e30 320i wont start ...grrr!

[sgbuloh_e90]

yesterday tried starting my car up , - turn the key , no clicking ...tried turning on the interior lights n meter cluster ...everything seems fine.- turn the key again nothing ...waited for a good 3-5mins then the car starts up n runs fine . thinking that this might be a one-off situation . left the car at home , drove the spare car out to work .back from work at night , tried starting the car again ...same problem as stated above.also takes about few mins to get it to start . battery is fairly new , meter cluster lights does not flicker when im turning the ignition. any help would be appreciated. thanks

 

[sabani]

pls ask guru .........

 

[James Chun]

Check Your Ignition Coil , Starter Or Aletrnator~~

 

[sgbuloh_e90]

pls ask guru .........

thanks 4 nothing sabani

 

[ICEMAN 68]

does the horn works ?? usually for a flat battery ..the cluster light would be dim and the horn will not work ..

could be your alternator which is not charging and eating off your battery... therefore when you on your cluster light , the current is likely coming from the left over power ...and after 3~5 minutes is where the power is then transmitted to the alternator...

As you've said that you started the car and later in the night it's the same again .. therefore my target would be the alternator ..

Before that try checking the alternator cable ... it may be loose at times ...u never know ...

just my 2 cent input ya

 

[sgbuloh_e90]

does the horn works ?? usually for a flat battery ..the cluster light would be dim and the horn will not work ..

could be your alternator which is not charging and eating off your battery... therefore when you on your cluster light , the current is likely coming from the left over power ...and after 3~5 minutes is where the power is then transmitted to the alternator...

As you've said that you started the car and later in the night it's the same again .. therefore my target would be the alternator ..

Before that try checking the alternator cable ... it may be loose at times ...u never know ...

just my 2 cent input ya

horn n everything electrical works . would first check the alternator cable first.

this morning it starts like normal .
would like to check up on the cause of the problem b4 it aggrevates much more.

thanks iceman

 

[Strider]

Why don't you try to spray some contact cleaner into the key hole. Maybe some contact problem.

 

[sgbuloh_e90]

Why don't you try to spray some contact cleaner into the key hole. Maybe some contact problem.

will try that also strider thanks .
thanks all 4 the pointers.

also installed an e46 maplight in the car over the weekend . (man , its so bright in there)
just curious if its the new maplight that was wired n may have problems that was leaking the battery overnight. cant be sure.
but will definitely check on those tips mentioned b4 first.

cheers.

 

[berserkdroid]

just curious if its the new maplight that was wired n may have problems that was leaking the battery overnight. cant be sure.

If you've got a lethargic crank, then that's possible. If the crank is good, then it may be the ignition switch. Try jiggling the key a bit and see if that works.

I had the same problem before, changed the switch and it worked fine after that.

 

[sgbuloh_e90]

never had a lethargic crank from the car since day 1.
its always cranking up good .

might try the key jiggling trick .

cheers.

 

[al3dx]

best suggestion is:
- Check your ignition Coil & Connection
- Starter Motor & It's Wiring

 

[turbology]

How old is your starter?
How about starter relay

 

[teejay]

it's the sign of loose contact in the key ignition contact.

if problem persist ,then you would either have to change the ignition contact barrel or you could someone to rewire and get a push button start.....like the Z4, cool thing to have

if you do change the ignition contact barrel, i suggest you bring the new barrel to a locksmith and get him to mod the barrel to use back your old key, its possible, i have done it before, to all my door locks and contact barrel too.....

good luck...

 

[sgbuloh_e90]

thanks teejay for the advice.
the car is all ok now d.
didnt know what was teh prob . maybe i left some interior lights on overnight .
now its all ok now . thanks

 

[skinhead]

i think ur prob is similar with my car. i tot it was sumething todo with the ignition contact, so i add push starter button. but the problem still reappear once a while. until few weeks ago i found the root cause of my problem. is the cable connector at the starter cuming from the ignition key. tht connector contct sumhow loose once a while and cause problem to ignite....:top:

good luck....

 

[stormhunt3r]

the started motor or the wiring could be the source of the problem. I once had this problem not long after i got my E30..The engine couldn't rev after i reaching the traffic light and after i pull it over, it couldn't start. Send to the mech and check. It was oni the starter wiring's problem. According to the mech, it tap the power supply from the wrong source causing all the problem. After fixing it. Never give any problem