Need help w x5 not starting
 

Hi everyone. Hope you can help again. I left my 2001 x5 3.0 sit for about 4 weeks. When I tried to start it, it seens to almost start but doesn't turn over. The interior and exterior lights are bright. All electrical systems seem fine. I thought battery, so I replaced with new and still same problem. No mods to car except AFE CAI. Any thoughts?

Same thing has happened to mine. Parked it 3 days ago, when the wife attempted to start it yesterday all she got was bright lights and no engine start. I wonder wether its the imobliser as everything else seems to be working. Any thoughts guys?

regards

starter/alternator??????

Your key could be dead...If the key isn't being used for a prolonged period of time the car will not start. All the lights will come on but no engine start...Put the key in and turn it to the on position (position with all the electrical on) leave it in there like that for about 30 minutes. It might charge the key up.. Then try to start the engine. If it does start, drive the car around for awhile to try to get that key charged up longer.

If she is cranking but not starting it could also be the ignition switch. Especially if she does it sometimes but not all the time.

Got mine checked again and it appears to be the battery. Car was jumped started by RAC, checked the battery amperege when car was running and it was fine. They then checked amperege when car was off and current had dropped down to 8v. Its appears one of the cells is dead. Getting replacement battery

regards.

Hi everyone. Just an update. My indi suggested I floor the gas pedal and try to start the car and after 10 to 15 secs the car started up. It was rough at first but settled down afterwards. Just a hint if your car been sitting for awhile. Thanks for your ideas.

vnlecom,
Hard to diagnose that stuff by mail, but I would still suspect the
battery, esp. if it is orig., or has a few years on it. There are
some anecdotal postings of Xs that sit for weeks and start right
up, but many of us run a trickle charger for long sits, and most of
us have replaced an oem batt after 5 or 6 years, and some of
the older Xs are on their third.

Many batts., at near dead, will still give some lights for a few mins.
GL,mD

So, it was fuel starved. Hmm, gotta remember that. Thanks for the update. Well at least, you won't have to worry about a new battery for this Winter! :D

Wow. thats crazy..I guess I'll remember that. Are there any negatives to doing this? (Flooring it before starting the car I mean) it can't be good for the car...

motordave,
my thought exactly at the time when the car first didn't start. I bought a replacement from AA Auto (SAMS club has one that fits too). Still didn't start. I recharged the original BMW battery (it was replaced in 2006). Still wouldn't start. This is now about 6 weeks. Then I tried the pedal trick and it worked. Go figure.

nice tip. it pays to come here...

vnlecom,
Good tip and I believe you...
though I have never had a fuel starve prob. and my
'01 regularly sits for several month. I admit it does
run a touch rough for several seconds, maybe close
to a half a min., when I do a "wake up" start after
4-5 months of it sitting. I use a trickle charger, so
firing is fine, but it runs roughly for a min...next time
I'm gonna floor the sumbitch before I crank it. Thanks.
mD

I have a similar problem, I have 2 keys, one that's been used regularly and starts the car great, but have the other that opens all doors and turns in the ignition but doesn't start the car, what could be happenning to it?

Not true. You should be able to start the car even with the plastic key that doesn't have a battery.

My 2003 X5 will start up fine if I drive it every day, but if I let it sit 3 days without driving it, it will need a jump. I'm the 2nd owner and apparently this happened to the first owner too. Does this sound like a problem with the battery? The battery has been replaced once (about 2 years ago), and two years seems awfully short life-span for a battery.

It sounds like something is draining your battery. Maybe the dreaded FSR (final stage resistor) that every x5 seems to be plagued with at some point.

Uh...yeah..have you tried it? Let me know how it turns out...:confused:

then what is the use for that key? btw: I have a valet key that doesn't have a chip and a battery and I can always start the car with it.

youry...the use of the plastic wallet key is to open the door in case you lock your self out, with the actual keys still locked inside the car.

the valet key has a chip, just no battery, I think it gets power from the ignition to be able to disable the immobilizer

You might be right but I asked once a guy from Greenwich BMW if I can start the car with the plastic key and he confirmed that I can do it. Maybe he was wrong.

Yeah..I'd say that guy has no clue what he's talking about..Kinda scary he actually works at a dealer...

Thats correct...

Hey, I searched this forum for FSR and it sounds like I have that problem even though my mechanic told me it was just a dead battery and nothing wrong with the charging/electrical system. What's the best way to definitively determine if that's the problem? What's the typical symptoms?

I read something about the blower turning on after turning off the engine -- is that normal? Sorry for new n00b questions, but I haven't really worked on cars since taking auto shop in high school back in the early 90s.

After you stop and turn off the car, listen for a very soft blowing noise coming from the console. It is NOT the fan in the engine compartment which continues to run for some time after turning off the car. This is normal. The sound you're looking for is very subtle inside the cabin.

I heard it doesn`t open the glove compartment, in case you leave the car with a valet parking and you have important documents inside the glove compartment (passport, etc), so they won`t be taken out of the car.

I had been having similar issues with my '05' not starting if it was left for more than a few days. It was particularly apparent on cold days when the overnight temp had dropped to about 5 deg C.

After a lot of mucking about by one dealer who tried to identify whether it was the battery or something else, accused me of playing with the wiring - which I hadn't - and could not find the fault, I took it to a second dealer who kept the car for a few days to try various things.

It then turned out to be the problem was neither the battery, electronics or diesel engine pre-heaters but the actual starter motor. It was drawing too much current which caused other issues due to the voltage drop on all the systems and very slow/poor starting. They changed the starter motor itself and I've not had any troubles since.