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Thread: E39 525i engine cutting out/no electrical power

  1. #1
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    E39 525i engine cutting out/no electrical power

    Posting this from the hard shoulder of the M4!
    Driving along and the car starts juddering, with revs dropping. Pulled in and it is ticking over badly so decide to turn it and restart. The car catches and runs for a couple of seconds before cutting out. Now it doesn't even have enough power to keep the hazards flashing! Alternator? Something else?

    The AA are on the way so typing to keep my fingers warm if nothing else!!!

  2. #2
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    RE: E39 525i engine cutting out/no electrical power

    Last sentence "hazards not even flashing" would lead me toward alternator but first part of the post sounds like a coil pack failure

    Its a weird one but id be leaning toward alternator did the dash light up like an xmas tree when you lost power ?

  3. #3
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    RE: E39 525i engine cutting out/no electrical power

    No Gar, no lights which is what I would have expected too.

  4. #4
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    E39 525i engine cutting out/no electrical power

    When mine went i had the dash light up lost all power couldnt even indicate to the hard shoulder scariest 2 minutes of my life

    Iv no experience with a chain snapping or giving up but it could be a possibility its not a common issue but not completely unheard of dont want to scare you just thinking out loud

    Was there pop, bang or a loud metallic rattle when you got to the hard shoulder it might even be a belt

  5. #5
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    RE: E39 525i engine cutting out/no electrical power

    Hopefully it is just belt, we'll see! No bangs, pops or rattles thankfully...or not!

  6. #6
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    RE: E39 525i engine cutting out/no electrical power

    Home 3 hours later than usual and the problem was pretty fundamental...it appears I ran out of petrol. Although the OBC gave a range of 50km and there was still nearly a gallon in the tank (it took just over 66ltrs to refill), the engine had other ideas. Odd no?
    The frustration I felt standing around for nearly 3 hours waiting for the AA man to appear is offset by the fact I'm not facing a big bill of some sort...just!

  7. #7
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    E39 525i engine cutting out/no electrical power

    not a bad outcome at least no bills await thats the last time you drive on reserves

  8. #8
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    E39 525i engine cutting out/no electrical power

    Quote Originally Posted by pauliE3X
    Home 3 hours later than usual and the problem was pretty fundamental...it appears I ran out of petrol. Although the OBC gave a range of 50km and there was still nearly a gallon in the tank (it took just over 66ltrs to refill), the engine had other ideas. Odd no?
    The frustration I felt standing around for nearly 3 hours waiting for the AA man to appear is offset by the fact I'm not facing a big bill of some sort...just!
    No very common on the E39s, one of your tank units is reading incorrect. Usually it's the one with the fuel pump built into it, the one on the drivers side. It can be taken out and you can clean the contacts on it.

  9. #9
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    RE: E39 525i engine cutting out/no electrical power

    can you give a bit more info on that conor, i have noticed on my e39 that when i start up the car the gauge reads slightly less than what it is than after a minute of driving off it moves back to where i thought the the reading should be

  10. #10

    RE: E39 525i engine cutting out/no electrical power

    Quote Originally Posted by claudio
    can you give a bit more info on that conor, i have noticed on my e39 that when i start up the car the gauge reads slightly less than what it is than after a minute of driving off it moves back to where i thought the the reading should be
    Mine does that too and always has or when its warm if I'm stuck in heavy traffic the needle drops but when I hit the open road it goes back up. I've never run out of fuel.

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