Member
So someone threw a mattress at my car tonight. Took out the Hood, bumper, and headlight. But now it will not start. The motor turns over but the car will not start. I'm going to play with it tomorrow to see if I can get it running or at least get more info on what happening and was hoping someone out there might have some ideas on what's to look for. No airbags so I didn't think the front impact sensor was triggered but don't know what else would have done it.
Any advice would be appreciated.
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Is Enabled
BMW Tech Expert
Fuses and wiring, check those first.
-Abel
- E36 328is ~210-220whp: Lots of Mods.
- 2000 Z3: Many Mods.
- 2003 VW Jetta TDI Manual 47-50mpg
- 1999 S52 Estoril M Coupe
- 2014 328d Wagon, self-tuned, 270hp/430ft-lbs
- 2019 M2 Competition, self-tuned, 504whp
- 2016 Mini Cooper S
Apprentice w/#yrs. exp.
Perform a diagnostic scan, may shed some clues.
Check for fuel pressure at fuel rail.
Remove sparkplug and check for spark.
Check airbox and MAF sensor, may have been damaged.
Ralph
When you say someone threw a mattress at your car and it took out the Hood, bumper, and headlight, do you mean on the highway at speed while you were driving, or out of a building several stories up? I'm having trouble seeing a mattress do all that if a guy walking down the street just threw a mattress at it while he was walking by.
Member
I only have a standard OBD2 scanner. Will that preform a diagnostic scan or do I have to get a BMW scanner for under the hood?Originally Posted by MIKYZZ4
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Member
The car in front of me ran it over and it was thrown up, it hit the front of my hood right at the grill and bent the hood and broke the grill, it broke the headlight mounting tabs and then hit the ground, grabbed into the bumper and folded it under the car and got jammed in the radiator poking a hole in the condenser.
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Apprentice w/#yrs. exp.
Scan with whatever you have available.
Member
D*mn road mattresses...I keep saying something has to be done about folks sleeping on the highway. Yet another example.
In all seriousness--I am sorry to hear about your trouble, and I'm glad you weren't hurt. That's a crappy situation. It sounds as though bodywork is needed in addition to sorting the--surely insurance will cover this? Spark issues, aside, is it legal/advisable to drive in its current state?
Member
Does anyone know if it has a fuel shut off switch?
Headlights are a little messed up but other then that it can be driven if I can get it to start. I'm on my way home now to find out
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Is Enabled
BMW Tech Expert
No, but if you don't have power to the ecu, then there won't be fuel/spark either.
There is a small fuse pack in the ecu box as well.
-Abel
- E36 328is ~210-220whp: Lots of Mods.
- 2000 Z3: Many Mods.
- 2003 VW Jetta TDI Manual 47-50mpg
- 1999 S52 Estoril M Coupe
- 2014 328d Wagon, self-tuned, 270hp/430ft-lbs
- 2019 M2 Competition, self-tuned, 504whp
- 2016 Mini Cooper S
Member
So I have fuel but no spark. Scanned it with a standard OBD2 reader and got nothing. Reset the computer and got nothing, unhooked the battery and nothing changed. All the fuses in the left panel under the hood are good. I'm going to keep looking for more.
Where is the ECU so I can check those fuses?
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Member
Fund the ECU, but no fuses with it
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Apprentice w/#yrs. exp.
Take it to a shop.
A reputable, BMW specialist shop.
Member
It's going through my insurance so it has to go to there shop first. I was hoping to be able to get it running so I can still drive it until we get all this figured out.
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Member
Disconnecting the battery does not, never did, and will never, ever reset the car's DME.
If you're going to file an insurance claim for the bodywork damage, and the car's engine fails to start as a result of the same incident, let a professional take care of it.
With the proper diagnostic software, the offending module/circuit should become instantly recognizable, rather than probing around, and undoing things that may only make things harder to figure out later.
[/.02's worth]
Member
Well my agent already wants to total it so if I can get it running I don't have to file a claim if they're going to total it and just fix it myself. But I am old school cars and bikes. I'm still working on learning computers.
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Apprentice w/#yrs. exp.
Driving a damaged vehicle without a thorough inspection, leads to more collateral damage.
Quit driving the car until it's repaired and a real mechanic tells you it is safe to drive.
Is Enabled
BMW Tech Expert
You're not trying hard enough. When you remove the ECU box cover (near passenger side windshield cowling) you will see the ecu, and some wiring, and a small little black box, containing some very important fuses.
Looks like this one circled in blue... but this is on a 5 series. Same thing.
You need to check those fuses.
Don't break that little box.
(someone's borrowed picture, not mine)
If not, take it to a BMW specialist, don't let a good car go to waste.
- - - Updated - - -
If they are not burned... check them with a multimeter to see if you have +12V there.
If they are burned, you will have to find out which one and where the short it.
-Abel
- E36 328is ~210-220whp: Lots of Mods.
- 2000 Z3: Many Mods.
- 2003 VW Jetta TDI Manual 47-50mpg
- 1999 S52 Estoril M Coupe
- 2014 328d Wagon, self-tuned, 270hp/430ft-lbs
- 2019 M2 Competition, self-tuned, 504whp
- 2016 Mini Cooper S
Member
I will check those as soon as I get the car back. I didn't realize those were fuses I thought they were empty plugs for something else!
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Member
So I brought the car to a shop and they said they can't find any reason that that the car should not run and are trying to say that it is the aftermarket alarm. I went in and disconnected the alarm from the ignition (the only interruption was the start wire). I still do not have spark. I am sitting in the parking lot working on it now. I have gone through the fuses in the box under the hood on the driver side and the ones in the ECU box, switched all the relays in the fuse box and am running out of ideas.
The shop is buds Benz and they are a certified BMW, merc, and mini shop they said that the car is throwing code 056 38 which is he said was high ignition current residence which should be fixed now that I removed the alarm relay from the system and should not interfere with the ignition of the car. I'm up for any ideas so I can get this thing back on the road.
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Member
The only wires I have not identified yet are the purple/white, brown/orange, blue/green, red/yellow, the red and the yellow both look to be aftermarket installs and the red is constant hot and I don't know what the yellow does.
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Member
I also do not get a rpm reading when I turn the motor over on the tach or my scanner.
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Grumpy
BMW CCA Member
Certified in what? By whom? You have an ignition resistor feedback code (important stuff here) and they told it was the alarm?
/.randy
Grumpy
BMW CCA Member
Pull the coil cover and make sure all three ground wires are hooked up. Two braided straps from a coil to a center stud. Then a brown wire from the harness to a center stud. Also check the grounds on the front and rear of the right strut tower for clean and tight.
/.randy
Member
I will go check the grounds in a few minutes. They are certified by the manufactures
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