[dbatech99]

Hi folks. 2011 535i xi, N55.

Well, got everything back together (plugs and coils). Car idled and drove much smoother, power smoother. Much better. Decided to drive the car around town a bit and everything seemed much better.

Coming off the freeway ramp, got the dreaded "drivetrain error, engine power will be reduced, yada yada".

Darn. This and rough idle was why I started with replacing plugs and coils.

Drove to a few places, car seemed fine. Stopped, started, went a few different places. No probs. Stopped at the grocery store (last stop before home, go figure). Came out, car won't start. NO starter turnover at all. Battery seems fine. Wife comes with other car, try to jump. No deal.

End up having to leave the car in parking lot. Late at night and it's 15 degrees and dropping. Will have to go back tomorrow and try to read codes. Hopefully I can get it started. Not off to a good start, unfortunately.

Car is 2011 535i xdrive. It's my daughter's first car. Any advice on how to best proceed will be greatly appreciated. I have been working on my own cars for 30 years. Fords, Pontiacs, Porsches, Toyotas, Nissans, now this BMW. Car has 107k miles on it.

***EDIT went back up and read the codes last night. The battery was getting drained from all the start attempts, so I hooked up my F450 with the jumper cables and charged for about an hour. Battery no longer gave warnings, but would still not crank. I did do a code reset after I did the plugs and coils... however... I did not disconnect the battery first... which is apparently a big no no.


Here are the current codes.
119201 Fuel low-pressure sensor, electrical. Short circuit to B+
801C20 ZGM central fault memory full - no control-unit fault

A few other codes, but one is related to a fuse blown for the cigarette lighter and other related to a burned out cornering light.

Any help or direction would be great. Hopefully I can get it started to drive home. It's currently sitting in the store parking lot

Any advice welcome.

[Carbon535i]

Originally Posted by dbatech99

Hi folks. 2011 535i xi, N55.

Well, got everything back together (plugs and coils). Car idled and drove much smoother, power smoother. Much better. Decided to drive the car around town a bit and everything seemed much better.

Coming off the freeway ramp, got the dreaded "drivetrain error, engine power will be reduced, yada yada".

Darn. This and rough idle was why I started with replacing plugs and coils.

Drove to a few places, car seemed fine. Stopped, started, went a few different places. No probs. Stopped at the grocery store (last stop before home, go figure). Came out, car won't start. NO starter turnover at all. Battery seems fine. Wife comes with other car, try to jump. No deal.

End up having to leave the car in parking lot. Late at night and it's 15 degrees and dropping. Will have to go back tomorrow and try to read codes. Hopefully I can get it started. Not off to a good start, unfortunately.

Car is 2011 535i xdrive. It's my daughter's first car. Any advice on how to best proceed will be greatly appreciated. I have been working on my own cars for 30 years. Fords, Pontiacs, Porsches, Toyotas, Nissans, now this BMW. Car has 107k miles on it.

***EDIT went back up and read the codes last night. The battery was getting drained from all the start attempts, so I hooked up my F450 with the jumper cables and charged for about an hour. Battery no longer gave warnings, but would still not crank. I did do a code reset after I did the plugs and coils... however... I did not disconnect the battery first... which is apparently a big no no.


Here are [...]

For the 119201 code have you checked the connection and harness to the low pressure sensor? It may be a loose connection or the sensor may need to be replaced.

[ChiltiCoatl89]

Get that corner light bulb replaced and replace that fuse, clear your fault memory again ensure the battery is delivering proper voltage, its very sensitive to voltages, and finally as mentioned above, check the low pressure sensor. Can you hear the starter clicking each and every time you attempt to crank?

[dbatech99]

Originally Posted by ChiltiCoatl89

Get that corner light bulb replaced and replace that fuse, clear your fault memory again ensure the battery is delivering proper voltage, its very sensitive to voltages, and finally as mentioned above, check the low pressure sensor. Can you hear the starter clicking each and every time you attempt to crank?

I don't hear the starter click up front. I can faintly hear the relay from the back fuse box though, I think.

Jason

[ChiltiCoatl89]

How old is the battery? Verify the battery age and ensure the battery maintains a charge, make sure it is not the battery, then proceed and replace those other parts and definitely check that Low Pressure sensor, replace as necessary, the Auto/Start Stop feature puts extra wear by use on our 5ers starter motors, and a feature I have turned off. One by one, eliminate the possibilities and narrow it down, its the most cost effective way to finding out the true issue.

[Surly73]

Originally Posted by dbatech99

I don't hear the starter click up front. I can faintly hear the relay from the back fuse box though, I think.

Jason

Do the interior lights dim significantly when it's trying to crank? Test voltages at the underhood boost terminals and the battery posts when trying to crank and see how different they are.

If there's no indication of major juice being drawn when trying to start, then IMO I'd start looking at things other than the battery. The starter itself, check a few of the major ground straps to make sure they're intact, inspect the power distribution blocks under the hood and at the battery etc...

I believe there was a recall or campaign affecting the main positive power wire and distribution from the trunk to the front of the car... I'll have to see if I can pull specifics.

[dbatech99]

Originally Posted by ChiltiCoatl89

How old is the battery? Verify the battery age and ensure the battery maintains a charge, make sure it is not the battery, then proceed and replace those other parts and definitely check that Low Pressure sensor, replace as necessary, the Auto/Start Stop feature puts extra wear by use on our 5ers starter motors, and a feature I have turned off. One by one, eliminate the possibilities and narrow it down, its the most cost effective way to finding out the true issue.

I'm not sure how old the battery is, I just purchased a car about a month ago. It's iced here the last few days so I haven't been able to get the car from the parking lot or to a spot where I could work on it. Also the 2011 does not have auto start/stop.

[dbatech99]

Originally Posted by Surly73

Do the interior lights dim significantly when it's trying to crank? Test voltages at the underhood boost terminals and the battery posts when trying to crank and see how different they are.

If there's no indication of major juice being drawn when trying to start, then IMO I'd start looking at things other than the battery. The starter itself, check a few of the major ground straps to make sure they're intact, inspect the power distribution blocks under the hood and at the battery etc...

I believe there was a recall or campaign affecting the main positive power wire and distribution from the trunk to the front of the car... I'll have to see if I can pull specifics.

The interior lights did not dim and there are no indication that there was a voltage drop. That being said, one thing that I messed up on is I did not disconnect the battery when I replaced the coils and plugs. I did clear all of the codes as a result with my tool, but I wonder if disconnecting the battery would possibly clear something that's keeping it from starting.
I don't have that much of a hope because the car started multiple times after that.

I'm hoping to be able to try a few things tomorrow My plan is to remove the battery and run some tests on it here at the house and then proceed from there.

Thank you everybody for the input I greatly appreciate it.

[ezaircon4jc]

Originally Posted by dbatech99

...Also the 2011 does not have auto start/stop.

The 2011 does have start/stop, just not the option to turn it off.

[Surly73]

Originally Posted by dbatech99

The interior lights did not dim and there are no indication that there was a voltage drop. That being said, one thing that I messed up on is I did not disconnect the battery when I replaced the coils and plugs. I did clear all of the codes as a result with my tool, but I wonder if disconnecting the battery would possibly clear something that's keeping it from starting.
I don't have that much of a hope because the car started multiple times after that.

I'm hoping to be able to try a few things tomorrow My plan is to remove the battery and run some tests on it here at the house and then proceed from there.

Thank you everybody for the input I greatly appreciate it.

Granted I'm just reading someone's account on the Internet, but from what I've read I would be inclined to stop looking at the battery itself and look elsewhere. Make sure it's charged up, sure, but it's not even trying to start. If the battery were weak, you would see attempts to crank and the system voltage dropping very low once the full load of the starter hits, probably resetting all of the computers again like you just turned on the ignition. Although you haven't provided any voltage measurements, you describe none of the things I mentioned happening. If you bought a new battery you might just be another one of the droves of folks who buy new batteries unnecessarily because the Internet told them that everything that ever goes wrong with BMWs is the battery.

If it doesn't crank when you boost it from another vehicle, it's not just the battery.

Coils and plugs is not a job with mandatory battery disconnect. That's not it, unless you encountered some drama with tools touching positive or ground, sparks, shooting fire etc... that you didn't mention which could have fried DME output transistors or something like that.

I don't know about the F10, but on E series BMWs if it were the immobilizer kicking in then it would crank forever without starting.

IMO check power distribution (positive block at battery where the pyro charge is, power distribution block near interior blower, the large positive wire from front to back), ground straps, starter solenoid... Because one of the codes is a sensor short circuit to positive, you could have wiring harness damage (e.g. rodents).

[dbatech99]

Okay folks. I'm going to take a meter today because II think the rain is going to stop. I suspect a ground strap issue I've seen lots of people with faulty ground straps. The battery does not act like it's dead at all, no low bat warning, no dimming of lights or interior accessories. I saw a video where a guy connected the ground from the battery directly to the oil filter housing to make a good negative ground from the battery. His car had the exact same symptoms and it wasn't a starter or anything it was a bad ground strap. Apparently these cars have issues with corroding ground straps.
Any thoughts on running this as a test?

Thanks!

[dbatech99]

Originally Posted by ezaircon4jc

The 2011 does have start/stop, just not the option to turn it off.

Do you mean auto start and stop when the car is at stop lights and such? I don't believe mine has that as an option it never shuts off and restarts automatically.

[StradaRedlands]

Originally Posted by ezaircon4jc

The 2011 does have start/stop, just not the option to turn it off.

Data point: Our 2011 blessedly does not have start/stop.

[dbatech99]

Okay. Replace the key fob batteries as they were low, but I knew that wasn't the problem. Took some jumper cables and made a temporary ground from the oil filter housing to the strut bolt.

This was just to see if I could get it started, in hopes of vetting out any ground strap issues. No start nothing, all I hear is the relay click in the trunk.

I honestly do not think it's a battery issue because there are no dimming lights the blower comes on strong everything and there are no low battery warnings. Headlights come on bright, everything. However my next step is to go take the battery out today and have the battery tested. I'm also thinking disconnecting the battery may reset something that's preventing it from starting.


I will report back.

[dbatech99]

Starting to think it could be the starter and I'm just unlucky with the timing since this happened right after I changed the coils paks/plugs.

[M_Bimmer]

Originally Posted by dbatech99

Starting to think it could be the starter and I'm just unlucky with the timing since this happened right after I changed the coils packs/plugs.

Do you have the ability to pull BMW codes from your vehicle? (not OBD II emission codes). If you do not have ISTA, then a Foxwell scanner for a BMW, would be a highly recommend addition to your toolbox, and may end up providing a bit of insight to your dilemma.

If you decide to get a Foxwell from Amazon, I recommend the NT530, but the NT510 will work - with limited functionality. Both will pull BMW specific codes for you.

If you post your codes, there should be plenty of help provided from this forum.

[dbatech99]

Originally Posted by M_Bimmer

Do you have the ability to pull BMW codes from your vehicle? (not OBD II emission codes). If you do not have ISTA, then a Foxwell scanner for a BMW, would be a highly recommend addition to your toolbox, and may end up providing a bit of insight to your dilemma.

If you decide to get a Foxwell from Amazon, I recommend the NT530, but the NT510 will work - with limited functionality. Both will pull BMW specific codes for you.

If you post your codes, there should be plenty of help provided from this forum.

Good morning. I have the NT680 pro. I did post a few codes at the start of the thread. However I'm going to do a fresh read this morning after conditioning the battery. Battery seems to hold 12.8 volts. So not pristine, but should still be plenty of voltage for crank? I did get a different message from the dash when I hit the start button this morning it said ignition failure and I've never seen that before.

[dbatech99]

After resetting everything, here are the current codes being thrown:

C90D60 AUC sensor internal sensor fault
119201 Fuel low-pressure, sensor, electrical short circuit to B+
801C20 ZGM central fault memory full - no control unit fault

I'm leaning to replace the starter. Starter won't throw any codes, right?

[dbatech99]

Sigh.... new problem now.

Life is so great.

Bought a new battery (old one wasn't dead, but old and out of spec. Looking at it like maintenance.)

Get home with the new battery, hook to jump points at the front of the car first to get the trunk open (no manual release).

NO power anywhere. WTH.... No idea now. Can't get the trunk open to install the battery. I know I wrapped the negative terminal in a rag when I removed it. Only thing I can think of is the positive might be grounded out some where in the trunk.

I have opened the trunk this way sev times over the last few days. Testing the battery and such. NOw the car is completely dead when I hook the terminals at the front of the car. NO light, no click... SWEET.

Anyone have any ideas to get the trunk open. Why they ever created a car without a manual trunk release is SHEER STUPIDITY. Especially when the damn battery is in the trunk.

Help!

[dbatech99]

****UPDATE*****

Thank goodness I was able to get into the trunk. SOrta anti climactic. Read some horror stories, was about to dip into the junction wiring to get power directly to the trunk latch solenoid.

Decided to try pulling the back seats. It was relatively easy. Pop the seat off the tension connectors lift forward just a bit. There are two torx bolts anchoring the backrest. Remove those and slide the backrest first up then forward enough to crawl back and pull the emergency release cable. Yay!

Learned not to disconnect the positive Junction contraption (held on by a nut). That was my mistake. THis needs to be connected for the "jump from the front of the car" to release the hatch option. If that is disconnected from the battery post, then the circuit is open. Positive doesn't need to be connected to anything, but don't disconnect the junction contraption.


I think my problem is the starter. THink I'm going to go ahead and order one.

[StradaRedlands]

Catastrophe averted!!!

[ChiltiCoatl89]

Originally Posted by dbatech99

****UPDATE*****

Thank goodness I was able to get into the trunk. SOrta anti climactic. Read some horror stories, was about to dip into the junction wiring to get power directly to the trunk latch solenoid.

Decided to try pulling the back seats. It was relatively easy. Pop the seat off the tension connectors lift forward just a bit. There are two torx bolts anchoring the backrest. Remove those and slide the backrest first up then forward enough to crawl back and pull the emergency release cable. Yay!

Learned not to disconnect the positive Junction contraption (held on by a nut). That was my mistake. THis needs to be connected for the "jump from the front of the car" to release the hatch option. If that is disconnected from the battery post, then the circuit is open. Positive doesn't need to be connected to anything, but don't disconnect the junction contraption.


I think my problem is the starter. THink I'm going to go ahead and order one.

Great to hear you got it all narrowed down.