosed and solved.. I am working on one myself at moment.

These cars really don't like low voltage and it leads to all sorts of warnings and strange behavior.

Using a multimeter set on the 10amp setting on the negative battery cable, you need to see amperage in sleep mode at 50 milliamps or less (= 0.050 amps). It is not enough to watch amperage drop when it goes to sleep mode. This is summary of the testing process..search on it...

You then need to test fuses measuring millivolts (not milliamps) to try and determine which circuit is causing the problem. There are several good videos on this...It may be your FSU, radio, any aftermarket electrical component, or something else.

Hopefully, A fully charged battery, fixing the parasitic drain and an EWS re-synch willl solve this.. But honestly, after that I think I would find a good non-dealer BMW specialist and let him/her fix it.

If I were faced with your concerns I would include....a check on that alternator .

+1. Some e53s don’t have FPRs (mine is a 2002 and has the smaller filter without one), but most have a larger filter with the FPR sitting on the output end. I believe it can be bought separately.

Low batteries can cause all sorts of seemingly unrelated issues.

Make sure the car goes to sleep…16 min is advertised time for all systems to power down. Bridge the negative at the battery, or just upstream where it goes to the chassis by the fuseable link block behind the left rear seat. Best case is you secure the meter leads, position the meter where you can read it thru a window and shut and lock the car. Hack your watch and wait. The amps may drop off in a couple increments as systems go to sleep, but at 16-ish min you should see the meter drop to .05. Mine fluctuated between .04 and .06. If it doesn’t then you need to pull a likely culprit fuse and do the whole thing again…and rinse/repeat as many times as necessary until you find the draw.

Like already said and if the DME code is "EWS tampering" it's a typical case of lost rolling code sync between EWS and DME. This will prevent fuel injection. And can be easily rectified with proper diagnostics.

I have the Foxwell 5302, I’ve ordered the Final Stage to replace, and then I’ll hook it all back up and see where to go with the syncing. I have no aftermarket parts on this X so that should help me in my diagnosis on the parasitic aspect. I’ll also look into the FPR on this ‘06 as well.

I performed this process right off the bat, hooked up the meter and it sat at 75 for the first 15 minutes and then dropped in the low 40’s and fluctuated very little in the high 40’s. I would open a door and watch it wake up as well. I’ll run it again to make sure