Intermittant no-start

[rcair3d]

Apologies to bimbim, I thought he was trying to help cracker red solve his problem by comparing his previous issue. Sorry for the misinterpretation.

[bimbim]

well I know I did not hook up the ground on a car I was working on, think it was a Galant, and it did not do nada, so I'm going to make sure that is not the problem firstly.

[cooljess76]

Originally Posted by bimbim

no the 95 does not have a clutch switch, so I'm going to check the motor ground wire.
Its a poor design, I can start the car while in gear and it jumps forward like my old volkswagan use to.

My 95 clubsport had a switch, car wouldn't start unless clutch was engaged. It's a safety issue, are you sure the previous owner didn't remove/bypass it or perhaps your car had an auto-manual conversion?

[tiFreak]

Originally Posted by cooljess76

My 95 clubsport had a switch, car wouldn't start unless clutch was engaged. It's a safety issue, are you sure the previous owner didn't remove/bypass it or perhaps your car had an auto-manual conversion?

mine doesn't have it, 6/95 build date so they might have not put them on early 95 cars

[Xenocide]

Originally Posted by rcair3d

Have a buddy hold a positive lead to a volt meter on the positive lead of the starter, Ground the negative. Turn the key to start, If sufficient current is displayed then the starter is bad. If no feedback persists A professional is needed. However if it is the starter I can send you a good used one for the shipping cost.

FAIL. You cannot measure current in parallel with the circuit. You can measure voltage to see if there is a drop. Anyone replacing a starter would be an idiot to not put a new/manufactured one in. OP, 99% chance it is your starter, very common on the e36 bmw.

[Xenocide]

Originally Posted by tiFreak

mine doesn't have it, 6/95 build date so they might have not put them on early 95 cars

IIRC Only OBDII cars have clutch switches (for starting) They do have them for cruise.

My 94 325 does not have a clutch start switch while my 98 528i does.

[cooljess76]

Hmm, this is pretty odd. I thought all manuals would have a clutch switch. According to realoem, e36 compacts with M42's ie 1995's, should have clutch switches:
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/partxref....ur=&series=E36

And part# 61318360421 (CLUTCH SWITCH) was found on the following vehicles:
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/partxref....0421&showus=on

I mean if e24's and e30's had them, IDK why the Ti wouldn't? It was made after they stopped producing e24's and e30's.

[Maverix]

Sounds like the starter is going bad. Had the same exact symptoms until I replaced it. It will just get progressively worse until it is replaced. Giving gas while starting the car will not help, so don't do it.

[Platanos]

Didn't want to start a new thread when the title of this one is exactly whats going on.

My 95ti is having trouble starting. Its cranking but not starting. I recently changed the starter, throttle body/chip (dinan), spark plug wires, intake sensor (maf). Its weird, when it does start, she idles beutifully, no check engine lights, perfect idle, everything works great. Then I shut it off and try to start it again, nothing. It'll take a few times to start her up again.

I just ordered a cam postion sensor (trigger contact). What else could it be? I really need to have this car running by this weekend. CPS will be here tomorrow. Anything else I should look into?

[J!m]

Originally Posted by cracker red

it's an auto....

There is a similar 'gizmo' as the clutch switch on the auto cars, which may have failed on you.

It's a magnetic switch I beleive; or perhaps just a proximity sensor to make sure you are not in gear when you start. When you convert to auto you run these wires to the clutch switch, so it is essentially the same thing.

RealOEM.com Home => Select another car => Gearshift => Gear shift parts,automatic transmission

07 Magnet125161219600$67.84

#7 in the diagram

You could try jumping it out and see how that does for you. (make sure it's in park!)

[bimbim]

OK I looked at the neg ground battery cable and it had a nice white foamy layer of corrosion at the ground bolt. The battery has an overflow tube that when overfilled with distilled water (which it was) it will drip conveniently over the neg connection....so this eventually broke up the connectioness of the wire.

So I cleaned it up...checked the battery levels, put in a new neg cable and secured all connections...haven't had any trouble since.

My guess is becouse of the bad connection, the EWS system would prevent the car from starting.

BTW my starter was replaced two years ago with a spanking brand new bosch unit.

[J!m]

Originally Posted by bimbim

My guess is becouse of the bad connection, the EWS system would prevent the car from starting.

Nope.

The bad cable is/was the problem. Usually it is the one at the engine mount, but your discovery is a good one to document as well.