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      06-05-2017, 05:39 PM   #1
NickyC
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Wow, first ever Z4M mechanical issue!

Hey everybody, quite the surprise this weekend! Anyway after nearly six years of Z4M ownership with two different cars, I finally had a bit of a gremlin this weekend. It started with coming out of a grocery story, turn the ignition and the car barely turned over and nothing. All lights on the dash were on, full power, etc. Turned the ignition switch again, and absolutely nothing (not even clicks). Nothing turned over, it was like I was trying to start a dead car with no power.

Tried four times, nothing. Fifth try, it took a bit but the starter finally got going and I was able to drive the car home no problem. Zero issues after that.

Let the car sit a day, go out to start it today and same thing. It took four tries to get it to turn over, and when it did, the first time it started but had the Service Engine Soon and EML lights on (both yellow), and was doing that flutter between 800-1500rpms. If I gave it any gas, it wouldn't accept it. So I turned it off, and restarted it again. This time, it roared to life immediately but the Service Engine Soon (yellow) light came on again and stayed on.

I figured my luck was running out and this thing was going to get to the point where it wouldn't start at all, so I left it on and drove it a couple miles to my local Indy shop. Great place, but he won't be able to see it for a few days.

So you pros out there, any experience with something like this? Starter going perhaps? Thanks!

Last edited by NickyC; 06-05-2017 at 05:46 PM..
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      06-05-2017, 05:57 PM   #2
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How old is the battery? The el ectronics on this car are sensitive and it could be on its way out!
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      06-05-2017, 06:01 PM   #3
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Battery and/or alternator. A bad one of either seems to fry the other.
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      06-05-2017, 07:30 PM   #4
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Thanks guys, I bet it's the alternator. Battery is pretty fresh, so we'll see what the shop says. Amazingly, the car came with a three year warranty and I'm at 35 months right now lol! Alternator is covered under it to.
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      06-06-2017, 07:12 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by antennahead View Post
Battery and/or alternator. A bad one of either seems to fry the other.
+1. Neither of these things are cheap!
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      06-07-2017, 11:13 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NickyC View Post
Hey everybody, quite the surprise this weekend! Anyway after nearly six years of Z4M ownership with two different cars, I finally had a bit of a gremlin this weekend. It started with coming out of a grocery story, turn the ignition and the car barely turned over and nothing. All lights on the dash were on, full power, etc. Turned the ignition switch again, and absolutely nothing (not even clicks). Nothing turned over, it was like I was trying to start a dead car with no power.

Tried four times, nothing. Fifth try, it took a bit but the starter finally got going and I was able to drive the car home no problem. Zero issues after that.

Let the car sit a day, go out to start it today and same thing. It took four tries to get it to turn over, and when it did, the first time it started but had the Service Engine Soon and EML lights on (both yellow), and was doing that flutter between 800-1500rpms. If I gave it any gas, it wouldn't accept it. So I turned it off, and restarted it again. This time, it roared to life immediately but the Service Engine Soon (yellow) light came on again and stayed on.

I figured my luck was running out and this thing was going to get to the point where it wouldn't start at all, so I left it on and drove it a couple miles to my local Indy shop. Great place, but he won't be able to see it for a few days.

So you pros out there, any experience with something like this? Starter going perhaps? Thanks!
I had those exact symptoms before my alternator finally went out . This car is very sensitive to voltage as others have said . Need to look at output from the alternator vs battery being depleted .
G
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      06-07-2017, 01:10 PM   #7
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Originally Posted by gmd2003 View Post
I had those exact symptoms before my alternator finally went out . This car is very sensitive to voltage as others have said . Need to look at output from the alternator vs battery being depleted .
G
Thanks for the tip, I'll let the shop know!
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      06-07-2017, 02:37 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gmd2003 View Post
I had those exact symptoms before my alternator finally went out . This car is very sensitive to voltage as others have said . Need to look at output from the alternator vs battery being depleted .
G
Same thing happened to me...... ruined a good battery. I ended up with a new alternator AND battery. Then the fun started. Battery kept draining as if I had a parasitic drain, but I could find nothing. I kept wondering if I had a bad "new" alternator. After 10 months of the battery dropping to 11.8 volts after sitting for only a couple of days, I bit the bullet and bought a new battery (O'Reilly AGM)...... problem solved. It holds a charge very well and even with no driving for days will only drop to about 12.3 ....... regular driving daily it holds 12.6. Sometimes an off the shelf new battery is not always 100%. A clue for me using the voltmeter on my Escort ....... the old bad replacement battery would charge at 13.8 to 14.2 when driving. The new AGM charges at 14.4 to 14.7 when driving, and after a long drive when fully charged might drop to 14.2 for a short period when driving. Electrical on these cars is a real trip
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      06-09-2017, 09:51 AM   #9
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Same happened to me. Change battery and alternator at the same time.
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      06-09-2017, 12:34 PM   #10
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By the way i got my replacement alternator off ebay and worked fine for years.
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      06-09-2017, 02:05 PM   #11
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Same thing happened to me last year. Same symptoms. No clicks, nothing. It just wouldn't turn. Decided to swap the alternator and that did the trick, had no problems ever since!
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      06-09-2017, 08:31 PM   #12
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Thanks guys! Unfortunately the shop couldn't replicate the problem, and turned the car back over to me. Once again it's working fine, but I know the issue will come back. Seeing as the car is over 10 years old anyway, I think an alternator replacement is good preventive maintenance regardless. I'm going to setup an appointment to get it done. Thanks.
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      06-30-2017, 03:41 PM   #13
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OK, due to the wizardry and help from all the experts on this board, I went ahead and had a new battery/alternator put in the car today. Both prior parts checked out fine, and the mechanics thought I was nuts for replacing them. We shall see, I say it's good preventative maintenance anyway on an 11 year old car!

I'll keep this thread updated to see if the issue pops up again, maybe save somebody some grief in the future. Thanks again everyone!

*UPDATE* Well uh oh, $875 later for a new alternator/battery and the problem is still there! Came out from shopping at Cabela's tonight and same issue. All power, but absolutely nothing when I turn the key. Waited for about 30 seconds, still nothing. Waited for another 60 seconds, fired right up on the third try.

Any other ideas? Thanks.

Last edited by NickyC; 07-01-2017 at 09:56 AM..
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      07-01-2017, 12:19 AM   #14
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I would swap out the starter, similar issue with my friends S550. He replaced the battery and alternator. Similar problems occured. I swapped his starter, no more issues. Not saying that your problem 100%, but very well may be. Cheers
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      07-01-2017, 12:59 AM   #15
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I would swap out the starter, similar issue with my friends S550. He replaced the battery and alternator. Similar problems occured. I swapped his starter, no more issues. Not saying that your problem 100%, but very well may be. Cheers
That's the next step, thanks!
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      07-08-2017, 09:14 PM   #16
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We will soon find out exactly what the issue is hopefully! The car is DEAD. Still has all power except, and I get one *click* when I turn it over but nothing after that. Hopefully it's just a starter. The car is being towed now, and the shop will look at it Monday morning. I'll keep you all updated, this could help somebody in the future. Thanks!
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      07-12-2017, 02:19 PM   #17
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Just got the car back today, and we have a solution....the starter! It was completely shot, replaced with a new unit, and my beloved Z4M is back on the road.

So my old starter lasted approximately 11 years and 77k miles, how can you get mad at that? I also see the alternator replacement as good maintenance (new belt too), and the battery was three years old when I replaced it so it was most likely wearing down as well. So the charging system/starter are now worry free for what is hopefully another 77k miles and 11 years.

Hope this thread helps somebody someday, with our cars getting older now it just might. Thanks for all the help and suggestions as well to everyone in this thread!
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      07-12-2017, 03:32 PM   #18
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Nice I nailed it haha! Glad it's up and running, Enjoy!!
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      07-17-2017, 02:10 PM   #19
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If you don't mind letting us know Nick, how much did you pay for labor to get that starter replaced? Looks like it's a PITA to access and I may need to replace mine soon (for maintenance)
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      07-17-2017, 02:45 PM   #20
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If you don't mind letting us know Nick, how much did you pay for labor to get that starter replaced? Looks like it's a PITA to access and I may need to replace mine soon (for maintenance)
No problem. I wanted to tackle the project myself, but it's 100 degrees here right now and I'm working my tail off otherwise. With that weak, check book mechanic disclaimer out of the way, I paid $560 total at Firestone Complete Auto Care for just the starter. ;D

I also got a brand new alternator/belt, and battery for $800 a couple weeks ago at the same place.

All in all, nice peace of mind for around $1400 total!
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      07-20-2017, 01:14 PM   #21
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Ohh man, could've bought new cans with that money! But you're right, I rather have the car running perfectly fine
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