wont start - hazards flashing

[sandy08]

My 94 325 wont start and I need help. When I try and start it it cranks fine but it simply wont fire. When I let go of the key the hazard lights are flashing even though the hazard switch isn't touched and in fact it isn't even lit up. I have to press the switch twice to get them to turn off.

My first guess is some sort of anti-theft part is triggered. I've only owned this car for 6 months but as far as I know it doesn't have any alarm. However, I think I read in the manual about some passive anti-theft device that comes standard that wont let the car be started.

My second guess would be some kind of crash sensors failed that shuts off the fuel and trips the flashers.

In either case, how do I troubleshoot this and figure out what components really failed without swaping out expensive parts? The car is at my brother-in-laws shop. He's a good certified mechanic but he doesn't have the diagnostic equipment that plugs into a 94 BMW and I REALLY don't want to have it towed to a stealer!

[sandy08]

I found my own answer. As strange as this sounds it was a bad battery. I say strange because the car seemed to be cranking very strongly and the lights seemed brite. However, upon checking the battery it was found to have a bad cell and failed the load check.

I did see a post somewhere else saying that the flashers going off was a weak battery indicator but that sounded too strange. I guess I stand corrected.

I thought I would pass this answer along as an FYI.

[Stephen 325TDS]

Thanks, Sandy. 'always handy to know.

Stephen