[ngacleetus]

So I go out this morning and my car won't start. All the electronics are there, but nothing turns over. Take the battery out and get it tested and it tests strong. Home diagnostics test shows it good, take it to the store and they show it good. Do some research, can't find anything else that relates except the starter. Go through the unnecessarily enormous task of taking out the Intake Manifold to change the starter. Take it in and have it tested before I bought another one, and it was good as well. I don't know what else to do. I'm really at a loss. I will likely change the starter, just because I went through all the trouble to pull this crap out. The battery is from 2009, so I guess it could be bad but there has been no symptoms of anything failing.

[nate5ks]

Could be a bad brake switch (AT) or clutch switch (MT). Scan for bmw specific fault codes, if you can't do this call someone who can or tow to an indy instead of throwing parts at it. Remember when installing the starter to hook up that little wire or the car will not start.

[pgaplayerless]

Originally Posted by ngacleetus

So I go out this morning and my car won't start. All the electronics are there, but nothing turns over. Take the battery out and get it tested and it tests strong. Home diagnostics test shows it good, take it to the store and they show it good. Do some research, can't find anything else that relates except the starter. Go through the unnecessarily enormous task of taking out the Intake Manifold to change the starter. Take it in and have it tested before I bought another one, and it was good as well. I don't know what else to do. I'm really at a loss. I will likely change the starter, just because I went through all the trouble to pull this crap out. The battery is from 2009, so I guess it could be bad but there has been no symptoms of anything failing.

Why do you go replacing mechanical parts before testing and ruling out all electrical possibilities?

[R.G.]

Gas

[Three_thirty_I]

Originally Posted by nate5ks

Could be a bad brake switch (AT) or clutch switch (MT). Scan for bmw specific fault codes, if you can't do this call someone who can or tow to an indy instead of throwing parts at it. Remember when installing the starter to hook up that little wire or the car will not start.

This is something to check indeed! Makes loads of sense that it could be something this simple!

[Meeni]

Could be quite a number of completely unrelated issues, don't just throw money on a starter before you know what's going on.

Are you sure the car is in P btw

[R.G.]

What did you find Cleetus?

[Three_thirty_I]

Originally Posted by R.G.

What did you find Cleetus?

Yep, also interested to know!

[sherm801]

My car will not start. The radio is the only thing that turns on? It will not kick on dash lights and the battery tested at 11.7 today. I have been reading online to wiggle the red wire next to the fuse box in the older 06-07 e90 models, any ideas?

[ngacleetus]

Mine turned out to be the battery. It was testing at 12.4-13 volts. Replaced the battery and that fixed the issue.

[sherm801]

Originally Posted by ngacleetus

Mine turned out to be the battery. It was testing at 12.4-13 volts. Replaced the battery and that fixed the issue.

So even though your battery was testing normal the computer system would not let it power up your car? Did you pull any codes or weird dash lights before the problems? My light bulb light was on the day before and from my reading it may indicate a bad battery.

[nate5ks]

If you're pretty sure that its the starter at least have it bench tested. A bad starter (from my experience) will still draw power and drain the battery so that's something to look at.

[Chriztofor]

Originally Posted by sherm801

My car will not start. The radio is the only thing that turns on? It will not kick on dash lights and the battery tested at 11.7 today. I have been reading online to wiggle the red wire next to the fuse box in the older 06-07 e90 models, any ideas?

Is your battery original?
If the radio is the only thing that turns on then it probably is the battery

[nate5ks]

11.7 is very low. Charge the battery and have it tested

[GoRomeo]

yeah I agree with posts above. Do a load test on your battery. Take battery to an Auto parts store and have them do it. It should be free since they want to sell you a new battery. Keep us posted.

[330iE90spt]

I don't understand why his battery service indicator light didn't come on. When our batteries go, there's no warning?

[GoRomeo]

Originally Posted by 330iE90spt

I don't understand why his battery service indicator light didn't come on. When our batteries go, there's no warning?

Yeah there is. Mine would come on yellow but only if my radio would stay ON after engine shut off. About 3 min, then radio will turn off on its own. I believe this is caused by ECU in order to save the most power for next car starting.

After I changed my battery radio now stays on for about 15 min and then turns off. this is normal. Cheers!