[MysticRob]

Originally Posted by Just4Zion

I drove the car all day Wednesday and Thursday I leave for work and the car won’t start. I put my foot on the brake and press the button it only makes a clicking noise. I need help. Any ideas as to what this could be?

Sphincter exhaust bearings are loose. Use anal rod to tighten.

[arkie6]

Originally Posted by Just4Zion

I drove the car all day Wednesday and Thursday I leave for work and the car won’t start. I put my foot on the brake and press the button it only makes a clicking noise. I need help. Any ideas as to what this could be?

That is generally the sign of either 1) a discharged battery, 2) a faulty battery, or 3) a poor electrical connection between the battery and the starter. That clicking is the starter solenoid attempting to pull in, but the added current draw from the starter motor causes the voltage to drop below the pull-in voltage of the solenoid and solenoid drops out. When the solenoid drops out, the extra current load form the starter motor ceases and the voltage rises so the solenoid attempts to pull in again. Repeat. Repeat. etc.

If you can put a voltmeter at the battery terminals under the hood you can check static voltage (should be ~12.6 volts DC for a fully charged conventional vented lead-acid battery or ~12.8 volts DC for an AGM lead-acid battery). If it is <12.0 volts DC, that generally means a battery with <50% charge capacity or possibly a shorted cell internally.

Assuming you have a fully charged battery, monitor the voltage when you attempt to start the engine. It should remain >10.5 volts DC when starting. If not, you might have a high resistance connection causing a high voltage drop under load or the battery plates internally are breaking down due to corrosion and causing a high voltage drop internal to the battery when under load.

[Basedtiger]

It can still be the battery. Have it properly tested.

[Davep]

Originally Posted by foreignmuscle

Same thing going on with me. Put the key in slot and the yellow key symbol comes up and radio turns on, then when I press the start button for the dash board lights to come on it doesn't. It's weird because radio stays on and that yellow light stays on dash. Doesn't crank or nothing.

Did you get this issue resolved? I’m having the same issue with my 07 335, put the key in, hit the button and the ignition doesn’t come on. The airbag light comes on briefly, the yellow key icon is on, the radio, windows and lights all work... Heat/blower does not work.

Car has a brand new OEM battery, brand new key(non CA), I jumped the starter to test its function and it turns over. Checked all fuses, scanned the car with a Foxwell nt510 and it reports no errors.

[dsjr2006]

Originally Posted by Davep

Did you get this issue resolved? I’m having the same issue with my 07 335, put the key in, hit the button and the ignition doesn’t come on. The airbag light comes on briefly, the yellow key icon is on, the radio, windows and lights all work... Heat/blower does not work.

Car has a brand new OEM battery, brand new key(non CA), I jumped the starter to test its function and it turns over. Checked all fuses, scanned the car with a Foxwell nt510 and it reports no errors.

Check the battery cables. See if there's any difference with the car on a charger or jumped from under the hood. There's still a chance the battery is no good or is discharged.

Any changes made recently?

[Davep]

Originally Posted by Davep

Did you get this issue resolved? I’m having the same issue with my 07 335, put the key in, hit the button and the ignition doesn’t come on. The airbag light comes on briefly, the yellow key icon is on, the radio, windows and lights all work... Heat/blower does not work.

Car has a brand new OEM battery, brand new key(non CA), I jumped the starter to test its function and it turns over. Checked all fuses, scanned the car with a Foxwell nt510 and it reports no errors.

For others reference, my issue ended up being a bad CAS module.

[clintbze]

When this was going on, were you able to depress the brakes? My '07 335i is doing everything already mentioned (lights come on, radio, et cetera) but the brakes is also tight.

[Tre335i]

Originally Posted by Paps

Update... I opened the hood, looked for the ground engine cable and surprise! It is really worn out (on the engine side), so today I drove it like usually (tried to go as fast as I can in traffic), made sure it was hot enough and turned it off.. tried to turn it on and nothing, usual problem it didn't start, removed the key and put it back, pushed the button, did this 3 times and nothing.

So then, I took a booster cable, connected the tip of the engine's ground cable directly to the chassis ground and voila! it started!.. I'm still not 100% convinced because sometimes it does start after a while, however I already online ordered a new ground cable ($15.72) because I do know that a bad ground connection can cause a lot of electrical issues. I hope this finally solves my problem

Ok, so had the same problem. car ran fine all day then parked for 5 minutes, then it would not even turn over but had full power for dash lights and radio. had someone jump me in for 30 minutes just to check. even hooked up the cables at in the engine bay to by pass the IBS system. still nothing when hitting the start button. Had to have it towed home. I tried disconnecting the IBS harness on the negative battery terminal and that did not work. Maybe there is the a new update that makes that trick not work anymore. Did a full scan and pulled no codes, checked all of the obvious fuses in the glove box compartment and found nothing. I am running the JB4 chip in the the ECU compartment under the hood and it has been just fine for about a year. Are there any Relays or starter fuses I could check or look for?

Seems very electrical based. like a bad ground somewhere. Also maybe the Break pedal issue where the car doesn't think it is being pressed down. Is there a trick to test that?

It's an automatic so maybe the park lock out isn't allowing it to start?

Any advice would help.

Thanks!

[Josegut303]

I have a 2011 Bmw 335i e90 N55

I went in and did my spark plugs, and decided to change my oil. But before that I replaced my oil filter housing gasket. After I did all of that and set the car on the ground, i noticed I still had a small leak. So I let the car idle for a few minutes to let the oil heat up and run through the engine. Suddenly the oil leak got significantly worse. There one oil all over the front end of my engine. And on my hood and a little puddle of oil building next to the oil filter. I lost about 1 quart or 2 of oil. So after this I realized it was my oil cooler gasket. But now my problem is my car won't start i got a warning to turn off the car due to low oil so I did. Then when I went turn on the car again it didn't start. Just clickes and the dashbroad flickers then stop a second later. Any ideas on my my car won't start?

[arkie6]

"Just clickes and the dashbroad flickers then stop a second later. Any ideas on my my car won't start?"

Dead battery? Check your battery voltage either at the battery or at the terminals under the hood. Fully charged the voltage should be >12.5 volts DC. <12.0 volts DC = <50% battery capacity. I suspect you will find it to be way less than that. <10.5 volts DC = 0% battery capacity. That might be enough voltage to initially pull in the solenoid, but not enough to turn the starter.

That "clicking" is generally the starter solenoid picking up momentarily and then dropping out due to low voltage. Battery voltage is initially high enough to pull in the solenoid, but the current draw of the solenoid combined with the internal impedance of the battery results in a drop in voltage when under load. Repeat, repeat, etc.

[Josegut303]

Originally Posted by arkie6

"Just clickes and the dashbroad flickers then stop a second later. Any ideas on my my car won't start?"

Dead battery? Check your battery voltage either at the battery or at the terminals under the hood. Fully charged the voltage should be >12.5 volts DC. <12.0 volts DC = <50% battery capacity. I suspect you will find it to be way less than that. <10.5 volts DC = 0% battery capacity. That might be enough voltage to initially pull in the solenoid, but not enough to turn the starter.

That "clicking" is generally the starter solenoid picking up momentarily and then dropping out due to low voltage. Battery voltage is initially high enough to pull in the solenoid, but the current draw of the solenoid combined with the internal impedance of the battery results in a drop in voltage when under load. Repeat, repeat, etc.

My bad I was typing to fast 😂😂
But thank you for that advice I'll check that out and see if that's my problem.

[ironduke2010]

Originally Posted by sonnydaze

I have had similar issues to this, fixed it, and wanted to report back to this
thread in case it helps anyone.

Starting was getting more sluggish, and eventually starter just would not
start. After a jump attempt and towing the car home, I check the battery
voltage. At 11.9, I assume bad battery and replace it. No go. After reading
some of the e90 posts, I tap the starter while "starting" to see if I can kick
the starter into action, but no go either. About to replace starter, but
decide to read more posts. This one pointed out the ground strap as a
potential failure, so I decide to investigate.

I recently replaced my clutch, noticed the engine ground strap was covered in
green (presumably copper oxide). I torqued the cable a little, got showered
with green, but decided to leave it alone. Recalling this with my current
issue, went back under, gave the ground strap a tug or two, and the cable
disintegrated and broke. Apparently, although the cable was not actually
broken, it was corroded and petrified enough to severly compromise its
electrical properties. So apparently not much of a ground on my engine.

Bottom line, I replaced that strap, and car fired right up. This was probably
also why my battery was low, since it was probably not charging properly with
a bad ground from the alternator. Likely a new battery for no reason, but the
old one had 10 years... But thanks to you all, I didn't replace a perfectly
good starter.

Lesson for me: Try connecting jumper cable from chassis to engine when car
won't start...

Mad props to you!

I sat in a grassy field for nearly 2 hours researching the inter webs before I finally saw this “lesson” and realized I should do this. I connected my jumper cable from the oil filter housing to the chassis rod on the passenger side of the engine bay. Now the car is home, and I can get an engine earth strap instead of calling for a tow to the shop. Thanks!

[Saif2018]

Originally Posted by slopokdave

It was the battery! I had pep boys test it, they said it was good. So that was when I had it towed to my shop. They changed it out and boom.

lol, Not the battery he said, turns out it was the battery.