03 M3 won't start this morning!

[streetcuda]

So, I head off to work this morning and my M3 won't start. It's a 2003 with a manual tranny. Now, everyhting on the inside works; lights, radio, windows, etc. My xenons came on without any dimming or anything so I figured the battery was good. I have a battery tester at home and it confirmed that the battry was fine. When I turn the key to start it nothing happens at all, no click or anything. I can here the fuel pump cycling so I know it's fine. I wondered about the starter but there wasn't even as much as a shudder when I tried to crank it over. The starter solenoid doesn't try to engage at all.

I'm kinda frustrated right now trying to figure out what's up. A couple of my buddies and I were talking about it and were wondering if there might be a bad wire to the starter. Our other thought, and I guess it makes the most sense, is if the neutral safety switch is stuck and not sensing when the clutch pedal is depressed. Anybody have a similar problem at all? Any suggestions or ideas? Thanks!

[streetcuda]

Also wondering if it may possibly be in the immobilization system. I've heard that this can cause similar problems. Anything I can do other than take it the the BMW stealer to get it fixed? I live 50 miles from the nearest dealer and don't want to tow it up there if at all possible.

[Tassie_328i]

When in doubt give the starter solenoid a tap, if you can get to it, not sure where it is on these.

Do you normally have to have the clutch in or something for these to start??

[gixerdave1983]

id rule out the clutch pedal being depressed, you can still start an E46 in gear!!! if it was an immobilizer problem it would normally cut the fuel pump aswell so wouldnt go down that route straight away.....have you checked the fuses????

[streetcuda]

First off, I did check all the fuses and everything was good. My buddy from work has a heck of a lot more experience than I do with electrical and engine components; I'm more of a suspension/chassis guy. He came over after work saturday night and we jacked up the front of the M so we could climb under it to get to the starter. We got out his multimeter and found out that there was NO voltage coming from the ignition switch to the starter solenoid. However, he was able to arc the two positive leads on the starter and it fired right up, thank God! I shut it off and tried to crank it over again and it worked fine. I haven't had a problem since. Wondering if the immobilizer was triggered accidently and once it started it reset itself? Still kinda confused, but happy that she's running again!

[gixerdave1983]

if it does it again give the starter relay a tap to see if that makes a difference.....fingers crossed tho mate it wont

[joshm38]

that must have been a scary experience

[streetcuda]

Yeah, it was pretty frustrating at first, then scary the more I thought about it through the day. Like I said earlier, the nearest BMW dealership is about 50 miles away. My coworker has a car dolly, but I'm not sure I'd want to do it that way. The only way I'd really trust it to get up there would be by flatbed, which would be some serious $ just for the tow! Add that to whatever the dealer would rape me for and I was getting pretty upset. Just thankful that everything's been fine since then.

[black92bmw]

Originally Posted by streetcuda

Yeah, it was pretty frustrating at first, then scary the more I thought about it through the day. Like I said earlier, the nearest BMW dealership is about 50 miles away. My coworker has a car dolly, but I'm not sure I'd want to do it that way. The only way I'd really trust it to get up there would be by flatbed, which would be some serious $ just for the tow! Add that to whatever the dealer would rape me for and I was getting pretty upset. Just thankful that everything's been fine since then.

AAA works wonders for those types of situations.

[TheTunerSource]

Starting problems could be a multitude of things make sure that you figure out which code you have before forcing a start.