2003 e39 keeps cutting out.

[Barry.b]

Hi guys
I am just wondering if anyone has ever had a problem with a bmw e39 .
my one is a late 2003 model straight 6 .
520ies se.
Anyway it has been parked in my yard now for about 5 years.
I start it frequently and keep the battery charged.
Just recently she developed a problem.
when I turn the key , I heard the fuel pump Starting and running as normal, then when I start her . She starts first turn , rises to about 2500rpm then dies.
It does this every time I turn the key and will not stay running.
has anyone any ideas on what could be causing it ??

 

[D-jetronic]

Same gasoline in the tank for 5 years ???

 

[Barry.b]

Same gasoline in the tank for 5 years ???

No it has fresh gas .
I had thought I maybe had a fuel guage problem and maybe it was actually out of gas , so I put 5 litres into it from a can .
So I think it’s not a gas problem.
Thanks for the suggestion though !

 

[Ohmess]

So, e39s do not do well parked outside. The electronics are very sensitive to corrosion.

First, check the grounds in the trunk from the battery. Then, there is a ground on the right side of the engine that runs to the frame rail, and another on the right side of the engie bay toward the firewall.

Make sure all those grounds are clean, otherwise your engine management computer won't operate correctly.

 

[Barry.b]

So, e39s do not do well parked outside. The electronics are very sensitive to corrosion.

First, check the grounds in the trunk from the battery. Then, there is a ground on the right side of the engine that runs to the frame rail, and another on the right side of the engie bay toward the firewall.

Make sure all those grounds are clean, otherwise your engine management computer won't operate correctly.

Okay thanks, I will check them .

 

[Adaptor]

Maybe the immobilizer. Any lights in the dash comeback up when this happens?

 

[Barry.b]

Maybe the immobilizer. Any lights in the dash comeback up when this happens?

No warning lights. It just starts and cuts out straight away.
About a year ago it was doing something else strange.
When I’d lock the car one front headlight would turn itself on and would not turn off until it drained the battery low enough to cause the car alarm to go off.
I fixed that by disconnecting the battery and without the battery connected I touched the positive and negative cables together for a minute.
Then I reconnected the battery and she was working fine for about 6 months until this latest problem.

 

[Ohmess]

So, in addition to the two large grounds I mentioned in my post above, there are a handful of small ground shoes in the car. Each of these has several brown wires connected to them, with a horseshoe shaped collector that has a hole through it that slides over a post and grounds the wires to the body when tightened down with a nut. The headlight assemblies, for example, are grounded to the front of each of the fenders with connectors like this. As with the two big connectors, take these connectors off, clean up the metal and the nut so as to makes sure you have good connections. I know the Bentley manual has a list of these (be advised, however, that there are something 15 of them). In general, the ones in the engine compartment and trunk are more likely to be trouble than the ones in the interior of the car.

One other huge problem to check for. When the seals inside the doors go bad, moisture that gets on the door windows can run down into the inside of the car. When this happens, you will get water pooling on the floors under the carpet in the insulation on the floor pan. Lift the floor mats and feel the carpet; if you find moisture on the back of your floor mats, or if the carpet under the mats is damp, you likely have a window seal problem. If the wires and grounds along the sills of the car get wet, this can cause lots of weird electrical problems. It this is your problem, you need to pull the door panel and redo the seals, and then pull up the carpet, dry the insulation underneath and check the electrical stuff.

 

[Barry.b]

So, in addition to the two large grounds I mentioned in my post above, there are a handful of small ground shoes in the car. Each of these has several brown wires connected to them, with a horseshoe shaped collector that has a hole through it that slides over a post and grounds the wires to the body when tightened down with a nut. The headlight assemblies, for example, are grounded to the front of each of the fenders with connectors like this. As with the two big connectors, take these connectors off, clean up the metal and the nut so as to makes sure you have good connections. I know the Bentley manual has a list of these (be advised, however, that there are something 15 of them). In general, the ones in the engine compartment and trunk are more likely to be trouble than the ones in the interior of the car.

One other huge problem to check for. When the seals inside the doors go bad, moisture that gets on the door windows can run down into the inside of the car. When this happens, you will get water pooling on the floors under the carpet in the insulation on the floor pan. Lift the floor mats and feel the carpet; if you find moisture on the back of your floor mats, or if the carpet under the mats is damp, you likely have a window seal problem. If the wires and grounds along the sills of the car get wet, this can cause lots of weird electrical problems. It this is your problem, you need to pull the door panel and redo the seals, and then pull up the carpet, dry the insulation underneath and check the electrical stuff.

Okay thanks again for the advice.
My main problem with doing all of that is I have the trunk full of parts removed from my e9 and also there are a lot of my interior from my e9 stored inside the car too .
it was a clean and dry place to store them , as everything in my garage has been covered in grinding dust and welding fumes from all of the work I have been doing on my e9 so I will have to do a bit of a rethink on my storage system first

 

[teahead]

Sounds like a fuel problem

 

[Ohmess]

Sounds like a fuel problem

Fuel problem would not cause the revs to rise to 2500 when the car starts, nor would it cause a headlight to turn on when the car is locked.

 

[dang]

Large vacuum leak?

 

[Barry.b]

Large vacuum leak?

Large vacuum leak?

It could be I suppose, I really must have a good look at it and start going through all of the suggestions.
To be honest
It kind of feels like an electrical problem as she starts with no hesitation at all then dies again straight away.
It’s almost like she starts on a cold start injector or something similar and then when she is supposed to swap over to the running injectors they are still asleep.
I just made most of that up as a good theory , I don’t know if any of it is even close to being plausible.
Anyway I think more head scratching and maybe a bit of strong language under the hood will fix it Thanks again !

 

[bluecoupe30!]

Man! This SO reminds me of my love/hate relationship with my E39 Touring. Many of us have enjoyed this model of BMW, but as the miles racked up, and the warning lights illuminated, it became a game of whack-a-mole until the final few symptoms showed who would blink first. But I still really miss that car.

 

[dang]

I had to use a psychic to help solve a problem with my e39.

 

[Arde]

I had to use a psychic to help solve a problem with my e39.

I went to one before renewing my life insurance and she was right. I will be there in July and can ask about E39 issues.

 

[Barry.b]

I went to one before renewing my life insurance and she was right. I will be there in July and can ask about E39 issues.

Oh I called to that place one day .
But unfortunately it was closed and there was a sign on the door saying “ Apologies ,Closed for the day due to unforeseen circumstances “

 

[Ohmess]

I had to use a psychic to help solve a problem with my e39.

At one point, I had a 540i 6 speed sedan, and a 540i sport wagon. I sold the wagon but I still have the sedan.

I've got it bad.

 

[Arde]

Oh I called to that place one day .
But unfortunately it was closed and there was a sign on the door saying “ Apologies ,Closed for the day due to unforeseen circumstances “

Yes, the psychic told me she puts the sign ahead of any e39 clients. Too many.

 

[Barry.b]

Hi again guys
So I checked the earth’s and all seemed good.
Then I checked the intake for splits in the rubber which could cause vacuum leaks and again all seems okay there too.
Then I tried starting her and still the same, starts up then dies .
I then unplugged the air flow meter and the car runs perfectly
I left her run and heat up for a while .
Then I tried plugging back in the air flow meter and the engine died again straight away.
So strangely the car now runs with the air flow meter disconnected and won’t run as soon as I connect it back up again.
It’s very strange, but I am at least happy to narrow it down a bit more.