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Abs.... 94 e36 help.

7K views 35 replies 12 participants last post by  bmw325i82 
#1 · (Edited)
Happy New Years. :confused:
Car was perfect and all of a sudden , unexpectedly i got the ABS warning light accompanied by the orange exclamation point warning light. like i said , all was cool as far as i knew coming off the freeway . Then came to a stop light and saw the warning lights and felt a difference...... light turned Green to go and as i pulled away from the stop I noticed that it was lagging like the E brake was on Or Tranny not fully engaging because it revved and accelerated normal sounding but delayed (Lagged) Movement.
I was a block away from a grocery store so i immediately pulled in, parked and got out to inspect. Fuses:good, Battery;Good, no cut or bad wires as far as i could see.
After checking the car out, I went to restart and to my surprise Key turned but no fire like the starter was broke? Uhm...... tried to inspect and figure out the problem and got a ride home. Todays a new day , I went this morning to try a fresh approach, calmed down from yesterday and now I thought i was READY to try again, I got in and as i tried to start , It tried to fire but didnt catch and as i was turning the key, the lights flickered and did a tick Tick sound. Never got it to fire and gonna tow it home today. Any Ideas or suggestions? My brother says maybe ABS motor relay??? Gonna look into that 1.
Ps. Some punk scratched NSO inthe passenger rear :dunno: STUPID PUNKS :thumbdwn:
 
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#2 ·
Damn kids :) they don't know how to give cars of our magnitude respect until they own one

but one question that maybe i could branch off your post is that, how would the Anti lock Brake System have anything to with the starter?

Pretty much what im asking is that what would be the affect of the ABS light coming on, and then the car not starting? I didn't think the brakes has anything to do with the ignition system. I could very well be wrong as most of the time i am. That being said if it were me i would diagnose both problems separate.

About the starting issue
What maybe could have happened would be as your were driving the car your alternator went. and now it just doesn't have quite enough juice to start back up?



ABS is w ay beyond anything i could help you with though... i would wait for chad or maybe corey to come and help
 
#3 ·
The orange exclamation point (inside a gear-like symbol) is a warning there is something wrong with the transmission. Check that first. The slow-to-shift and down on power you experienced was the car going into "limp" mode to help prevent further damage.
 
#5 ·
Wet DME? Have you been in a lot of rain lately? If you search around on here or google it you might find some threads to help.

al
 
#6 · (Edited)
Update

Ok, after posting i went to further search and something that i read got my attention, A abs relay , there was a mention on another sites forum about pre 96 having issues on 1 of the 2 relays inside the fuse box under the hood. Grey and Red, Grey being a common defunct piece. I went to try to restart again but it tried to fire now (Which it wasnt trying to earlier this morning) but never caught . All lights were fine and bright, no signs of dead battery. I started to wonder if the starter was my issue?? I pulled the piece i researched earlier and pulled it to take to the parts store to match. Parts place said theyll order it and id get it in 2 days. I paid $31.00 and some change and left with my piece. A good friend gave me 1 of his free tows and i went to meet the TOW guy to bring my baby home :thumbup: So i get there with my friend and met up with the tow, I tell my friend thanx and he left. the tow guy asked if i wanted to jump it, i informed dude i tried yesterday with my friend, he insisted and i said what've i got to lose? i tried with no jump and it did NOTHING. lights nice and bright NO start. he hooked up the cables to my battery and plugged his end into a socket on his front bumper, CONVIENENT :beerchug: I got in turned the key and after the "Ding,ding,ding" i turned fully to start and like magic it fired like it never had a problem. no check engine lights, no abs lights......... ALL was perfect. I was ready to celebrate but thought i better let her warm up first, then test drive around the corner. Tow man agreed so thats what i did. Drove around the block came back told dude thanx .......And just as i had gotten out to thank him. The ABS light started to flicker but no Transmission ! light . I told dude maybe he would be towing me home :thumbdwn: He said its still running "which is true because i left it idling when i got out to thank him" so he said "Even with the light on it wont get you home right now?" I said NO, its a safety feature and it wont let me accelerate out of here, i got in and showed him, Put it in drive and now just 2 minutes after a perfect test drive VRooooooom but extreme delayed engage or drive. He did his thing and loaded my baby up and yes i got pix of the tow to share So il post those in the near future. So my conclusion is, During the 1 to 2 hours of the relay being removed it might have cleared itself lightly enough to help engage whatever it is malfunctioning, plus tow mans heavy duty jump from his truck? Any how Parts already ordered and if that dont work we can go from there. Whats ur guys Take on that? Thanx guys:D
o yea crisscross, im gonna look into that, thanx
 
#8 ·
Here is an easy FREE way to eliminate one system as being the problem:

1) remove your battery

2) take it to an auto parts store that will test it for free...that test always includes a quick-charge before the test

3)if the battery checks good, take it back to the car, reinstall it AFTER cleaning the battery terminals...if it starts right away, head back to that auto parts store and have them test your charging system. If the battery or charging system tests bad, most likely there's your problem.

A weak battery or poor connection will throw all sorts of errors. When I had the starter replaced in the 318 the mechanic didn't get the ground clamp tight on the battery. The car went into limp mode after having been driven for two days and about 150 miles, and wouldn't even turn over after my daughter wisely stopped and called me. Two minutes with a 13mm wrench and the car was back to normal.

Good luck. :thumbup:
 
#9 ·
sounds to me that you have an alternator problem. have you checked to see if your belt is still there? if it is maybe your alternator has packed up. i have read in other threads that a low battery will cause all sorts of fault codes and odd behavior from systems in the car. if your battery is hot the car will run fine until the voltage drops causing your other symptoms. eliminate your alternator/battery first as it is easiest before you start chasing sparks in the dark and throwing money at the problem. fwiw.
 
#10 ·
Ahhh

Funny you should both say that i should start w/ battery and charging system, As i was getting ready to crash out lastnight i started to think a lil more and that was 1 conclusion i also thought up......:thumbup: Smart minds think alike eh? :D So ive got to go get some ngk plugs to do a light tune up on my pickup so while im @ it , im taking the battery to the parts place. Right on fellas TTYL :bigpimp:
 
#12 ·
You could try and clean the fuel injectors. Or see if you have a leaky injector that could leak fuel into the cylinder flooding it when you go and start it after awhile. Try and push the gas all the way down when you start it and keep cranking it and it should start. I wouldn't recommend doing this more than a couple times, but it will get you where you need to be for the next couple days.
 
#13 ·
There is nothing unsafe about this procedure that makes it something you should only do a couple of times. When your car is flooded and won't start when the pedal is depressed to the floor the engine goes into a clear flood mode and stops the flow of fuel, and obviously the mixture is leaned out. It is much safer to start a flooded car this way actually.

To the O.P everything these guys are telling you to do are spot on. I agree it sounds like you are in a limp mode condition. If the battery/charging system diagnosis does not lead you to the problem, take it to a reputable indy and let them do a engine management system diagnosis to find the culprit.
 
#16 ·
CaseClosed!

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
Hey folks, I just came back from a loooooooooong test drive. Parts store called me this afternoon to come pickup my Piece ive been waiting on. I took my new piece and installed it before the battery got put back in, I put the battery in next and gave it a few moments, then went and turned the key , Car started up strong & after a 5 min warm up I got in and crossed my fingers:eek: I went to San jose and back , light traffic and all that good stuff, And as far as i see theres no issues w/ the abs light or the tranny light. Im just guessing that the tranny light came on as part of the system trying to retard since the abs relay (grey one) was defecting on me :mad: But im just glad this chapter is done, On to the next 1:thumbup:
Thanx guys for helping and input .:supdude:
 
#19 ·
damm relays...glad to see you managed to fix yours...on mine if i let it more than 2 days without starting it once i have to take the battery out to recharge.Thanks to a dying injection fuel pump that does not keep the pressure and a cold weather that makes it hard for the battery to hold power...
 
#23 ·
Just like THAT

I found this searching for answers. This is my SAME dilemma Minus new tranny and Strangers workin on my Isht
:cry:
Quoted :Question
I have a 1994 BMW 325i. Recently I have put about $3000 in it and it hasn't fixed the problems. First time, as I was driving I noticed the lights dimming, the radio was going in and out and then after a couple of miles and going up a hill the transmission light, ABS, Traction Control lights came on as well as the gauges going crazy. I pulled over and when I put it in park the car idled rough. I turned the car off and then after trying to restart it I was unsuccessful. I had it towed to a repair shop and was told I had a bad transmission. It cost me $2500 to rebuild the transmission. When I picked it up it seemed to be working fine for about 2 weeks. Then, it happened again, same thing. In the meantime I had taken it to another local repair shop because my check engine light came on. They told me it was an oxygen sensor light. After it stopped for the second time I called the guy who rebuilt my transmission because he told me that was the problem in the first place, but, this time he told me he knew it wasn't the transmission and to call the place I had clear the check engine light which came back on because I didn't get the o2 sensor replaced. I had it towed to the second repair shop who at that point found a loose battery ground but said the battery and the alternator checked out fine although when the car first arrived via tow truck the battery was definately dead. He told me it was being cause now by the lose ground. Satisfied with this, another $200, I left and 3 days later it happened again, luckily in my drive and there it still sits. What is weird is when I turn it off when this happens and starts idling rough I can turn on the acc power and can listen to the radio, etc but when I try to start it, it just ticks. But, let it sit long enough (couple of hours or overnight) it will start again with no problem. It reminds me of a remote control car that you have to recharge when the battery dies except to recharge it I just have to let it sit. We did get the alternator changed about 3 months before it quit the first time and that is when the check engine light came on, after we changed it. I also notice, every time before it happens, the AC will start blowing hot air, the lights will dim (headlights and interior dash lights) and the windows, etc work slowly. Please, help, I'm sick of this car!!"

Once again "not my words above"
The only answer below this was, "If you know what one problems answer is you should fix it.You have "found" loose grounds,I would start there> Clean and tighten all your grounds,if the battery ground strap is green at all replace it.Another tip: the wires corrode internally,which means you won't actually see the wire broken.It will look whole and not broken the clue is if the wire casing is bumpy it is an indication of trouble."
so this is where im headed gentlemen:confused:
 
#26 · (Edited)
=(

"I did not want to do the electrical wire chasing deal with this thing."

Yet here i am. So far ive checked all the exposed wires on the ABS, and around it. Checked fuses "ofcourse" And checking And rechecking Grounds. I dont have anything of interest or importance to share at this time , but will be back when i do. Yhanx guys.
Cool sig corey.
What up cmy & Phantom:bigpimp:
 
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