[s2kadrenalin]

As some of you may recall back in about Feb or so my car was involved in a very very light fender bender with a concrete medium strip taking evasive maneuvers from being t-boned.

Fast forward to May 1st, the car goes in for its insurance repair through the insurance agency's choice of repairer, not mine.

I go on holidays for 3-4wks, drop the car off and come back. Car still isn't finalised, missing 1 wheel and a front lip. Few days pass. I go in on Thursday, car is ready for pick up car has its wheel on and a new front lip is re-ordered from Germany. I need the car back, but cant pick it up Thursday as they have broken the passenger seat, so they drive it back out the back for Friday pickup and agree to fix the seat (back didn't lock in - it just went from full forward to full recline). Car drives, runs everything else except the front lip, so I pay the $1k excess and agree to pick it up Friday arvo.

Friday arvo 4pm, car is out front, seat is fixed. Sweet all good. Get the keys. Drive out to my folks place in my dads car, pick up my dad and drive back to the insurance repairers shop where the car is. They close at 4pm, we get there about 4.30. Jump in the car, BAM. no start, steering wheel lock, no fuel etc. Powers of google tell me its merely a flat battery. Miraculously find a jump starter from a nearby workshop at 5.30pm on a Friday afternoon, connect it up to the battery in the boot. Car starts, yay - but it still has the steering wheel lock message, yet the steering wheel works. Drive it to the servo on fumes, fill it up without turning it off, and then drive 30 mins home and turn the car off. 30 mins drive the alternator should of recharged the battery. Restart the car all fine.

Next morning. Jump in the car, car starts all good drive into the Brisbane CBD to do some banking and park at the Treasury Casino underground carpark. Come back to the car in the very late afternoon. Bam dead. Has power, but steering wheel lock message on the screen and car won't turn over. More googling, pulling fuses, disconnecting the IBS connector near the battery, calling RACQ, paying $200 for the guy to come out - nothing. Mate has a mini jump starter pack try it for the hell of it, again nothing still dead.

So as I speak, the car is currently sitting inside Treasury Casino carpark on level 2, right at the down ramp, with a steering lock and can't be towed out because the carpark is too low for a flatbed tow truck...

So now I gotta get a RACQ ute back out, then it needs to be skull dragged about 10m back to fit 2 go-jacks under the wheels. It'll then need to be dragged out by tow rope by the racq ute, up and around corner and ramps with someone pushing it, dragged up onto the street, where a tow truck can then get a flat bed underneath it and take it back to the insurance agency repairer. For all I care they can unload it straight through their front fuckin' window.

Does anyone wanna buy a 500hp 335i? Will throw in $4k worth of 19" SSR Professors to sweeten the deal....

[Socket]

Beejebus what a run of bad luck mate... let us know how you get on

[woosh]

Might need an ECU reset and new BMW battery.

[Mayuri Krab]

Who's the insurance company?

[_ink]

sounds like a new batt is in order, or something is draining the batt which shouldn't be.

either way, isn't all that big a deal.. Perhaps get an annual RACQ membership? I have the equivalent for NSW (NRMA) and it's less than $200 per year for unlimited towing and call outs.

[DR-JEKL]

Most batteries these days need a strong charge o/nite if fully depleted via a decent 240V charger.

A 30 min trip wont fully charge a dead battery imo.

Most modern cars drain power from the battery if you dont drive them and BMW's definately fall into that category, especially in your scenario of having the car sit idle for a month or so, and who knows the repairer would have had the doors s open while working on it (interior lights on draining the battery) and you mentioned you were moving the seat back and forth all pulling power from a depleted battery...

I have my car setup so its on a battery tender when im not using it, and I can go a few months sometimes without driving it and it always fires up 1st go and the battery is almost 3 years old.

If you've had the car a few years and dont know how old the battery is, spend $2-300 on getting a new one to save you the hassle of going through something like this all over again

[MJ80.]

Agree with new battery, ecu, tune and adaptations reset. Thats a ridiculous run of luck, im considering an e46 m3 but am terrified of leaving the 335 because its been so trouble free...

[s2kadrenalin]

Originally Posted by Socket

Beejebus what a run of bad luck mate... let us know how you get on

The fun continues. After reading these replies at 4.12pm this arvo, I decide hey, fuck it, I'll fork out for a new battery, no biggie. So a trip to my local Super cheap Auto ensues - the same Super cheap Auto store I used to manage some 6 or so years ago... I got there at 4.32pm. They closed at 4.30pm.... I called them, supervisor lady comes to the door, says we're shut. I tell her I'm buying a $300 battery on EFTPOS and I'll be literally 3 minutes. She doesn't give a damn and shuts the door in my face..... Can't wait to post the story and details on DownshiftAus FB page - some 360K followers. That'll be up by tomorrow night....

Originally Posted by woosh

Might need an ECU reset and new BMW battery.

I had all my tools in my mates car so I made a trip back to the CBD with the intention of pulling the battery to take back home and charge. Get it out of the car, through the carpark, up the elevator out the main gaming floor lugging a car battery.... Security looked at me funny and I just said "I'm sure you've seen weirder things...?" He chuckles, nods his head and says "yeah" lol, and I walk out the door with the battery, lugging the damn thing about 1km as the casino carpark was closed to non members and I had to park elsewhere in the CBD..




Where can I reset the ECU? I've got a mate with a $20k scan tool (dealer) who's offered to lend it to me for a day or two to clear codes or whatever but that won't be until sometime this week.

Originally Posted by Mayuri Krab

Who's the insurance company?

Youi. Do not want.

Originally Posted by _ink

sounds like a new batt is in order, or something is draining the batt which shouldn't be.

either way, isn't all that big a deal.. Perhaps get an annual RACQ membership? I have the equivalent for NSW (NRMA) and it's less than $200 per year for unlimited towing and call outs.

Already a member. Home & contents etc.

Originally Posted by DR-JEKL

Most batteries these days need a strong charge o/nite if fully depleted via a decent 240V charger.

A 30 min trip wont fully charge a dead battery imo.

Most modern cars drain power from the battery if you dont drive them and BMW's definately fall into that category, especially in your scenario of having the car sit idle for a month or so, and who knows the repairer would have had the doors s open while working on it (interior lights on draining the battery) and you mentioned you were moving the seat back and forth all pulling power from a depleted battery...

I have my car setup so its on a battery tender when im not using it, and I can go a few months sometimes without driving it and it always fires up 1st go and the battery is almost 3 years old.

If you've had the car a few years and dont know how old the battery is, spend $2-300 on getting a new one to save you the hassle of going through something like this all over again

Had the intention of buying a new battery but got there 2 minutes too late.... Looks like a job for tomorrow. I did drive it another 30 minutes into the CBD as well...

Originally Posted by MJ80.

Agree with new battery, ecu, tune and adaptations reset. Thats a ridiculous run of luck, im considering an e46 m3 but am terrified of leaving the 335 because its been so trouble free...

I for one, don't think a fully charged battery will make any difference, as the lights, radio, etc all work, but I have a red steering lock light on the dash and the car doesn't even try to start up. Atleast on Friday when the battery was dead, it still clicked over (like a dead battery always does) and semi turned over..

It hasn't been my greatest week. First day back at work after a month day 1, get made redundant on day 2, see my car day 3, still not ready day 4, pick it up day 5 - doesn't start, day 6 its trapped in an underground carpark, and day 7 I have a battery sitting in my kitchen on a 12a charge.

[s2kadrenalin]

Originally Posted by MJ80.

Agree with new battery, ecu, tune and adaptations reset. Thats a ridiculous run of luck, im considering an e46 m3 but am terrified of leaving the 335 because its been so trouble free...

Why make the swap to an inferior product?

[MJ80.]

The 335 just hit 80k kms, its an attractive point to sell and it would free up a solid chunk of money because the m3 would be cheaper, im studying now and work part time not full time, so im entertaining the idea of being just as satisfied in a cheaper BMW.

[donR]

Maybe you might also need to reset the ELV counter on the steering lock particularly if they have been mucking about with it.

[DR-JEKL]

Damn dude doesn't sound like a great week, no wonder you're pi$$ed!

That's the thing with batteries it can be deceiving at times as you mentioned all the accessories (lights radio) work fine, but to actually crank the engine draws a heap of power from the battery all in one huge hit. The DME is most likely sensing that there isn't enough power hence why its not starting.

Do you have any specs of that battery, just noticed its not a bmw battery? If its not a bmw battery that's no big deal, but if the specs are different you have to code the car with autologic etc to suit the batteries different specs.

When the batteries have a weak charge they do all sorts of crazy shit, low oil warning, dsc errors and im sure the steering lock is another one of them also...

If you're going to buy a new battery, varta make the oem bmw batteries buy this:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/VARTA-E44...item3f4bd401f9

[Socket]

Adrenal PM me with the details of what type of work you are looking for I have a few contections and might be able to help you out if I can.

[Max555]

Just a thought out of left field. If you have comfort access and are used to starting the car without the fob, try inserting the fob to clear the steering lock.

[s2kadrenalin]

Originally Posted by DR-JEKL

Damn dude doesn't sound like a great week, no wonder you're pi$$ed!

That's the thing with batteries it can be deceiving at times as you mentioned all the accessories (lights radio) work fine, but to actually crank the engine draws a heap of power from the battery all in one huge hit. The DME is most likely sensing that there isn't enough power hence why its not starting.

Do you have any specs of that battery, just noticed its not a bmw battery? If its not a bmw battery that's no big deal, but if the specs are different you have to code the car with autologic etc to suit the batteries different specs.

When the batteries have a weak charge they do all sorts of crazy shit, low oil warning, dsc errors and im sure the steering lock is another one of them also...

If you're going to buy a new battery, varta make the oem bmw batteries buy this:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/VARTA-E44...item3f4bd401f9

Yeah I'm kind of just over it all to be honest. I bought this car with the specific intentions of not molesting it, and just driving it as an A-B / weekender. Just some wheels, fuel pump and E85, done. But its really frustrating me at the moment, on top of everything else thats happened this week, I didn't need this fiasco to deal with.

Its an E44 Supercharge battery 660cc. It must have already been coded etc because its been in the car since day the day I bought it 8 months ago.

Its funny, one of the googling topics I read, was basically me, exactly, trapped in an underground carpark where tow trucks cant go and all, but posted Feb 2012.

http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/sh...-on-07-E92-335

If you read / scroll through that link others have had similar issues, and the general consensus is to just fully charge the battery / give it a jump, but I have gone back to the casino tonight, with the fully charged battery, and this was the end result....



Same problem. No start. Didn't even try to turn over...

Originally Posted by Socket

Adrenal PM me with the details of what type of work you are looking for I have a few contections and might be able to help you out if I can.

Retail Operations Manager for Australia's largest organic food retailer.

[s2kadrenalin]

Originally Posted by Max555

Just a thought out of left field. If you have comfort access and are used to starting the car without the fob, try inserting the fob to clear the steering lock.

Tried that, no luck.

[7smurfs]

Damn that sucks.
Definitely sounds like a battery issue considering the car was most likely sitting for a long period of time without a start.

Unlike JDMs, the beemer needs a battery to be coded so my wild guess is when the battery died, the coding died with it hence the steering lock? Try re-coding the battery and then jump starting the car to see

[donR]

Did you check the date of manufacture of the battery? The month and year should be stamped on the top of terminals. As you probably know batteries don't like being deep cycled. If you've had it charged over night and still no go maybe it has dropped a cell. I'd say sitting in the repairer for that long probably didn't do it any favours. I have heard of the steering locks playing up with a weak battery also.

I would just roll the car back out of the bay (I think you can pull the gear cover off to release it into neutral if there is not power), jump start it again like you did the other day.

[NewHotness]

I had the same issue... except it was in my driveway. Steering lock light and no start.

I replaced the battery with a new one and no issue since. Hope you can sort it out soon, the car park ticket will cost more than the battery

[DR-JEKL]

Originally Posted by 7smurfs

Damn that sucks.
Definitely sounds like a battery issue considering the car was most likely sitting for a long period of time without a start.

Unlike JDMs, the beemer needs a battery to be coded so my wild guess is when the battery died, the coding died with it hence the steering lock? Try re-coding the battery and then jump starting the car to see

Recoding the battery wont really help him imo in the short term (get his car out of the underground parking lot) as all that registering a new battery is to tell it what rate for the alternator to charge the battery at. It's a weird system, from what i know as the battery ages and thus wears the alternator supplies additional charge. If you don't register a new battery, apparently the 'car' still thinks it has an old battery, thus it can overcharge the battery causing short term battery failure...

When you code the battery, all that you change is CCA and AH ratings by memory.

I also recall reading something about a low charge causing the steering lock mechanism to play up and not unlock...

As Don mentioned the battery should have a date of manufacture on it, if its older than 2013 look at buying that varta that i linked you in on (or try searching for a bosch dealer in your area for a bosch S5)

As Don mentioned it may have dropped a cell and whilst its showing its charged on the charger its not at full capacity.

[BEE35i]

how much you want for your wheels? pics?

[BEE35i]

Can trade for some 313s with brand new PSS9s