[psmc87]

Hi all,

Recently I took my 320i E90 around the Nurburgring in the rain, and had a little argument with a barrier.
There was no major damage done, just body-work, and all I had to do was get the front passenger side wheel re-aligned.

I have new tyres being delivered this week, so on Friday I decided to use up the old tyres by painting circles and 11's in the car park.

The car suddenly cut out and will not start again.

When trying to start, it sounds like a dead battery, in that the starter whines a little then stops. I've had the diagnostic machine hooked up and it shows nothing wrong. There are no warning lights on the dash.

I tried jump leads for 10mins in case the alternator had got damaged, but still nothing.


Does anybody have ideas on what might have caused this?


Cheers

[AWSAWS]

Originally Posted by psmc87

Hi all,

Recently I took my 320i E90 around the Nurburgring in the rain, and had a little argument with a barrier.
There was no major damage done, just body-work, and all I had to do was get the front passenger side wheel re-aligned.

I have new tyres being delivered this week, so on Friday I decided to use up the old tyres by painting circles and 11's in the car park.

The car suddenly cut out and will not start again.

When trying to start, it sounds like a dead battery, in that the starter whines a little then stops. I've had the diagnostic machine hooked up and it shows nothing wrong. There are no warning lights on the dash.

I tried jump leads for 10mins in case the alternator had got damaged, but still nothing.


Does anybody have ideas on what might have caused this?


Cheers

Can you lock\unlock the car? i.e. Any power left at all
Can you read battery voltage from the OBD port?

[psmc87]

Yep, there is power to lock/unlock. Interior lights, courtesy lights all working. Using a multi meter, the voltage across the battery is just over 12.

[Aragorn30d]

What does the engine do when you press the start button?

Did it do the same thing when the jump leads were attached?

[psmc87]

There is a loud clicking noise coming from under the bonnet and the dash and the starter turns slowly once or twice. But after two attempts it just clicks. And exactly the same when jump leads are attached.

I've just read something about an explosive charge on the battery that blows after a crash to prevent electrical fires.

Does anyone know any more about that?

[Digitalize]

Btw, if you need to do an alignment after an impact something has been bent. You don't just knock an alignment out.

[Aragorn30d]

So either the battery is flat, theres a fault with the starter motor, or the engine itself wont physically turn over (ie its siezed or partially siezed)

I found it quite difficult to jump start my 330D recently, i couldnt get a good contact on the negative lead, and even with the leads attached the car still wouldnt crank over properly. Eventually i realised what was happening (sparks were coming off the lead when i touched/wiggled it as the contact was being made and broken), and clamped the negative onto the engine block near the alternator, and it started right up.

The explosive fuse would leave you with no power at all i would have thaught, it certainly wouldnt try to crank.

Might be worth trying to charge the battery with a proper charger and see if that makes any difference.

Does seem kinda worrying though, even if the battery went completely flat, the engine wouldnt stop, as the alternator would continue powering the car. If the alternator failed and the battery simply ran flat, then i would have expected a warning light on the dash saying its not charging, and it would take a good period of time driving the car before the battery got drained enough to stop the engine. The fact it stopped while running would worry me somewhat.

[RajB]

Definitely get everything checked on the suspension/arms side as after a shunt usually an arm would have got bent to have effected the alignment.

As for not starting, perhaps the starter motor has packed up. The charge device if blown would stop power to ignition and everything I would have thought.

[psmc87]

OK I've just tried bump starting the car and the back wheels locked up completely. Not even a chug form the engine.

[Aragorn30d]

That certainly points towards the engine being siezed!

[trixdout]

Usually, if your battery dies whilst driving, that's an indicator it isn't being charged by the alternator. Or, you have some serious battery drain issue and the alternator is working but cannot keep up with the excessive draw.

[AWSAWS]

Sounds more like a lack of fuel but I'm only guessing...

[Robin330i]

Sound like seized engine, the engine should still turn over on the starter if there is no fuel.

[DavS1]

If you put the car in gear (handbrake off obv ) you and your mates should still be able to push it...or rock it and turn the engine over (if someone keeps an eye on the bottom pulley) Sounds to me like the engine is seized for one reason or another.

[Robin330i]

If you do the above then whip the plugs out and it will be much easier!

[psmc87]

Just got it back from the mechanic. He said it has completely seized or, completely f***ed, in his words. has anyone heard of this happening on a car less than 5 years old with only 43k on the clock?

[IanS100]

Maybe the Nurburgring incident damaged the engine in some way and the car park was the last straw

[jrp73]

How long were you doing doughnuts for?

I'm no mechanic so this might be a bit far off but could the continuous sideways action have prevented the oil being circulated properly?

[Robin330i]

Is there any oil in the engine?

[Aragorn30d]

Originally Posted by Robin330i

Is there any oil in the engine?

Dont all these cars have oil level sensors?

[Jimmy-F46 M-sport]

Originally Posted by Aragorn30d

Dont all these cars have oil level sensors?

Im pretty sure they do, well the petrols do!

[Aragorn30d]

my brothers 320d certainly does as well.