[NAIL3]

Hello everyone, Went to get in my car this morning and there was zero electrical power. The key was also having trouble coming out of the ignition. There has been a clicking noise coming from the fuse box since I bought the car (about 4 months ago) and the headlights and taillights stay on when i pull the key out of the ignition (not sure if this has anything to do with the no power).

Did an ISTA D diag a couple weeks back and had some CAS faults and some other modules were faulty including the FRM and DSC.

Is it possible that its an alternator or maybe a bad B+ cable? Any help would be much appreciated!

[NZE90]

Fault codes?

[gbalthrop]

Originally Posted by NAIL3

... zero electrical power. The key was also having trouble coming out of the ignition. There has been a clicking noise coming from the fuse box since I bought the car (about 4 months ago) and the headlights and taillights stay on when i pull the key out of the ignition... ISTA D diag... some CAS faults...

If you have ISTA-D or ISTA+, need to provide CAS Fault Codes as starting point. We will then need to View Live Data & finally 'ISTA Test Plan'.

Of course BEFORE you can do any of that, you need to get CAS to activate KL15 Ignition Relay & KL30G Accessory Relay. There are TWO fuses that supply power to the CAS Module. Which ones & WHERE located depend upon the build date (Mo/Yr) of your 328i E90:
1) F4 (5A) & F51 (50A) if built BEFORE 9/1/2007 (earlier than 2008 model);
2) F36 & F55 if 2008 or later model.

Please check those two fuses. If you need help, locating fuses or if that is NOT causing the issue, please provide following:
1) Last-7 Characters of your VIN;
2) Does Remote Key Snap into Insert Compartment, or are "Locking Tabs" broken (key withdraws without forward press "click").
3) Do Interior lights work when driver door opened?
4) What is Battery Voltage measured at Jumpstart Terminals under hood?
5) Do you have a multimeter available?
George

[NAIL3]

Originally Posted by gbalthrop

If you have ISTA-D or ISTA+, need to provide CAS Fault Codes as starting point. We will then need to View Live Data & finally 'ISTA Test Plan'.

Of course BEFORE you can do any of that, you need to get CAS to activate KL15 Ignition Relay & KL30G Accessory Relay. There are TWO fuses that supply power to the CAS Module. Which ones & WHERE located depend upon the build date (Mo/Yr) of your 328i E90:
1) F4 (5A) & F51 (50A) if built BEFORE 9/1/2007 (earlier than 2008 model);
2) F36 & F55 if 2008 or later model.

Please check those two fuses. If you need help, locating fuses or if that is NOT causing the issue, please provide following:
1) Last-7 Characters of your VIN;
2) Does Remote Key Snap into Insert Compartment, or are "Locking Tabs" broken (key withdraws without forward press "click").
3) Do Interior lights work when driver door opened?
4) What is Battery Voltage measured at Jumpstart Terminals under hood?
5) Do you have a multimeter available?
George

So I was able to jump the car last night, I adjusted the seating on the negative terminal and I was able to get power and turn it over.


The symptoms such as clicking from the fuse box are still happening as described previously and and the lights (Headlight/Taillights/Interior lights) still stay on after turning the car off. I did replace the 30g relay recently but the symptoms still persist. I will be measuring the Battery Voltage and will check the fuses for the CAS later tonight when I get home.


The Negative cable seemed to be seated properly to the negative terminal before I adjusted it which leads me to believe something is wrong with the cable or a fuse somewhere.


PS: I'm new here so if there is any problems with post structuring I apologize.
Thank you

[Joe_in_WLA]

Did you rule out starter motor? Symptoms are similar, i.e. dead car

Has it always started up strong, quickly or have there been a few slow chugs before firing up?

[NAIL3]

Originally Posted by Joe_in_WLA

Did you rule out starter motor? Symptoms are similar, i.e. dead car

Has it always started up strong, quickly or have there been a few slow chugs before firing up?

Its never really struggled starting, there is definitely an electrical problem however. Got the alternator tested at Autozone yesterday, the taillights and headlights were still on when I took the key out of the ignition and when they tested it they couldn't get a reading whether the alternator was bad or not because the tester thought that the car was still turned over.

It's really hard to pin down what exactly is causing this to happen but it seems like it could be a problem with the alternator, the CAS, or the Junc box. Not sur if these are all related but here are some of the codes and service plans I pulled from ISTA a few weeks ago. I can rescan if anyone needs more info and is willing to helping me figure this out.

[ncanganelli]

I had the same. exact. issue with my 330i and it was a starter. It was difficult to get to and time consuming, but worked like a charm. You may or may not need a new battery as well with it draining completely like that; it may not charge anymore