god dammit man. Im getting really pissed off here.

this is the second time i haven't driven it for a few days and the thing won't start. wtf is going on here. the electronics on this car are teh suck!!!!

more tow truck fun tomorrow:mad:

If you have a no crank no start condition but electronics and lights are ok, there is a possiblity that there is something wrong with the key or the driveaway protection system.

I'm guessing if you haven't driven it for a couple of days the battery is dead.

I was told that BMW 7 does not drive for 10 or so days, the battery will die. BMW recommends a battery tender to keep the battery charged.

alright this isn't a damn 63 mg tc here. Did someone slip some lucas electronics in the e46. Come on now, i expect better from bmw.

oh well, we'll see what the dealer has to say tomorrow

Originally posted by Kevlar
I was told that BMW 7 does not drive for 10 or so days, the battery will die. BMW recommends a battery tender to keep the battery charged.

that would be a nice surprise after returning home from a long vacation... how much do battery tenders earn per hour these days?

I had the same problem with my 03M3. Would happen every time I refueled. Dealership said it was a stuck fuel purge valve???. They changed it and I haven't had a problem since...

battery tender
82 11 0 026 663

<img src="http://www.bavauto.com/assets/imglib500/82110026663.jpg">

Ha, I have seen that! Whenever there is a 7 in the showroom at my local dealer they have it hooked up to one of those.

Originally posted by quadcammer
oh well, we'll see what the dealer has to say tomorrow

Let us know what they find. . .

-j

haha, more great news, the dealer says nothing is wrong with it.

I find this totally unacceptable. What new car at ANY PRICE needs to have some (expensive probably) battery tender hooked up to it. I mean, i figure a good amount of the m3 population uses them for weekend drivers. What do they do. This should not happen.

im starting to think this car should have been painted yellow, lemon yellow

There's a "cold start" problem with the M3. There's suppose to be a software fix. It's part of the bearing exchange work.

I got the 'cold start' software as a precaution, and now my car exhibits the cold start problems like uneven idle, difficulty in cranking, etc.

battery tenders are relatively cheap, go to Sears and buy an automatic charger. if you let your car sit for more than 5 days at a time, it's worth it.

Originally posted by quadcammer
haha, more great news, the dealer says nothing is wrong with it.

I find this totally unacceptable. What new car at ANY PRICE needs to have some (expensive probably) battery tender hooked up to it. I mean, i figure a good amount of the m3 population uses them for weekend drivers. What do they do. This should not happen.

im starting to think this car should have been painted yellow, lemon yellow

Don't let them off the hook. Your car isn't starting on a regular basis. Something is causing that to happen. . .make them find it and fix it. Good luck!

-j

yeah i have. I told them to keep it for 5 days and leave it alone and see if it fires. this isn't a cold start problem. When the car is running its fine. If i drive it two days in a row its fine.

varsity dramat, its not that im too cheap to buy a battery tender, but i should NOT need to. I shouldn't have to buy some other thing, just to get the car to start.

they gave me a nice beat to hell 325I wagon. yeehaw

question... does your car have a CD changer?

Originally posted by quadcammer
varsity dramat, its not that im too cheap to buy a battery tender, but i should NOT need to. I shouldn't have to buy some other thing, just to get the car to start.


I agree with you that we shouldn't have to buy battery tenders, but the fact is, a LOT of cars' batteries go dead if not used for a few days. I'm intimately familiar with a number of nice European cars, and they've all got battery tenders on them, regardless of age (five months to 12 years).

but it sounds like you have an issue that's graver than simply a slow gradual discharge.

kevlar, seems like it lost my post.

No CD changer, just a bmw installed phone.

varsity, I have the 95 m3, and my parents had a 93 325i and an 88 m3, and none of them have ever had this problem.

that begs the question,
Are cars today becoming too complex with too many whiz bang gadgets. I personally think so.

Do you leave the phone pluged into the car over night/ when it goes dead? did you leave the phone in the car wile it's at the dealer so if it is the cause of the draw that they will be able to find it?
A healthy battery should be able to start the car after sitting several weeks, ask the dealer what the closed circut current draw is, most E46 I test come in at around 20 milli amps with BMWs max tollerance being around 40

beavis, yeah the phone says plugged in all the time. However, the 530i i had before this had the same phone and this never happened.

Unless they installed it wrong(i thought all they had to do was practically plug it in) then i don't think this should cause the problem, but i guess its reasonable.

they are testing this out right now.

thanks guys

As others have said, you've got an abnormal problem I've left mine for 3 weeks with no starting problem. Battery Tender should not be necessary for under a month. May be as simple as a bad battery.

Let us know what the dealer has to say about this again...it should be interesting.

Don't let them say nothing is wrong with your car because that's bs.

apparently they screwed up the telephone install and another computer was staying on. If this happens again, im gonna be irate.

Interesting ... that problem is more common with aftermarket CD changers... I didn't know the phone could have the same problem.