car not starting up.....

[jblaudio06]

i have a bmw...and it was working great today then suddendly i parked in a parking lot and came out....and the car would turn on but not start up.....what possibilities could it be??? my dad was saying it could be the starter.....im going to get it towed tommorow ...but any idea what it is and how much it would cost to fix....

its so wierd b/c it was riding like a dream and then....

[jblaudio06]

bump...any suggestions plz

[Z U L8R]

it could be and most likely is your starter......but just to eliminate the battery try to jump it off. it could also be your ignition switch but we don't see too many of those go bad on bmw's. it honestly could be so many things but if it is your starter since this is the first time you've had this problem, if you try to start it a couple times it may start. basically in the starter you have what's called a starter solenoid, after a while the contacts that make the connection in there get burnt up and it doesn't have a good enough connection to work, sometimes you can tap the starter or try to start it like 30 times and usually you get lucky and you can drive the car to your house/shop or wherever you wanna go. if you car's a stickshift you can push it with the key to the run position and let go of the clutch in second gear and start it that way =] anyways if you need professional help message me

[civicracer5000]

I'm not familiar with bmw but if by any chance it has distribuitor could be that there is no spark and thats why attempt to start but it can't. Happens to my civic I was driving and and as I was taking a turn the engine turn off and didn't want to start anyamore till I change the distribuitor.

[SL65AMG]

im havin the same problem..... towed it today. if you dont have it fixed by the time i hear from my mech. ill let you know what my problem was on mine

[atl530i]

What model and year BMW do you have? That would really help.

[jblaudio06]

they thought it was the battery so i got a optima....but it wasnt it was the alt.....they said i need a valeo alt....where can i get one of those...???

my car is 97 325

[§treet_§peed]

you say it goes to turn over but will not start up right? i would gt the fuel pump checked out...my friends dad had a van that was doing that...

[SLOWR/T]

yeah if it turns over it cant be the starter. first i would pull a plug to see if its getting fire. if yes then check to make sure your getting fuel. if no then check your coils (assuming it has coils cause its a 97) now i havent worked on a BMW so dont ask how to check the coils IDK. i would guess theres two wire (one ground on hot). see if its got power. if yes it has power than its bad. (no spark but you have power = bad coil) if no then its something else. i just thought of it being a newer car it could just be a fuse blew when you turned the key on. so check any fuse that would relate to cranking the car. if that doesent help then well...........take it to a mech.

[GTScoob]

Where are all of the BMW fanboys in here now that somebody is actually complaining about one breaking?

Best of luck getting it fixed. I'd check that the car is getting fuel/air/spark, most likely one of those isnt sufficient if the motor is turning over when you crank it.

[kendogg]

Not to be rude, but it doens't sound as if you know all that much about cars. Therefore, I don't think I would attempt repair by yourself at least. Take it to somebody who knows what they are doing.


Now, your saying that the engine turns over, but it will not start, correct? If that is true, it cannot be your alternator, starter, or your battery. As others have mentioned, make sure the car has gas in it, and from there, we'd need more information to try and give a proper diagnosis.

BTW - is the check engine light on by chance? If so, then it deinitely needs to go to somebody who has a BMW scan tool. A standard OBD2 scanner usually will not work on these cars, you don't get but the bare-minimum required-by-law info out of the OBD2 plug on a BMW. There is a large round diagnostic connector under the hood. Any reputable BMW repair facility should have this. I suggest AutoFab motorsports in Suwanee, they're a forum sponsor here, and really know their stuff. They have a BMW mastertech working there, as well as all the diagnostic tools/info neccessary.

[kendogg]

Where are all of the BMW fanboys in here now that somebody is actually complaining about one breaking?

Best of luck getting it fixed. I'd check that the car is getting fuel/air/spark, most likely one of those isnt sufficient if the motor is turning over when you crank it.

Right here!! :goodjob:

[jblaudio06]

got new alt...already installed...was working good....but then battery died probally from before i got the new alt drained it down....so going to get one then all should b good

[Z U L8R]

if the new alternator is good it shouldn't drain anything from the battery, since the only time battery voltage is used is to turn the engine over to start it, other than that everything runs off the alternator, which alternates current, hence the name lol. but if your battery is dead once again after alternator has been replaced then there's either a wiring problem that is 1 shorting out alternators or 2 a parasitic drain, which means there's something draining the battery dead when the car sits, and if it's not a wiring problem then the correct alternator may be the 140amp instead of the 80amp.

[jblaudio06]

tommorow im sending it to pep boys.....when the car starts now making clicking sound and wont turn on engine...and wont jump

[kendogg]

tommorow im sending it to pep boys.....when the car starts now making clicking sound and wont turn on engine...and wont jump

WHOA now, man. Pep Boys is the LAST place I'd be going. YOu drive a BMW, take it to somebody who specialized in BMW's, AutoFab motorsports is a site sponsor here, with very fair labor rates, and they employ a BMW mastertech. I would NEVER trust any car with Pep Boys, let alone a BMW.

[jblaudio06]

true....but i kind of need to find a place close b/c i dont feel like paying a 400 towing bill

[SL65AMG]

just heard back from my mechanic yesterday. the bolt from the neutral safety switch came out. (i saw the bolt but couldn't, for the life of me, figure out where it came from).... thats all the problem was

[jblaudio06]

hopefully thats all mine is.....i got new alt...new battery (optima yellowtop) and was working good for awhile...but now when i start it it clicks and wont start.....


maybe the starter???

[SL65AMG]

hopefully thats all mine is.....i got new alt...new battery (optima yellowtop) and was working good for awhile...but now when i start it it clicks and wont start.....


maybe the starter???

sounds like a starter....or a bad fuel pump.... one of the two

starter is cheaper fix....do that first

mine didnt do anything,no clicking, sputtering, nothing at all just the electrical turned on

[SLo_MKIII]

tegs and bmw are similar in any way but i was reading the thread and wat evryone is saying and it sounds like the dizzy mite be bad cause this is exactly wat my car was doing... :rolleyes:

[kendogg]

tegs and bmw are similar in any way but i was reading the thread and wat evryone is saying and it sounds like the dizzy mite be bad cause this is exactly wat my car was doing... :rolleyes:

dizzy? you mean distributer? The BMW doens't have one.

[bluuuurr]

check your battery connections.. clicking on start up is usually a grounding issue