E90: No Crank No Start

[siny528i]

Hey guys,

I drove my E90 all day today.
Then when I got home and tried to park it closer to home, it WON'T start.

The lights come on. There's a clicking noise under the hood.
It sounds like the fuel pump is starting up, but it WON'T start.

What could be wrong?
Bad starter? I'll try tomorrow.

What else?

Thanks in advance,
siny528i

[drewusmaximus]

Does the car try to turn over or does it just click? If it just clicks without turning over, most likely it's the starter. Didi the car have any issues cranking previous to the no start? You can try hitting the starter gently with a hammer or something long and solid that will reach the starter from the top and see if the starter spins. Do you have a check engine light?

[siny528i]

Does the car try to turn over or does it just click? If it just clicks without turning over, most likely it's the starter. Didi the car have any issues cranking previous to the no start? You can try hitting the starter gently with a hammer or something long and solid that will reach the starter from the top and see if the starter spins. Do you have a check engine light?Thanks a lot, drewusmaximus,

Car just clicks. Doesn't turn over. Battery voltage is 12.42v.
I just checked the starter with a test light. The starter is constantly getting hot current. Then when connected to the solenoid braid, the light comes on every time I press the start button.
I try to hit it with steel rod. There was no effect. There is no CEL.

[drewusmaximus]

Thanks a lot, drewusmaximus,

Car just clicks. Doesn't turn over. Battery voltage is 12.42v.
I just checked the starter with a test light. The starter is constantly getting hot current. Then when connected to the solenoid braid, the light comes on every time I press the start button.
I try to hit it with steel rod. There was no effect. There is no CEL.

Try to supply power directly to the starter (old school method) and see if the starter will turn over. If it does, then something else is wrong with the car. If the starter doesn't turn, the starter is bad.

[drewusmaximus]

If the starter is getting power, but the spindle isn't engaging, then the starter is toast. If you put the car in the ON position and supply current to the starter, the starter should attempt to crank, since you're manually starting the starter by bypassing the ECU. If it doesn't crank, the starter is toast.

[siny528i]

Okey-Dokey!

Thanks a LOT drewusmaximus!

I just finished this morning. I must say it was 10 times easier to get to than on my e39:


https://youtu.be/zxu1AhLHdU0

But the starter on my e39 died at 260k vs 69k on the e90.
When I took the old one off and put power to it, it JUST hummed. Didn't spin. The new one spun like crazy. So that was toast.

I used this DIY to check the Starter:


https://youtu.be/1twcbx0ng6Y?si=o2nBfdIIPISNnejo

and this one to replace it:


https://youtu.be/lmJ8v5IoOY8?si=lsX7VUcGcoA2OWkI

Thanks again,
siny528i

[drewusmaximus]

Awesome! I'm glad it worked out. I love happy endings...