I decided to park my rustfree Touring in the parking garage at my office right before the salt/snow started to fly here in New England. I parked the car about 3 wks ago. Today I had some free time and decided I would go down and start the car. Turned the key everything looked normal and the car would crank and just not "catch" I tried this about 5 times and even pumped the gas a few times as the car sounded like it wanted to catch but just would not "get there" Well on my 6th attempt to start the car the Brake fluid light and anti lock light started blinking after their normal starting on/off sequence and long story short the car again "almost" caught but just would not run.

Any ideas on what might be the problem? We have had a long string of low teens to single digit cold days and I have NO idea how old the battery is. Last 7 digits of my VIN GD24863

Thanks in advance!

Andrew

Put a multimeter on the battery terminals first, and see what the voltage says. It might just need to be charged. Your battery should be producing around 12.5 volts, ideally 12.6. If it is in the low 12s you may need a battery.

Other possibilities, such as fuel pump, but make sure your battery is in good condition first.

Can I test the battery with a multimeter from under the hood or do I have to have direct access to the battery terminals? *under seat

if it's cranking fine, battery probably is (was) ok. How old is the fuel pump. Get a rubber mallet, bang on the gas tank half a dozen times and see if the car starts. if it does, fuel pump is bad.

Also if there was any water in your tank it would have sunk and frozen by this point, so that may be your problem

Can I test the battery with a multimeter from under the hood or do I have to have direct access to the battery terminals? *under seat

obc test

Can I test the battery with a multimeter from under the hood or do I have to have direct access to the battery terminals? *under seat


Yes, you can use the positive battery post under the hood. Put the positive multimeter probe on that, and ground it somewhere on the chassis or engine block. If I were you, I'd just yank that rear seat up real quick and check it there, though. It will probably give you a slightly more accurate reading for the battery to do it at the battery terminals.

Or, you could use the OBC like was said.

My car tells me temp/time only. Budget model for the poor folk.

Tank is 3/4 full should I put in some Drygas? Bad idea in a BMW? If yes what brand is best?

My car tells me temp/time only. Budget model for the poor folk.

Tank is 3/4 full should I put in some Drygas? Bad idea in a BMW? If yes what brand is best?

is it below freezing in the garage? tried banging on the tank yet?

Usually battery, these cars don't like to sit.

I'm currently trying to resurrect my E34 after it's been sitting for 5 months at the neglectful hands of my mom :(

I just read a thing in the paper about dry gas. Its basically alcholol which displaces the water and allows it to evaporate. It used to be a good thing to have in the winter time, but then they started adding ethanol to gas which does the same thing. So that won't help you.
If it makes you feel any better, I'm having the same problem with my red car. It was sitting for a couple weeks and will fire but not catch.

Could be the battery.

I bought a tender from Sears, works like a charm.

he's in a parking garage, so probably no outlets.

WAL-MART batts rule, 3 year warranty on them as long as u keep the receipt

extension cable??

Hey Andrew,
I usually lurk the forums but I felt compelled to respond because I had the same exact symptoms with my 1995 525iT and after all was said and done it ended up being the battery. Both AAA and my local mechanic tried to jump start it from the remote jump start terminal under the hood to no avail and after a thorough check through all the systems we charged the battery directly from the battery terminals overnight and it fired up just as usual. We figured something may have drained the battery just below 12V while sitting overnight. It's been a couple of days of regular driving and everything seems fine. I've read on the forum that some folks have had E34 electrical "parasites" draining current from the battery when parked for long periods of time. You may have resolved the issue by now but I wanted to chime in just in case you were about to bring it to the dealer.
Good luck!
Chris