keyless entry blocking start

[RG92535i]

Hi, Does anyone know how to disable keyless entry all together? I believe it is immobilizing my starter. I have to start car by using jumper cables to run from back seat battery to remote start block under hood. Anyone have any experience like this? Battery and alternator seem to be fine. Idon't think it is fuseable link. It acts as if a kill switch is activated. Thanks,

[joshua43214]

the alarm will not lockout the high amp power to the starter. If yuo are having to use jumper cables from the battery to the jumper lug, you either have an open in the circuit or the cable itself is bad.

[cschollum]

have you checked the fusible link like i suggested?

[RG92535i]

have you checked the fusible link like i suggested?
It does appear to be fine. I will have to replace it to find out for sure. I did think however that if it was fuseable link there would also be other functions goin in and out also. Am I thinking wrong? Thanks Again,

[RG92535i]

the alarm will not lockout the high amp power to the starter. If yuo are having to use jumper cables from the battery to the jumper lug, you either have an open in the circuit or the cable itself is bad.

With the hundreds of wires that are under the seat, some of which are connected to something and others that are just cut, do you have any suggestions how to go about sorting this out? Thanks,

[joshua43214]

You really only have 1 wire to worry about if I am reading you right. The positive battery cable is about the diameter of the tip of your pinky. If my memory is right, it runs from the battery to the alternator, then to the starter. I can't remember where the jumper lug wire comes from. Verify that the big power wire on the back of the alternator is tight, or even remove the nut and check to make sure the wires are making good contact.

Do a resistance check on the positive wire from the battery to the starter, if high resistance or open circuit, go from alternator to battery then alt to starter. Battery cables do fail with age, though its rare on BMW's. If you have no open circuits, you need to do a voltage drop test, this is really the only proper way to diagnose a battery cable. using a volt meter, hook the neg terminal to the positive battery post. connect the positive terminal to the starter post. crank the engine, the voltage you see on the meter is what is known as voltage drop, or in other words, the number of volts lost accross the circuit. the acceptable voltage drop depends onthe type of circuit. For battery cables the normal standard is .1-.5 volt drop is ok, I feel anything over .2-.3 is bad.

Chances are you wont have to do a volt drop test, for what you describe a simple visual inspection of every connection the battery cable makes and maybe a resistance check should suffice. Just follow the big wire under the seat and under the hood.

Good luck, let us know what you find.

[RG92535i]

You really only have 1 wire to worry about if I am reading you right. The positive battery cable is about the diameter of the tip of your pinky. If my memory is right, it runs from the battery to the alternator, then to the starter. I can't remember where the jumper lug wire comes from. Verify that the big power wire on the back of the alternator is tight, or even remove the nut and check to make sure the wires are making good contact.

Do a resistance check on the positive wire from the battery to the starter, if high resistance or open circuit, go from alternator to battery then alt to starter. Battery cables do fail with age, though its rare on BMW's. If you have no open circuits, you need to do a voltage drop test, this is really the only proper way to diagnose a battery cable. using a volt meter, hook the neg terminal to the positive battery post. connect the positive terminal to the starter post. crank the engine, the voltage you see on the meter is what is knoot nbeen able to do wn as voltage drop, or in other words, the number of volts lost accross the circuit. the acceptable voltage drop depends onthe type of circuit. For battery cables the normal standard is .1-.5 volt drop is ok, I feel anything over .2-.3 is bad.

Chances are you wont have to do a volt drop test, for what you describe a simple visual inspection of every connection the battery cable makes and maybe a resistance check should suffice. Just follow the big wire under the seat and under the hood.

Good luck, let us know what you find.

I have not been able to do resistance test or drop test yet but I did trace positive cable and I'm sure it goes from battery through firewall to jumper lug, from jumper lug to starter and from starter to alternator. Does that change anything?

[joshua43214]

Well, i'd say that certainly shortens every thing nicely. Since jumping to the lug cures the problem, you know the part of the circuit the fault lies on. Try removing and reattaching the wire at both the lug and at the battery, maybe your just not getting a good contact at the battery and the jumper clamp is adding that bit of extra force. Some new batteries come with a clear coat on the pos terminal, if its not cleaned off, it will cause problems down the road, use a wire brush and shine it up.

If you have good contact at both ends, and bypassing fix's the problem, then not much besides a bad cable unless there is a cutout you havn't seen between the battery and the lug.