[ZLuxuryLife]

Good morning,


I recently moved to Everett, WA, and the entire PNW seven weeks ago.

I am the owner of a 2007 Monaco Blue 328i E93 6SPD Convertible.

I had to replace my car's battery within a few days of arriving here, but I was
not able to register the battery to my car, as I do not have my own handheld.

'I was given misinformation; if the new battery is the same or similar to the
one I was replacing, that the battery registration may not be necessary to do.'
(I now understand (after reading many more forums) registration is required.)

The car was able to operate and drive just fine for these last few weeks, so I
had no reason to believe otherwise. The car did not throw any codes about it.

Fast forward to last week, Wednesday, September 8th. I drove the car around
town in the evening, making three stops, which lasted about 5 minutes each.

At the third stop, I reentered the car and attempted to start it. The car made
a very brief sound, as though the starter was attempting to start the car, but
the sound stopped after just two quick clicks, and the car did not start at all.

Another BMW owner witnessed this, and our initial theory was that my battery
had died. He offered to go to his house to pick up jumper cables (he was in a
heavy duty truck, not his BMW at the time) and we attempted to jump the car.

No luck...
However, the car does have full power. All is operational, except starting...

I do not know any shops in town, but have used Dealership-Alternative shops
in the past in the last few cities I have lived for all of my maintenance needs.
I simply have not been in town long enough to get around and figure this out.

I have searched this topic in these forums and come across a few shops quite
a distance from me. I am currently living in Everett (near Silver Lake) and do
not usually mind travelling most distances to get to a reputable/reliable shop,
but with the current status of my car, I am just trying to find a closer location.
Once it is up and running again, I will be willing to drive far for the right shop.

The shops I've found in these forums, so far, are in or East of Bellevue area.
It is not the end of the world, at 20+ miles away; a closer shop is preferred.

I do have a AAA Emergency Roadside Assistance Membership, so towing my
car to a shop, when I find one, is not the issue which I am currently facing.

The biggest issue is the cost of parts, plus the additional cost of labor to fix.

I am looking for a shop that will allow me to source my own parts, if I am able
to find it/them at a more affordable price. (Not all shops allow this; Some do.)

I have been out of work as a result of the pandemic, since March 2020.
I was living in Las Vegas, NV, which is a city that is struggling to come back
to its original self, hence my relocation to Seattle and the Pacific North West.

As a result, finances are very tight at the moment. The cost of my move was
within my budget, plus a bit more for establishing myself here until I am able
to obtain employment, but emergency funds are already very low/in the red.

I am asking if there is anyone in the PNW BMW Community who would be able
and willing to help me diagnose the issue; specifically use of an OBD Adapter
to at least register my battery, but also potentially help diagnose the problem.

I want an OBD Adapter of my own (I hear Carly BMW is a good product), but
at the moment, the cost of this & other adapters is a bit out of financial reach.
I need to save what I have for the purchase of parts and potential cost of labor.

I am absolutely open to the idea of repairing the car myself, if it is possible to
be done, but my options are currently limited, as my tool inventory is limited.

Through other conversations I have had about this, the current theory is that
my starter needs repair or replacement. As a fourteen (14) year old car, with
just over 105,000 miles, the timing fits for the starter to need replacement.

Hopefully, it is understandable that I am simply trying to get my car back on the
road as soon as possible, to assist me in getting to interviews for my job search!

Thank you for taking the time to read my detailed post.
I appreciate any and all thoughts or ideas you may have.


Thank you in advance!

- ZZZ

[DaanBMW]

Everything you describe is what I've been thru.

1. A new battery is not requiring a registration for this car vintage. I replaced mine with a same kind from dealer 6 yrs ago, no reg needed.

2. Can you hear the starter turning the engine over? Likely not, not a whirl. If your battery is ok and it sounds like it is, the starter is it. Get a Bosch kit from FCP like I did 3 yrs ago, if it fails ever again they replace it for free (and it will fail, it's a shitty little starter like due to packaging issues): https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...-kit-sr0492nkt

Forgot: have INPA, it's useless as the car while it has all sorts of things being monitored has no idea when the starter fails. So no codes to be had.

[iCashmoney]

For whatever reason if you haven't been able to resolve the issue, check the ground strap between the motor and body (should be connected under the engine bay from body rail to motor mount area). It seems to be common for these braided cables to corrode and break apart. I've seen this no start, no crank issue twice so far and it was the ground strap both times on my e90 335 and a friends X3.

An easier way to check also, take a set of jumper cables and connect one end to body and one to a metal area on the motor. See if it starts then. That is how i had to get my e90 back one day as it decided to break 30 minutes from home.

If you have solved the issue, I'd be curious to know what the solution was.