Results 1 to 23 of 23

Thread: Remove Negative Battery cable, no crank

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2015
    Location
    Akron, Ohio
    Posts
    31
    My Cars
    2000 Z3 2.8L

    Remove Negative Battery cable, no crank

    I removed my negative battery cable for 5 minutes and now my Z3 won't crank. Do I need to have the battery registered every time the battery is disconnected?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2017
    Location
    NW Indiana
    Posts
    190
    My Cars
    2000 BMW Z3 M Roadster
    No you don’t. I removed mine for the winter, hooked it up when ready to move it out of storage, and cranked right up. Just had to input the radio code.

    Are you sure you hooked the wires up correctly? Any other electrical things work?

    Greg
    Tally Ho


    http://wcwebs.net/johnson
    1988 O'Day 322 sailboat - (unlimited mpg)

    2000 BMW Z3 M Roadster (25 mpg - but who cares)

    2019 Subaru Outback
    (30+ MPG)

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jun 2015
    Location
    Akron, Ohio
    Posts
    31
    My Cars
    2000 Z3 2.8L
    A month ago my Z3 wouldn't crank. All of the electrical components work (radio, headlights, brake lights, top open/close, etc..) except for the power windows. I had the battery and starter replaced last week as the repair shop told me the starter was bad and was shorting out the windows. The car started fine since the repair but today I removed the negative battery cable for 5 minutes and now the car is displaying the same non-crank symptoms as before.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    1,847
    My Cars
    1998 Z3 1.9 5 speed
    Quote Originally Posted by sruchris View Post
    I had the battery and starter replaced last week as the repair shop told me the starter was bad and was shorting out the windows.
    I'd be looking at the negative cable and where it attaches to the body - make sure it's firmly attached to the body and the battery post.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2015
    Location
    Akron, Ohio
    Posts
    31
    My Cars
    2000 Z3 2.8L
    Quote Originally Posted by BladeRunner919 View Post
    I'd be looking at the negative cable and where it attaches to the body - make sure it's firmly attached to the body and the battery post.
    Is there any way a bad key transponder or bad ring antenna would cause the power windows from working?

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Arida Zona
    Posts
    30,107
    My Cars
    z3
    Even if you disconnected the battery cable, the battery can still drain. What voltage is the battery at? What happens when you try to start it, any lights at all, does it crank without starting or...?

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    1,847
    My Cars
    1998 Z3 1.9 5 speed
    Quote Originally Posted by sruchris View Post
    Is there any way a bad key transponder or bad ring antenna would cause the power windows from working?
    No.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jun 2015
    Location
    Akron, Ohio
    Posts
    31
    My Cars
    2000 Z3 2.8L
    Quote Originally Posted by BimmerBreaker View Post
    Even if you disconnected the battery cable, the battery can still drain. What voltage is the battery at? What happens when you try to start it, any lights at all, does it crank without starting or...?
    I'll check the battery voltage tonight. All of the electronics work except for the power windows; the headlights remain bright. When I try to start it, it doesn't crank. I hear a humming noise which I guess is the fuel pump. I'm not hearing any clicking. When I turn the key back to OFF to remove it, the oil and brake light faintly illuminate until I cycle the key again to ON and back to OFF.

    Last week I towed it my local BMW dealer and they replaced the starter and battery. It started and the power windows worked. They said the starter was bad and was shorting out the power windows.

    I drove it every other day since getting it back last week. Yesterday I removed the negative battery cable for 5 minutes, reconnected it and the car started immediately. I shut off the car and tried starting it 10 minutes later. Same symptoms as before; no crank, no power windows, wonky lights on dash after trying to start.

    I called the dealer and explained the problem. They are stumped. I'm stumped too.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Fort Worth, TX
    Posts
    3,892
    My Cars
    E36M3/E46M3/E39M5/E63M6
    No clicking means no power to relay/starter, or bad starter. Check fuses?
    E36/8 2000 M Coupe Cosmos Black/Black
    Shark, Conforti CAI, B&B Exhaust, H&R, Bilstein, AKG Subframe/Diff, UUC TME Red/Caps, Swapped Front Hats, Ice>Link.
    ================================================== =======================

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jun 2015
    Location
    Akron, Ohio
    Posts
    31
    My Cars
    2000 Z3 2.8L
    Quote Originally Posted by TexaZ3 View Post
    No clicking means no power to relay/starter, or bad starter. Check fuses?
    It's a brand new BMW starter. I checked every fuse I could find with a multi meter. Every one tested good. I did not test any relays.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Jun 2015
    Location
    Akron, Ohio
    Posts
    31
    My Cars
    2000 Z3 2.8L
    The voltage on the battery reads 12.29 volts.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    Mesa, Arizona
    Posts
    976
    My Cars
    2000 Z3 M-Roadster
    The voltage is a little low, but a load test will be a better indicator of the state of your battery. Take it to your local auto parts store so they can perform a load test and can advise on the next steps.
    Tony
    "You can't sign away negligence."

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Jun 2015
    Location
    Akron, Ohio
    Posts
    31
    My Cars
    2000 Z3 2.8L
    Quote Originally Posted by ProductUser View Post
    The voltage is a little low, but a load test will be a better indicator of the state of your battery. Take it to your local auto parts store so they can perform a load test and can advise on the next steps.
    I just swapped batteries with another car. This battery is good and the voltage reads 12.48. The Z3 displayed the same no-crank symptoms and the other car with the new Z3 battery started right up. I don't think it's the battery.
    Last edited by sruchris; 09-11-2018 at 07:55 PM.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Jun 2015
    Location
    Akron, Ohio
    Posts
    31
    My Cars
    2000 Z3 2.8L
    Here's a video of my problem. Any help would be appreciated.


  15. #15
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    Kansas
    Posts
    2,353
    My Cars
    2000 m roadster 2010 x3
    I'm beginning to wonder if your original starter was bad or not. I cant see how a "bad one" would in any way have a effect on your windows only

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Location
    Houston, TX
    Posts
    12,459
    My Cars
    36 Cylinders
    You need a good scan of the whole car with BMW diag, for starters.

    There is definitely a short somewhere, and it could be a faulty module, or even ignition switch failure.
    -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

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Jun 2015
    Location
    Akron, Ohio
    Posts
    31
    My Cars
    2000 Z3 2.8L
    Quote Originally Posted by z3forlife View Post
    I'm beginning to wonder if your original starter was bad or not. I cant see how a "bad one" would in any way have a effect on your windows only
    You and me both.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Quote Originally Posted by 328 Power 04 View Post
    You need a good scan of the whole car with BMW diag, for starters.

    There is definitely a short somewhere, and it could be a faulty module, or even ignition switch failure.
    Thanks. Before taking it to the dealership I replaced the ignition switch and nothing changed.

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Location
    Houston, TX
    Posts
    12,459
    My Cars
    36 Cylinders
    Looking for any codes in the EWS module, as well as if your clutch switch works correctly. This is where finding out what the modules are thinking is beneficial, among things.
    -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

  19. #19
    Join Date
    May 2015
    Location
    Maryland
    Posts
    189
    My Cars
    1998 M Roadster
    Quote Originally Posted by z3forlife View Post
    I'm beginning to wonder if your original starter was bad or not. I cant see how a "bad one" would in any way have a effect on your windows only
    The only unit between the ignition switch and the starter is the electronic Immobilizer control module. See if it is blocking the power to the starter.
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Last edited by Adker; 09-12-2018 at 10:36 AM.

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    Kansas
    Posts
    2,353
    My Cars
    2000 m roadster 2010 x3
    Any chance of the dealer honoring a warranty on the starter replacement and diagnose the real problem

  21. #21
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Location
    tempe, az
    Posts
    2,692
    My Cars
    1998 Z3M, 2006 330i
    Quote Originally Posted by z3forlife View Post
    Any chance of the dealer honoring a warranty on the starter replacement and diagnose the real problem
    I would approach the dealer about that. Didn't they diagnose, and charge you a lot of money? Who's to say it even needed a new starter, since that did not fix the problem? At the least, they owe you another diagnosis. One would assume they eliminated the clutch switch as the cause, before selling you a starter. That is easy to check. Also, this might be "old school" and not right on these cars, but we used to simply jump from battery to starter, to see if the starter was good and the problem somewhere else.
    Last edited by zellamay; 09-11-2018 at 11:19 PM.

  22. #22
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    Sarasota, FL
    Posts
    7,560
    My Cars
    98 M Roadster
    Try starting the car with jumper cables on the terminals under the hood. I had a very similar issue a couple years back where the fusable link that is inline with the positive battery cable in the trunk had corroded so much that it could no longer pass enough current to run the starter or DME properly. There was enough left to make some things look like they were okay, even read battery voltage at the terminals under the hood, but not enough to function. It was EXTREMELY frustrating. If this is your problem, bypassing that link will prove it and you can tear into the positive battery cable and replace the link.

  23. #23
    Join Date
    Sep 2013
    Location
    North Texas
    Posts
    374
    My Cars
    2001 MCoupe
    Quote Originally Posted by Vinci View Post
    Try starting the car with jumper cables on the terminals under the hood. I had a very similar issue a couple years back where the fusable link that is inline with the positive battery cable in the trunk had corroded so much that it could no longer pass enough current to run the starter or DME properly. There was enough left to make some things look like they were okay, even read battery voltage at the terminals under the hood, but not enough to function. It was EXTREMELY frustrating. If this is your problem, bypassing that link will prove it and you can tear into the positive battery cable and replace the link.
    Similar idea, but I'd start with checking the negative cable he disconnected all the way back to the ground point. These things can corrode over time and moving it to disconnect it can be enough to sever strands causing a poor ground.

Similar Threads

  1. Replacing negative battery cable
    By ignacio in forum 1999 - 2006 (E46)
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 09-30-2011, 02:50 PM
  2. Replacing negative battery cable
    By ignacio in forum 1999 - 2006 (E46)
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 09-30-2011, 11:49 AM
  3. Replacing negative battery cable
    By ignacio in forum 1999 - 2006 (E46)
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 09-30-2011, 11:48 AM
  4. NEGATIVE Battery Cable Terminal Change???
    By Miss BimmerLV in forum 1995 - 2001 (E38)
    Replies: 28
    Last Post: 08-19-2011, 01:16 PM
  5. Negative Battery Cable
    By jehu in forum 1988 - 1996 (E34)
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 06-10-2009, 11:53 PM

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •