BMW E36 starting problem.

15 Sep 2017

So I had this problem today. Pulled up to a shop, returned after 10 minutes, turned the key, lights went on - everything was normal. But when I turned the key to start the car - nothing. All of the lights were on, everything was working, but the car didn’t even crank. Tried a few times - still nothing. I clutch started it down the hill and it ran just fine. Drove home a few miles and when I shut it off and turned the key it started just fine. Tried a few times and the problem was gone. But I’m afraid that it will happen again. I also noticed a strange thing - roughly 1 in every 10 starts, the starter runs longer before the engine starts. Does the starter need replacing or is there a loose connection somewhere?

Comments

Cant be the starter if your able to bump start it

Why not? Going down a hill and starting by switching in gear doesn’t involve the starter.

My bad your right but i think its time to go jdm

Did it give a click sound when u tried to crank it?

Didn’t hear a click sound, at least from the inside. What I’m thinking is a faulty ignition switch. But that doesn’t explain why it fixed itself.

It is probably the starter (I remember from some sort of offroading show where the car did not crank, they pushed it and on the rough tereain the starter worked again), it could also be a blackbug (if you have one). Did you fuel pump turn on?

I guess it’s either a bad/loose wire from the ignition to the starter, or a bad ground. It could also be the battery (dropping enough voltage so the starter won’t crank.) but thats unlikely since you only left it for 10 minutes.

This is a bit left field but with the E36 there has been some known issues with the EWS which can cause a similar issue. Otherwise all the options mentioned above can also be relative to what your experiencing… It does sound more like a starter motor issue though. Just throwing some ideas out there!