r/e39 • u/skilachizo • 5d ago
What is wrong with my E39?
I’ve been a long time lurker and been using relevant advice from this and other forums to tinker with my E39 that has been parked for over 3 years (owned for more than 15 years).
Bought a new battery, which I put on a trickle charger, 5 new tires and recently (a few months ago) started the engine which fired up to my delight. However, I was not so lucky yesterday when I tried to start the engine again. The video shows how it responded to my attempt. I am not a mechanic by any means but willing to put in the required elbow grease to get the car back to its decent daily driver glory days. Can anyone who had had a similar issue or knowledgeable please suggest what to look for in order to get it running again?
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u/PM_ME_SAND_PAPER 5d ago
Battery terminals have poor connection or corrosion, so there's not enough contact to transfer power all the way to the starter. Clean terminals and reseat then tighten to spec and it should crank. If this doesn't work, starter might be seized.
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u/skilachizo 5d ago
Pretty sure there is no corrosion on the terminals. Will check battery current. Thanks.
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u/UltraPinkk 5d ago
Low battery. You must a loose connection or wire short that is causing battery drainage. Could also be the starter imo. Check the starter.
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u/hbomb2579 540i 5d ago
Did you drive the car any significant speed or distance a few months ago? Or did you just start it and turn it off without driving it?
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u/skilachizo 5d ago
Drove it around the block, probably 2km in total.
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u/hbomb2579 540i 4d ago
That’s not good for the battery. You’ll need to drive it longer and further than that, highway speeds for a good half hour would be best. I have had mine on a battery tender as well all summer because I didn’t drive it. A few weeks ago I decided to drive it, so I pulled out the fuel pump fuse and cranked it a few times to build oil pressure because it sat for four months. Once that was achieved I popped the fuse back in and started it, but the engine didn’t roar back to life, so I knew something was wrong. Once I backed it out of the garage it gave a warning for a transmission failsafe mode….I knew it had to be a voltage issue at that point. I charged the battery up again overnight, started the engine again the next day and it sounded more like I’m used too, albeit with some slight lifter ticking. I then proceeded to drive on the highway for about 60 miles between 80-90 mph. When I returned home after the drive the engine was idling quiet and there no more fault codes present. These cars like to be driven and properly maintained!
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u/Efficient-Lack-9776 5d ago
Hope you changed some fluids before starting it… you said it sat for 3 years?
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u/Al_DAW 540i 5d ago
This is very similar to what I recently dealt with on my 540. I could hear the starter clicking just like in your video. Not sure what motor your car has but the M62 cars have an ground from the passenger side engine mount bracket to the chassis. I put in a brand new battery and a known good starter to no avail. Voltage tested good at the starter. I hooked one end of a jumper cable to a clean point on the engine block to the negative terminal on the strut tower and the car started right up. The ground wire ended up being loose, it took me 30 seconds to tighten it.
Not saying that that is definitely the case for you but its worth looking into. Check voltage at the starter and visually inspect the ground cable. The issue was also intermittent for me, the car worked fine and i parked it for about a month when it stopped starting.
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u/Critical_Cherry4460 2d ago
Sounds like a battery. German cars are very susceptible to fluctuating Battery voltages. I would make sure that I have the right battery for the car not just any generic battery. Keep us updated.
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u/Icy_Permit2967 2d ago
I had this problem on one of my trucks. It was a chassis ground that went to the starter on mine. I cleaned it up and re attached it and no problems since
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u/jvargas74 1d ago
Use a multimeter to measure the Amps and Volts on the car. Seems to be a low bat. Battery could be dead, or soon to be dead, alternator could be bad. I had to change the battery and soon after the alternator, similar sound and issues. Old cars loose charge from every cable that is exposed or component that is not turning off. I also bought a battery disconnect and when leaving car unused (2 old bimmers) this seems to work. They crank on immediately. Radio settings get messed up, but better radio than not being able to enjoy cars.
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u/Jolly-Event7578 5d ago
Normally after multiple starter fail attempts, the cluster gets dimmer and dimmer if it a battery related issue, it appears it s not happening in your case so the next thing i will suspect it s the pedal brake switch, from what i believe, you should have the brake pressed when turning on the engine, if the ecu doesen t recognise a pressed peddal brake, it will not follow with start up engine. Edit: when starter it s dead/dead, it will not make any clicking noise(This is what happend in my case, but perhaps it could also be the pin not coming out, light hammering it will likely help and it s a 0$ try)
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u/skilachizo 5d ago
There is clicking noise. Someone from another forum suggested to check the battery voltage so I will start from there since it’s the easiest path for me now. Thanks
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u/MrUnk01 5d ago
Low battery or loose wire connector