Car will not start - United Bimmer Community

**Reddots89** · 01-17-2007, 04:46 PM

my 96 328ic was running great today and i went in the house for a couple minutes and when i returned it would not start. i am almost certain that the battery is fine and i cleaned the terminals. when i turn the key all the gages and everything powers on and i turn the key further to power the motor on and nothing happens. im thinking it is an ignition problem but i cant figure it out. i tried jumping the car to make sure it wasnt the battery and it made no difference. the headlights and everything are all shining bright and it isnt making the clicking sound that it usually makes when the battery is dead. if you have had a problem like this let me know. i hope i can figure this out. thanks

**xsperf** · 01-17-2007, 05:00 PM

if its stick shift you could try push starting it, otherwise i would suggest shorting the starter relay

**mullethunter3** · 01-17-2007, 05:14 PM

You know, from the dumb person perspective (i.e. my own)... if the car is an auto, and you left it in drive when you turned it off, the car will exhibit the same symptoms you described. I've done it. I'm dumb (not that you are, I just feel really dumb admitting it.)

**Reddots89** · 01-17-2007, 05:16 PM

its an automatic. how do i short out the starter relay and where is it located. im only 17 and i dont know much about the electronic crap in these cars. thanks.

**Reddots89** · 01-17-2007, 05:18 PM

haha no i did not leave the car in drive. however i did take the transmission out of park and move it around to see if it made a difference.

**Reddots89** · 01-17-2007, 06:03 PM

UPDATE

i just went out to see if the car would start and it started right up. im not quite sure why it did but i still want to know what the problem is so when it happens again in the future. thanks

**mullethunter3** · 01-17-2007, 06:44 PM

Maybe a faulty connection? Meh, who knows. Good luck with it in the future!

**Reddots89** · 01-17-2007, 07:13 PM

so the car started and i drove about a mile. i parked for a second to put my radio code back in because i unhooked the battery. as im sitting there all of the lights go dimm and the engines rpms are almost down to nothing. all of the dash lights were barley lit or flickering and the radio would only put out static. so i revved the motor to about 2 grand for a minute and nothing happened. so i sat there for a second and everything came back on bright. i thought everything was fine but i noticed a light on the dash that was a ! with a gear going around it. when i went to accelerate the car was stuck in 4th gear. so i turned it off and on and it ran perfect. i think the car is possessed and i was wondering if anyone else had experienced this? thanks for the help

**xsperf** · 01-17-2007, 09:08 PM

hmm, from that last post it may be your alternator/charging system, what was your battery volatage? you should measure the voltage coming out of the alternator and make sure its actually working

**3050rpm** · 01-18-2007, 06:39 PM

Reminiscent of the symptoms of when my alternator went at ~180,000 miles, which is probably better than average life expectancy, so if you're in that mileage ballpark... As I was away from home at the time, the car was towed to a BMW dealer who diagnosed the alternator gone south, and they said the battery too. They said $800 to repair. I had the car flat bedded home, a buddy rebuilt my alternator for $100, I did the other labor myslelf, and I'm with the same battery, over three years now. Tha'ts one reason why I think so highly of dealer service.

**Reddots89** · 01-18-2007, 07:44 PM

the car did start this morning but only lasted a mile. it was snowing and i had to pull over due to the light coming on the dash again that looks like a exclamation mark with a gear or something going around it. the car was again stuck in 4th gear so i pulled over and turned it off. when i went to turn it back on nothing happened. im back to the same problem of the car not starting. i plugged a obd computer in it and it gave me the code p1750 manufacturer contrl. transmission. i went online and looked up what the code actually meant and it said something with the selenoid but im not sure. i would really like to figure the problem out if anyone has any answers. it sounds like it could be many different problems. oh yeah and i had gotten my battery replaced today and it didnt make a difference. help me

**xsperf** · 01-18-2007, 08:32 PM

i think that gear with ! point is a tranny light, and since it get stuck in 4th gear something may be fishy w/the tranny, and just like someone mentioned, yea you didnt leave it in drive, however the switch/sensor that detects which gear you are in may be faulty causing the car to think you are still in drive and therefore not starting

**QcMarque** · 01-19-2007, 01:31 AM

If the code was for a faulty solenoid, you may want to check the sensor forthe gear selection (as xsperf mentioned), as well as the solenoid itself. Get ahold of the ETM/WDS and the TIS for your car to find their locations. hopefully it won't involve pulling the tranny... but as with anything of that sort, there's always the possibility.