[RiseEarly]

A hello from chilly CO.

I'm the second owner of an 06' 325xi for the last 2 years. It's not used much by us but has seen more mileage lately since I relocated my Mother to CO due to health reasons.

The car experienced about four days of slow cranks in the morning/afternoon. Then it happened. Key in, push start, lights on the dash come up, radio, heat/ac, click in the engine compartment, attempted jump with pack and other vehicle made no difference, towed home.

Tested battery, 60% full, 12.9 V. Charged battery, no change in start behavior. Battery is 18mos to 2yrs old, coded and registered to vehicle after I got it.

Checked ground strap on engine, looks clean, no corrosion, am going to disconnect, wire brush and reconnect today, but not optimistic.

Found this troubleshooting masterpiece by gbalthrop (George) from a 2001 post and followed it to the letter.

I. No Crank Tests:
When Press Start Button with Foot on Brake/Clutch, Starter does NOT Crank/Turn Engine;

1) Open door and sit in Driver Seat, Close Door; Light by “P” on AT Gear Display should be Lit; unlocking car or opening door wakes car out of “Sleep Mode”; TRUE
2) Insert Remote Key in Insert Compartment; Radio should play, Radio Panel lights up; Terminal R Activated by CAS; TRUE
3) Check that Brake Lights light when Brake Pedal is pressed; tests that Brake lights are powered by Terminal R, AND that Brake Light Switch functions, sending signal to CAS & FRM; TRUE
4) WITHOUT pressing Brake/Clutch, press & release START Button: Instrument Cluster should light; ALL lights and accessories (windows, A/C, etc.) should operate; CAS has activated Terminal 30g “Accessory” Relay (large black relay on R of JB Fuse Panel), & Terminal 15 Ignition Relay (soldered to JB circuit board); TRUE
5) Press Brake Pedal and move AT Shift Lever out of Park to R & N; Gear display on Lower Instrument Cluster (as well as Gear Display light by lever) indicates BUS signal received; TRUE
6) Press Brake or Clutch and then press START button; if Starter does NOT crank engine, get helper; open hood & listen over Left Fender/Wing, at rear of Intake Manifold, for “CLICK” of Starter Solenoid as Helper presses START button with foot on Brake/Clutch; NOTE sound(s); TRUE, just under intake manifold

From INPA (Including all but just seeking to get the car running this week (hostorically, cleared errors, changed fluids, replaced an outdoor air and rain sensor a year ago. Simply put, it has been the year from hell for us so I kept kicking the can on some of these as they appeared)

MRS:
93c3 (just appeared in the last 45 days, understand it is a passenger seat sensor error?)

DME:
Some of these appeared in the last few months. Think some are 02 sensors with exhaust and do affect performance
2c9c
2c9d
2c9e
2c9f
2e97

CAS:
A0B4 - sounds like this means there was a failure to start
A110 - ?

VGSG:
54c6 - transfer cases mileage ticker, did change transfer case and fluid on both diffs

DSC:
c998
5ed2
5f1c
94bb
5eba

FZD:
A670 - fogging sensor missing

MOSTGW:
E18C

FRM: (I suspect the trunk brake light cable is broken, neither light works, also know on of the headlight motors is not working)
9cbd
9cc1
9cd1

I just want to rule out all possibilities aside from the starter. I'm happy to change the starter but don't want to change it and still get only a click, so checking here. Thank you!

[gbalthrop]

Originally Posted by RiseEarly

... 06' 325xi... Key in, push start, lights on the dash come up, radio, heat/ac, click in the engine compartment,
attempted jump with pack and other vehicle made no difference, towed home. Tested battery, 60% full, 12.9 V. Charged
battery, no change in start behavior.

From INPA (Including all but just seeking to get the car running this week [Codes addressed below]...

I just want to rule out all possibilities aside from the starter. I'm happy to change the starter but don't want to change it
and still get only a click, so checking here. Thank you!

CAS Code A0B4 means NO engine RPM (per Crank Sensor Signal) when START button pressed. If that is ONLY CAS "A0Bx"
Fault Code, then KL50 Signal Voltage is being sent by CAS to activate Starter Solenoid. If you have INPA, you can confirm that:
INPA > CAS > F5 Status > F2 Analog > F1 Diagnose Terminal Status
See attached INPA ScreenPrint from my 3/2007 328xi with Starter Cranking & KL50 Voltage ~ 10V (due to voltage drop).

You have ALL the symptoms of a bad Starter: Click at Starter Solenoid when START button pressed, previous slow crank.
If you want to make absolutely SURE before replacing Starter, there are other things you COULD do to confirm:
Open E-Box. Confirm KL50 Voltage at X6011/3, Black Wire, when START pressed. Check for any corrosion or pin/socket
damage at X6011/3 & X60551/2, where White wire goes to Starter Solenoid. If you disconnect "Upstream" side of wiring to
CAS, you can try to "Activate" the Starter by applying 12V directly to the White wire at X60551/2 that goes to Solenoid.
CAUTION: Make SURE Transmission is in Park/Neutral & Parking Brake Set.
This Over-rides Safety Switches.

The first 4 DME Faults listed are each of the O2 Sensor heaters. The sensors are probably OK. Your Breather Heater has
probably shorted out & blown Fuse F04, located in E-box. There is a Recall, 22V-119 (in 2022) for Breather Heater Fuse
wired in separately. Lack of O2 Heater will affect running for several minutes after cold start. "2E97" is a non-specific fault
in Generator/Alternator. I would suggest testing System Voltage with engine running, with Multimeter at Jumpstart Terminals.
Get Starter working first, then check F04 (or do that while in E-box), and then let us know about other Fault Codes.
Since you have INPA, you can properly diagnose ALL of those without spending a lot of time/money.

Please let us know what you find.
George

[RiseEarly]

George,

Thanks for your input once again. I'll do the last check you suggested but will go ahead and put in a order for starter. I also went ahead and cleaned the contacts for the engine ground and am going to search and find the 2nd ground I've read about. Regards, Garth

[gbalthrop]

Originally Posted by RiseEarly

... I also went ahead and cleaned the contacts for the engine ground and am going to search and find the 2nd ground I've read about. Regards, Garth

Hi Garth,
The "2nd engine ground" is actually correctly called an "Interference Suppression Band". It is attached from the Chassis to the Engine on the Right Side of the engine, under the VVT Actuator. That is basically to prevent coil interference with Audio System, and is so small that it would quickly burn out if the Main Ground Strap at the Starter Motor were NOT conducting electricity back to Battery via Chassis.
https://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-E91-32...h/suppression/

You can quickly test your Engine Ground Strap by attaching a single Jumper Cable from the Chassis Ground Hexpin on the right wing/fender to a good Bolt, Nut or Bracket on the Engine. If the Starter NOW cranks faster than it did, the ground strap is suspect.

The A0B4 CAS Code, No other CAS A0Bx codes, slow cranking before NO Crank, & Click from Starter Solenoid when START button pressed, all suggest the starter is bad. I'm old, slow & thorough (pedantic ;-), so I test "stuff" any way I can think of.

Please let us know what you find. We can help with other codes once it Cranks.
George

[RiseEarly]

Thanks! Parts are arriving today, will swap it out this weekend.