Engine Does not Crank

[Kohote]

The last few months I have had an intermittent starting problem where the engine would not crank and I would hear a single click. About a month ago the car would never start and I would again hear a click when I tried to crank the engine. I did some basic trouble shooting and decided it was most likely the starter.
Well, three weeks, $200, and a lot of wasted time later the car still does not start The only difference now is that nothing happens when I try to start the car. No click and the engine does not crank at all.

Any ideas or suggestions? This is really starting to annoy me and now that it is getting colder I would really like to fix this now and have a car for the winter.

[minicoop900]

did you charge the battery before trying to crank it?

on some cars if you let them sit that long, the battery will die

[CirrusSR22]

How fresh is the battery? If you tried to jumpstart it from another car what does it do?

[Kohote]

The battery had enough power to run the radio, headlights, and windshield wipers. I will charge it overnight and see what happens.

[Philly]

i doubt its a battery issue.. although it could be.


you could check the ground strap, should be located on the passenger side engine bracket and go to the frame rail on the same side... easy to locate. Its also not protected at all, so it could very well be corroded to crap and not doing its job.

any CELs to scan?

[CirrusSR22]

Originally Posted by Philly

i doubt its a battery issue.. although it could be.

Possibly not, but my theory is ALWAYS start with the easiest and cheapest solution, then narrow things down from there. Jump-starting from a known good battery is free.

[Kohote]

Well, charged the battery and still the same problem. I will look into the ground straps next. Any other ideas?

[M-technik-3]

Battery has decent amperage? 12V doesn't and not enough amperage will equal click click click. Sealed battery? maybe it needs some distilled water or acid to help it.

Have you load tested it? I would use a know good battery.

Where in Mass are you? Not that it helps as i am going on the road tomorrow.

[zboot]

Yeah, I'd suggest taking the battery to autozone or whoever is near you and having them check it. Do you have a manual? Can you start the car by popping the clutch?

[Kohote]

Originally Posted by zboot

Yeah, I'd suggest taking the battery to autozone or whoever is near you and having them check it. Do you have a manual? Can you start the car by popping the clutch?

Yes, the car is a manual and can be bump started. It runs but just won't start. Hopefully this weekend I will swap in a battery that I know for sure has enough juice to start and engine and we will see what happens.

[Kohote]

Swapped in a fresh battery and still no go. The previous owner installed an aftermarket alarm system and I am thinking maybe that could be part of the problem. Any ways to check if it is interfering with the electronics? I would like to remove the entire system but I don't know anything about electronics and wiring.

[L84THSKY]

You can disconnect the ground, and put an amp meter between the ground cable and the negative post of the battery. With the car completely off, there should be no current flow.

Originally Posted by Kohote

Swapped in a fresh battery and still no go. The previous owner installed an aftermarket alarm system and I am thinking maybe that could be part of the problem. Any ways to check if it is interfering with the electronics? I would like to remove the entire system but I don't know anything about electronics and wiring.

[Bluebimma]

Im going for faulty ground, its pretty common on the E36 chassis. I tried diagnosing bloodrunsdry's 325ti when it wouldnt start but would bump start. Turned out to be that the stock engine ground was not enough anymore and a new 0 and insulated guage wire directly from the starters ear, to the side of the chassis. Engine fired right up after that. I also had this problem with my m50 last week and had to go back and scratch up the engine arm and mounting point for the ground to do its job. It would crank and crank but once started it would just die off.

[L84THSKY]

Ground strap problems were notorious on my previous two Sciroccos.

Originally Posted by Bluebimma

Im going for faulty ground, its pretty common on the E36 chassis. I tried diagnosing bloodrunsdry's 325ti when it wouldnt start but would bump start. Turned out to be that the stock engine ground was not enough anymore and a new 0 and insulated guage wire directly from the starters ear, to the side of the chassis. Engine fired right up after that. I also had this problem with my m50 last week and had to go back and scratch up the engine arm and mounting point for the ground to do its job. It would crank and crank but once started it would just die off.

[M-technik-3]

I had an intermittent cut out in my M3 that had a pos aftermarket alarm. I removed the head unit and it went away. This year when I am getting it painted I hope to fix the butchered wiring loom in the car.

Have you tried disconnecting it?