[MstrRogers330i]

I go to start my car this morning and the first time it turns but doesn't start. Subsequent times it does not even turn over. So I go back inside for awhile then go out and try again, no luck. I happen to look down on the ground and see coolant in the water....check the reservoir and its empty. Have not had a single warning light pop up regarding low coolant. Since the dealership isn't open, I can't even top it off. Any ideas? Water pump failure?

[mike3000fl]

It would still start with a shot water pump. And it wouldn't leak coolant. You have greater problems.

[Alohaaaaa]

Originally Posted by MstrRogers330i

I go to start my car this morning and the first time it turns but doesn't start. Subsequent times it does not even turn over. So I go back inside for awhile then go out and try again, no luck. I happen to look down on the ground and see coolant in the water....check the reservoir and its empty. Have not had a single warning light pop up regarding low coolant. Since the dealership isn't open, I can't even top it off. Any ideas? Water pump failure?

If the res is empty but theres no alarm theres probably juuuust enough to cover the sensor.

Do the electronics come on at least, or is the car completely dead? Do you hear the starter motor faintly try to start or hear what sounds like a relay clicking profusely?

Edit: Read the coolant thing wrong. Might have a cracked rad, or one of the coolant lines is shittered. DONT start the car with no coolant. You'll warp the aluminium head, and caused untold amounts of other damage. At this point, get some distilled water, put it in and see if you can spot where the source of the leak is (as long as it's not really cold out, it will freeze). Go under the car and see if you can see any sources of a leak, probably will have to remove your splash pan so you can see. It probably doesn't start because the coolant sensor is telling the car it's out of coolant. I know Audi's will do this from experience, so i'm guessing a bimmer will too.

[MstrRogers330i]

all the electronics come on and function properly, just will not start. It almost starts a few times but doesn't sustain an idle and stops. Trying to start after that yields nothing turning over but humming and electronics working.

Edit: Once I noticed the coolant issue, I have not started it

[MstrRogers330i]

Im hoping thats the reason it won't start also. It sensing that its low and keeping my from starting. I would but distilled water in, but its cold here and unfortunately the dealership isn't open on sundays.

[Alohaaaaa]

Originally Posted by MstrRogers330i

all the electronics come on and function properly, just will not start. It almost starts a few times but doesn't sustain an idle and stops. Trying to start after that yields nothing turning over but humming and electronics working

STOP trying to run the car. If it is completely out of coolant you will cause some serious damage.

I edited my post, not sure if you saw, but to sum it up:

1) remove splash pan, look for coolant dripping off something
2) If you see what is dripping, good, you know the source of the leak
3) if it is fairly warm out where you live, you can run distilled water as coolant, though it is ill advised for a long period of time (the additive only stops the water from freezing, and optimizes thermal transfer, it is also usually cut 50/50 or 60/40 with distilled water).
4) if you put distilled water in, let the motor run a bit and see if you can see it leaking once the tstat opens up and circulates the water
5) If you still cannot, go to autovalue/generic auto store, ask for ultraviolet coolant die, let the car run after adding it, use a UV light to pinpoint coolant leak
6) If you are not a DIYer, get the car towed to a dealer, disregard all previous steps

Above all, DON'T RUN THE CAR WITH NO COOLANT!

As for finding coolant, go to whatever the American version of Canadian Tire is, they should have BMW Longlife coolant, or something that follows the spec (I think our coolant is Pentosin G 11, I would have to double check!).

Edit: http://www.pentosin.net/specsheets/Pentofrost_NF.pdf Yes, it is Pentosin G11.

[MstrRogers330i]

Yes I understand not to run it without coolant. I stated I tried a couple times before I saw the coolant on the ground and once I saw it I have not tried again. I am a DIYer but unfortunately there is snow and ice on the ground. Ill wait till tomorrow and get some coolant, fill it up, see if it leaks and if its slow enough drive it to the dealer to have them diagnose what the problem is and go from there. Hopefully something I can handle

[Alohaaaaa]

Originally Posted by MstrRogers330i

Yes I understand not to run it without coolant. I stated I tried a couple times before I saw the coolant on the ground and once I saw it I have not tried again. I am a DIYer but unfortunately there is snow and ice on the ground. Ill wait till tomorrow and get some coolant, fill it up, see if it leaks and if its slow enough drive it to the dealer to have them diagnose what the problem is and go from there. Hopefully something I can handle

If it is a cracked rad or something fairly deep within it's gonna cost a few bucks I would try to tackle it yourself if I was you (theres snow and ice here too, sometimes freezing your ass off is worth it!). BMW's seem to be notorious for cooling failures from what I've seen.

Whats your millage?

[MstrRogers330i]

Yeah, luckily there is a garage here where you can rent bays with lifts, mass amount of tools, its warm haha for pretty cheap. Im almost at 80,000

[GoRomeo]

Start shopping around for water pump, thermostat and a new battery. But dont buy anything till u get a confirmation on whats really needed. Good luck.

[Alohaaaaa]

Originally Posted by MstrRogers330i

Yeah, luckily there is a garage here where you can rent bays with lifts, mass amount of tools, its warm haha for pretty cheap. Im almost at 80,000

Ahhh we have one of those too, U-Wrench! Very awesome idea.

[MstrRogers330i]

Originally Posted by 3SPKY5U

Ahhh we have one of those too, U-Wrench! Very awesome idea.

Thanks for all of your help. Hopefully it's only
something minor.

[Tiago@VRSF]

Your best bet is to call the dealer or your local indy and have it towed before you attempt to start it. That's assuming that it's turning but not starting rather than a dead battery.

[MstrRogers330i]

Embarrassing as it is.....car was just flooded according to my SA over the phone. Walked me through it and got it started. Any idea how this could happen?

[Alohaaaaa]

Originally Posted by MstrRogers330i

Embarrassing as it is.....car was just flooded according to my SA over the phone. Walked me through it and got it started. Any idea how this could happen?

Leaky injectors slowly dumping fuel into cylinders? How long was it off for before? Mind you you have a 330i, no direct injection... It could still happen, but it would only flood whatever cylinders had intake valves open.

Why was there coolant on the ground?

[MstrRogers330i]

Originally Posted by 3SPKY5U

Leaky injectors slowly dumping fuel into cylinders? How long was it off for before? Mind you you have a 330i, no direct injection... It could still happen, but it would only flood whatever cylinders had intake valves open.

Why was there coolant on the ground?

It was off for probably 36 hours then I moved it about 5 ft then off for another 18 hrs. I finally got some distilled water in preparation to drive it to the dealer and it only needed 1/3 gallon to top it off. So I'm not sure if it was some of mine and some of someone else's. I'm gonna take it for a drive and then check it later this evening.

[Alohaaaaa]

Originally Posted by MstrRogers330i

It was off for probably 36 hours then I moved it about 5 ft then off for another 18 hrs. I finally got some distilled water in preparation to drive it to the dealer and it only needed 1/3 gallon to top it off. So I'm not sure if it was some of mine and some of someone else's. I'm gonna take it for a drive and then check it later this evening.

Sounds like the res was just empty then... They do slowly loose coolant over time. I know my res was about empty when I bought my car... Previously a shop did a coolant flush and didn't top up after bleeding.

Hmmm, very weird it was flooded then... Maybe some electrical gremlin decided the injectors needed to bleed built up pressure from the line?

Keep an eye on it...

[NGEE]

This is a common occurrence, and used to happen with my Z3. The issue has to do with starting and stopping very quickly (as you said, moving the car 5 feet). I don't think it's "flooding", like we normally think of flooding, though I'm not technical. It has to do with the computer being confused about fuel delivery. Someone smarter than me can probably chime in here.

The only thing that worked for me when the issue occurred was to just keep cranking.

I'm guessing your coolant issue wasn't really an issue, just a red herring.

[MstrRogers330i]

Originally Posted by NGEE

This is a common occurrence, and used to happen with my Z3. The issue has to do with starting and stopping very quickly (as you said, moving the car 5 feet). I don't think it's "flooding", like we normally think of flooding, though I'm not technical. It has to do with the computer being confused about fuel delivery. Someone smarter than me can probably chime in here.

The only thing that worked for me when the issue occurred was to just keep cranking.

I'm guessing your coolant issue wasn't really an issue, just a red herring.

Interesting. I just depressed the accelerator all the way down and tried starting it (at the advice of my SA) and it worked.

[NGEE]

Originally Posted by MstrRogers330i

Interesting. I just depressed the accelerator all the way down and tried starting it (at the advice of my SA) and it worked.

Yep, that's it!