E46 320d Touring

[Blackie]

Probably about right, no? All the interior lights on or systems priming before realising that nothing is happening so it shuts down.

Yea I’m beginning to think that. That it’s the canbus system doing checks. If I disconnect the leads and connect them again I get the 0.24amp reading for between 30 - 60 secs before it drops to 0.00.

So yea possibly leaning towards a duff battery.

 

[Coog]

Most motorfactors will test them for free for you. Halfords even do it.

 

[pablo]

Ecu will take a while to shut off etc

 

[Marc]

I’d say you have a duff battery

 

[Blackie]

Yea I’m beginning to think that. Gonna do one more test, a stupidly simple one lol. Have checked the voltage today, disconnected it and will check around this time tomorrow. If the battery isn’t holding charge it’ll be evident tomorrow.

The watch thing is for warranty claim purposes lol

 

[Blackie]

So I checked the battery this afternoon, it had only lost 0.05v in about 24hrs. Now, it’s not much by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s still a loss all the same. Now, I’ve left it in the car still disconnected for at least one more day, as it was two or more days when I suffered starting issues, so I’ll check it again tomorrow.

In other news, my AK-90+ Key/EWS programmer. What this does is read keys, read the EWS (the immobiliser in simple terms) and allow me to program a new key to the car.

I needed a laptop or PC running Windows XP, Vista or 7. I dug out our old Zoostorm one that I haven’t used in maybe 5yrs as we lost the charger when moving house. I ordered a replacement charger from Amazon for buttons (don’t worry I checked the required voltage etc first) which arrived late this evening, and got it fired up (which started much quicker than our four yr old HP laptop!) and began installing the software.

Pretty nifty bit of kit. As you can see it tells me that the key I currently have is No.3, it also records the chassis number and mileage of the car!

It’s late now and it’s raining, so I’m not going to remove the EWS module until tomorrow. Hopefully I’ll be successful in getting the new key coded to the EWS.

Speaking of the new key, I got it cut at Timpsons and it doesn’t work. So gonna call with them over the next day or two to see where I stand. Worst case scenario I’ll do what I planned to do initially and swap the innards of the new key to the existing one, once I’ve it coded! Lol

 

[Blackie]

Yea this is going to plan either. Just like everything else on this car it’s fighting me every step of the way. I can read the EWS, I can write the new key, but when I go to write the key back to the EWS it goes through all the motions, gets up to 100% writing complete, but when it goes to verify it then pops up “Write Error”.

It then won’t let me analyse the EWS to see if the key is written to it or not, which I know it isn’t because I can’t start the car with the PCF chip, even though on that chip the chassis details etc are all correct!

That and the main car battery is only loosing 0.1v every two days. Not sure that enough to get a successful warranty claim on the battery, not to mention that a loss of 0.1v shouldn’t be enough to stop the car from starting!

This cars beginning to really piss me off again!

At this point I’m thinking I want something reliable that I can leave for a few days and can just jump in and drive, no matter how dull or slow it may be!

 

[pablo]

Didn’t want to say but didn’t have a lot of faith in the ews stuff mate

battery maybe a one off. Buy a boosterpack if you’re worried and crack on. Handy thing to have anyway

 

[Marc]

Yea this is going to plan either. Just like everything else on this car it’s fighting me every step of the way. I can read the EWS, I can write the new key, but when I go to write the key back to the EWS it goes through all the motions, gets up to 100% writing complete, but when it goes to verify it then pops up “Write Error”.

It then won’t let me analyse the EWS to see if the key is written to it or not, which I know it isn’t because I can’t start the car with the PCF chip, even though on that chip the chassis details etc are all correct!

That and the main car battery is only loosing 0.1v every two days. Not sure that enough to get a successful warranty claim on the battery, not to mention that a loss of 0.1v shouldn’t be enough to stop the car from starting!

This cars beginning to really piss me off again!

At this point I’m thinking I want something reliable that I can leave for a few days and can just jump in and drive, no matter how dull or slow it may be!

Why does it have to be a swap? Why not advertise your car, then once sold buy something that you actually want to buy.

 

[Blackie]

Why does it have to be a swap? Why not advertise your car, then once sold buy something that you actually want to buy.

I won’t get the money I want for the car basically. Sometimes folk are happy to trade down. I have been lucky a few times with some cars that I’ve traded up for, like a couple of Omega V6’s I had years ago, the Vectra that I traded up from the Clio, to name a few.

Plus it can save a lot of hassle trying to get lifts to view other cars etc...

 

[Blackie]

Didn’t want to say but didn’t have a lot of faith in the ews stuff mate

battery maybe a one off. Buy a boosterpack if you’re worried and crack on. Handy thing to have anyway

Yea I guess I was taking a chance with that.
Hopefully the battery is the issue, can’t leave it back to Mac Autoparts until late next week as the wife’s car is booked for its first service on Monday. If I leave the battery in today, it’ll not be tested by the supplier and back before Monday.

So yea booster pack in the boot or glovebox is probably a good idea. Any budget price recommendations?

I phoned JKC for a price for a key, gonna be after Xmas before I can justify that expense really. They have told me that there are two warranty recalls outstanding on my car for the airbags! So again after the wife’s car is sorted, I’ll have to get those sorted. Thankfully they’re FOC.

 

[chapletown]

If youre thinking of getting rid, pm me what you need for it mate..

 

[pablo]

@Blackie I got this one, really good

NOCO GB40 1000A Jump Starter | Halfords UK

Shop the latest NOCO GB40 1000A Jump Starter UltraSafe Lithium Jump Starter at Halfords UK

www.halfords.com

 

[svensktoppen]

How long do those jump starters retain a useful charge if they're not sitting plugged in?

 

[PieMan1]

Yea I guess I was taking a chance with that.
Hopefully the battery is the issue, can’t leave it back to Mac Autoparts until late next week as the wife’s car is booked for its first service on Monday. If I leave the battery in today, it’ll not be tested by the supplier and back before Monday.

So yea booster pack in the boot or glovebox is probably a good idea. Any budget price recommendations?

I phoned JKC for a price for a key, gonna be after Xmas before I can justify that expense really. They have told me that there are two warranty recalls outstanding on my car for the airbags! So again after the wife’s car is sorted, I’ll have to get those sorted. Thankfully they’re FOC.

If you bring it into Mac Autos they usually just exchange straight away no questions asked. ( Atleast in the Dunmurry Branch anyway)

P.s you would be nuts to swap that for a NA impreza.

 

[Coog]

How long do those jump starters retain a useful charge if they're not sitting plugged in?

About a year. I've a NOCO one myself, can't remember which one it is but the big one and it jump started the Cayenne after sitting in the spare wheel well for roughly 14 months. Proper bit of kit.

 

[AlpineF30]

Would you not be weary of swapping?

In my mind it always seemed a way for people to offload ***** onto someone else

 

[svensktoppen]

Some get off on keeping that car forever, others get off on getting new toys every six months once they've done what they wanted to do. Each to their own and all that.

An NA Scoob would be nuts though, lol

 

[pablo]

Swaps seems to me to be 2 people who want to offload a problem and both think they are getting the better deal

 

[G N K]

Swaps seems to me to be 2 people who want to offload a problem and both think they are getting the better deal

Like wife swapping, works off the same theory I imagine.

 

[Blackie]

Some get off on keeping that car forever, others get off on getting new toys every six months once they've done what they wanted to do. Each to their own and all that.

An NA Scoob would be nuts though, lol

Why though? Reliable, trustworthy, thirsty and slow yea, but it’s not like I’m driving a sports car as it is!

 

[Coog]

Can't believe you haven't swapped it yet!

 

[Sonny]

Why though? Reliable, trustworthy, thirsty and slow yea, but it’s not like I’m driving a sports car as it is!

 

[Blackie]

Can't believe you haven't swapped it yet!

Not yet, I’m being fairly critical with my choices so far. Using this as a measuring stick as it were and there’s not much in the same price range that measures up really.

I have been made one offer of a different car, but I’m a little concerned with the fact it has a DPF and I don’t regularly do the miles required to regen it. So I’m trying to price up getting it removed and mapped out etc before I make a decision.

View attachment 296528

Are they worse than e46’s?

 

[big_pete]

The only thing that makes sitting inside the wheelie bin interior of an Impreza worthwhile is the turbo strapped to the engine lol. I have owned a few Subarus and loved them but the interiors are absolutely disgusting quality. Like a proton in the 90s.

Something to consider since you do like changing often, you couldn't get a dog in the street to bark at an NA wagon Impreza never mind sell one