2011 BMW 325I Ignition lights don’t come on. Only a red symbol of a car on a lift when the key is inserted. No crank.
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2011 BMW 325I Ignition lights don’t come on. Only a red symbol of a car on a lift when the key is inserted. No crank.
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Hello Charles, thank you for getting back to me.
I hope you are doing very well.
I am in Cancun Mexico. We are 3 hours a head of California.
A BMW may show the key symbol on the instrument cluster, PARK light stays on and the engine won't start if the key is not being recognized. The key may have a slash, line, or exclamation line on top.
This problem is because BMW is not recognizing the key which could be due to several reasons as outlined below.
If BMW yellow key warning light displays when you are driving it is because the car stopped recognizing the key in the cabin. This can be due to the key being physically removed from the car or a problem with comfort access.
If your BMW key fob got wet because you washed it or let it out in the rain, it can fail to communicate with your BMW. Let the BMW key fob dry for a few hours and try again.
Even if the key starts to work again, you shouldn't rely on it as it may stop working at any time.
Replace the batteries in your key fob. If you have comfort access the batteries may be dead. If that is the case, your BMW will not recognize the comfort access key.
A temporary solution would be to start the car by inserting the key into the key slot, pressing the start button with the keyfob, or placing the keyfob next to the steering column while pressing start.
If your BMW has Start/Stop button, you will need to hold the key next to the steering column where you see a small key symbol. Some BMW models have a slot where you can insert the key for a manual start or press the key against the Stop/Start button.
Try another key. There is a very good chance that the BMW key fob has failed. If you have a second key, try starting the car with it. If the car starts and runs fine with the other key, then the first key fob is defective.
Check the age of the main battery on your BMW.
If the battery is over 7 years old, replace it even if you think you don't need a new battery. BMWs are very sensitive to the battery and voltage drops. A low battery can cause electrical issues including the key to not be recognized by the ignition.
Follow the guide on how to replace the BMW battery. Rember to perform battery registration as outlined in the tutorial.
If your BMW still won't start or turn on, it is time to get a diagnostic scanner and read the codes.
A generic OBD2 scanner will not help you much, but a BMW scanner will be able to read all BMW fault codes.
Just to let you know how far I have come so far in finding the problem with my car;
Battery was charged yesterday completely and is about a uear old.
I checked all connections coming out of the battery and they all measure over 12v.
measured in front of the car in engine bay and also 12v there.
key is charged also.
I did a OBDII test and there were no codes.
Reading the codes from the car instroments it is showing 2 codes: CC-ID 97 and 718.
When inserting the key, car sounds the normal beep and also can turn on accessories but no egnition lights come on. Instead only a red light showing a car on the lift.
DME RELAY if it clicks with no start but sometimes it will start or crank then brings the engine light and traction light on
The DME relay may need to be replaced.
I checked all fueses related to ignotion amd ECU and all are good.
The ignition relay gets hot but when pushing the start button it does not make any click. I had my hand on it when starting and felt nothing other than getting warm.
No ignition related lights come on.
I refer to all the lights that usually come on in the dash before crancking. Is that because of ignition relay?
The clicking and no start thing sometimes deceives people in such a way that you think it's the dme relay or dead battery, the thing is morden bmw cars are computerized so an small electric default will trigger big issues in such a way that.
So the symptoms are like sometimes you try to start it then you just hear a click from the engine dme box the car won't start and immediately the engine light comes on, sometimes if you clear the fault with obd seems to work and you can start the car again but the problem will come again
On top of the battery there is a power distributor unit that has got several connections including intelligence battery sensor (IBS) and also that's were the computer box gets power from
Please try to replace that unit with a used from bmw dealers and the nagative terminal cable that comes with the IBS
I tried two different keys. No help.
never got wet. Car was sitting for a month. Started normal and a few minutes later I turned it off and then this problem.
I would try to have the ignition relay checked and if possible replaced.
Can I test the IBS to see if it works or just change it?
The IBS is a CAN bus device. There is no straightforward DIY mechanic way of testing it other then reading the enhanced powertrain codes to see if it is in fault. I believe the fault is thrown when the DME doesn't receive a message from it for a certain period of time, which pretty much means when you get the fault it can only be the sensor or the wiring
If you go to buy the part in person, bring the old sensor and the pigtail that connects it to the CAN bus and the positive terminal. That way you can compare everything with the new sensor and the dealer will be able to clearly see what you need.
Ok, tomorrow I will work on your recommendations and report back to you of it is ok?
can I write to you on this thread?
Thank you :)
Yes I will be here all day as well.
Aweosme.
have a good night Charles
You as well.
Were you able to locate the issue?
Not yet. Parts take more than one week to arrive. I will need a few mire days to look into everything we talked about.
thank you for checking.
Sorry about that I hope everything works out and please fell free to chat with me anytime here about the issue as well.
I have heard form you in a while. Please update me on the status of this issue?
Kevin
BMW Mechanic
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