Won't start but all electrics work fine?

Ended up having a new starter motor fitted and happy days now. New battery fitted too but that won't go amiss as old one was BMW branded so possibly the original?! £92 for the battery for a Bosch one, and starter was £74 for a genuine Bosch jobbie (£128-£54 surcharge)
 
Good shout! New battery won't do any harm though for the winter, and £24 off with a halfords trade card. Can't complain.
 
Mine was also the starter motor. It had jammed. Managed to bring it back to life but was sounding a bit dry. May get away with reconditioning. We'll see once i get it off.

Thanks for the help with this feed allowing me to narrow the problem down quickly.

All the best top down in the snow :D
 
Tommy_C said:
Ended up having a new starter motor fitted and happy days now. New battery fitted too but that won't go amiss as old one was BMW branded so possibly the original?! £92 for the battery for a Bosch one, and starter was £74 for a genuine Bosch jobbie (£128-£54 surcharge)
Click to expand...

Think my starter has given up the ghost today... Where did you get a genuine Bosch one for £74?

Cheers
 
Sorry I missed this, but there is a cheap mans fix, works every time till you are "Forced" to replace a starter motor.

Bang it with a hammer, or something heavy enough to jolt the dust from the sidewall of the starter, this removes just enough of the brush build up (dust wear) and lets the brushes make contact again.
85% of the time, it just needs a slight cleaning up to make contact.

Makes one very happy on a snowy night when your miles from home and all you here is ... click click...
 
Kap'nZ4 said:
Sorry I missed this, but there is a cheap mans fix, works every time till you are "Forced" to replace a starter motor.

Bang it with a hammer, or something heavy enough to jolt the dust from the sidewall of the starter, this removes just enough of the brush build up (dust wear) and lets the brushes make contact again.
85% of the time, it just needs a slight cleaning up to make contact.

Makes one very happy on a snowy night when your miles from home and all you here is ... click click...
Click to expand...


Haha sounds good but im not even hearing a click click! Barely anything there at all... :(
 
I tried the hammer method on my starter motor but it did not help :/ In the end, had to change it with a new Bosch unit and I am rebuilding the current ori BMW unit (made by Denso) to keep as a spare. Some pics of it can be found in my build thread found in my signature.
 
I had a similar symptom this morning. All dashboard lights and headlights work 4.0 but nothing on ignition. No solenoid engagement, nothing. Once I get home from work I will measure the battery and jiggle the shifter knob (heard that can cause an interrupt...). Environment should not be an issue but temp was in the low 50s and it had rained yesterday, nose was downhill. She sat in the drive Saturday & Sunday so my 1st attempt was this morning. :erm: :idunno:
 
I've been having similar issues with my 2004 Z4 3.0i.

The car usually starts fine. I store the vehicle in the winter on a trickle charger to keep the battery alive, and only drive it in the summer months here in Toronto.

On occasion, I'll insert the key, all the electronics engage, turn the key and... nothing. I'll try this anywhere from 2-7 times before the car actually turns over.

I've noticed this is more common on a very hot day, where the car has been sitting in the heat and is like an oven. What I typically do when I run into this is insert the key, give it a good 5-10 seconds for all the electrics to settle, and then finish turning the key. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

I'm not a mechanic, so beyond the obvious things like battery or alternator I don't know much about what might be causing this type of issue. I was thinking computer problem, or electric problem, but to be honest, I'm baffled.

Any ideas?
 
Drexel said:
I've been having similar issues with my 2004 Z4 3.0i.

The car usually starts fine. I store the vehicle in the winter on a trickle charger to keep the battery alive, and only drive it in the summer months here in Toronto.

On occasion, I'll insert the key, all the electronics engage, turn the key and... nothing. I'll try this anywhere from 2-7 times before the car actually turns over.

I've noticed this is more common on a very hot day, where the car has been sitting in the heat and is like an oven. What I typically do when I run into this is insert the key, give it a good 5-10 seconds for all the electrics to settle, and then finish turning the key. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

I'm not a mechanic, so beyond the obvious things like battery or alternator I don't know much about what might be causing this type of issue. I was thinking computer problem, or electric problem, but to be honest, I'm baffled.

Any ideas?
Click to expand...

I've heard of duff ignition barrels (where the key sits) causing this, I believe it's an easy enough fix :thumbsup:
Rob
 
Smartbear said:
Drexel said:
I've been having similar issues with my 2004 Z4 3.0i.

The car usually starts fine. I store the vehicle in the winter on a trickle charger to keep the battery alive, and only drive it in the summer months here in Toronto.

On occasion, I'll insert the key, all the electronics engage, turn the key and... nothing. I'll try this anywhere from 2-7 times before the car actually turns over.

I've noticed this is more common on a very hot day, where the car has been sitting in the heat and is like an oven. What I typically do when I run into this is insert the key, give it a good 5-10 seconds for all the electrics to settle, and then finish turning the key. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

I'm not a mechanic, so beyond the obvious things like battery or alternator I don't know much about what might be causing this type of issue. I was thinking computer problem, or electric problem, but to be honest, I'm baffled.

Any ideas?
Click to expand...

I've heard of duff ignition barrels (where the key sits) causing this, I believe it's an easy enough fix :thumbsup:
Rob
Click to expand...

Thanks Rob for the quick reply!

If you don't mind me asking, could you elaborate a bit on the duff ignition barrel and fix? I've been searching and the only stuff I've turned up doesn't seem to fit.
 
I've not replaced one personally but if you use the search function on here it should give some answers, I remember it wasn't difficult or expensive :P
Rob
 
Smartbear said:
I've not replaced one personally but if you use the search function on here it should give some answers, I remember it wasn't difficult or expensive :P
Rob
Click to expand...

I keep having the same problem... I guess the issue with me trying to search for this is that I'm searching on the term "duff", but I really don't know what that means. What's a "duff ignition barrel"? I'm not very mechanically savvy, so the terminology escapes me.

I have continued looking into what might be causing this and what the fix might be. Can anyone help?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom