My 2001 330Ci Will Not Start

I

iamapato01

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#1
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#1
Hi,
I got in my car today and tried to start it. I push in the clutch, make sure it's in neutral, turn the key, and it does not start. Instead, it makes a clicking sound and the headlights cycle on and off (click click click). Then after I let go of the key, it shows a light indicating EML on the dash.

I then proceeded to jump the battery, to no avail.

>I don't know if this affected it, but, 3 days ago I tried to see if the car would show me fault codes for an intermittent oil light. I put the key in the second position and pressed the gas pedal 5 times quickly. Nothing happened, so I exited the car and locked it. I hadn't been in the car since.
Could I have put it in some sort of mode that is not allowing me to start the car?

Please help
Thank You,
Patrick

P.S. Many people are telling me it's the battery, but I don't see how a dead battery would make the lights flash. Also, I checked the voltage with a multimeter after charging it and it read 11.9V.

Thanks
 
Kirby

Kirby

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#2
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Reading,PA
#2
A car battery can be "worn out" and still show a voltage of 12v. It's actually current (amps) that does the work. The clicking/flashing lights is a pretty good sign that you are not getting enough power to start the engine. It could be:
- "worn out" battery
- bad battery cable or connector

The first thing to do is to ensure that it is not the battery, you can't reliably troubleshoot an electrical problem until you know the battery is good. Pull the battery and take it to a car parts store so they can test it.
 
I

iamapato01

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#3
Ok new Update:
I put in a new battery and it still doesnt work. The car is doing strange things like when I open the door, the window will jitter up and down.
 
B

bmwboi

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#4
same thing happened to my car. Dealer replaced battery, car was good for a day, then everything went to hell--electrically speaking. Problem was bad alternator that was pumping out only 11.9 amps under load. It's supposed to be at 14.3. Not sure what cost was; it was covered under CPO. Alternator was only 39K miles old on an 02'
 
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