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      01-10-2016, 10:07 PM   #23
Vanne
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I've bought the ignition switch also, sadly not as cheap as some of you, 15 bucks for the part, 25 bucks for crappy shipping..

i haven't installed it yet, as its really intermittened.. sometimes it will work for 10 goes at a time, then not for 2 or 3 turns of the key and then back to normal..


So i have the switch, just wanna be sure that this is the issue..

** the Clutch Switch **

what the hell is this all about? so you cant start the car unless you depress the clutch pedal right?? well on mine i can start the car without pressing the clutch pedal at all.. Is that normal? I have cruize control if that makes any difference??

Reason i ask (i thought it was normal, being old school and all, pretty daft if you try to even start the car in gear without pressing the clutch pedal.. so i generally start in Neutral without pressing the clutch pedal..

don't have to get in the car and its great for warming her up before finally jumping in and going…

so my question is this… will the car start without pressing the clutch pedal in Neutral? (on yours)?

i may just swap the ignition switch out anyways, and see if that does anything, but the whole clutch switch is pretty strange.. i only brought it up as my indy jumped in and looked rather strange at me when i started the car while standing next to it. (not sitting inside it

anyways.. hope this post made a little sense??

Stiggy, man awesome post mate, hat of to ya You are the DIY king mate.
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      01-11-2016, 12:47 PM   #24
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vanne View Post
I've bought the ignition switch also, sadly not as cheap as some of you, 15 bucks for the part, 25 bucks for crappy shipping..

i haven't installed it yet, as its really intermittened.. sometimes it will work for 10 goes at a time, then not for 2 or 3 turns of the key and then back to normal..


So i have the switch, just wanna be sure that this is the issue..

** the Clutch Switch **

what the hell is this all about? so you cant start the car unless you depress the clutch pedal right?? well on mine i can start the car without pressing the clutch pedal at all.. Is that normal? I have cruize control if that makes any difference??

Reason i ask (i thought it was normal, being old school and all, pretty daft if you try to even start the car in gear without pressing the clutch pedal.. so i generally start in Neutral without pressing the clutch pedal..

don't have to get in the car and its great for warming her up before finally jumping in and going…

so my question is this… will the car start without pressing the clutch pedal in Neutral? (on yours)?

i may just swap the ignition switch out anyways, and see if that does anything, but the whole clutch switch is pretty strange.. i only brought it up as my indy jumped in and looked rather strange at me when i started the car while standing next to it. (not sitting inside it

anyways.. hope this post made a little sense??

Stiggy, man awesome post mate, hat of to ya You are the DIY king mate.
on US-spec cars, there is a clutch switch. Basically, depressing the clutch pedal will hit the switch and connect the starter circuit (via relay). So it doesn't matter what gear the car is in, or in neutral. It won't start unless you depress the clutch to engage the switch.
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      01-11-2016, 08:42 PM   #25
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Ok, is this on euro cars too? i think ill field that question over at the /other/ end..
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      01-12-2016, 02:04 AM   #26
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I dont have this feature on my euro spec coupe.
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      01-12-2016, 05:06 AM   #27
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yep, its confirmed, you can start the euro version without pressing the clutch pedal..
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      01-12-2016, 02:57 PM   #28
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Somebody over here probably sued a manufacturer after starting their car in gear and won.
You should see what lawn mowers have turned into over here, to keep idiot's fingers and toes attached.
I got a new one last year and had to spend 2 hours modifying it before it was usable.
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Last edited by StickMon; 01-12-2016 at 07:26 PM..
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      01-12-2016, 04:50 PM   #29
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Quote:
Originally Posted by StickMon View Post
Somebody over here probably sued a manufacturer after starting their car in gear and won.
You should see what lawn mowers have turned into over here, to keep idiots fingers and toes attached.
I got a new one last year and had to spend 2 hours modifying it before it was usable.
the very first lawn mower I bought with that stupid handle that has to be held in order to start. I pulled so hard on chord without the handle depressed that I broke the chord.

Took the POS back andbought a tyne mower
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      01-16-2016, 02:30 AM   #30
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Resolved: ignition switch seems to have been the issue. 20 plus starts now and all is good.. Fingers crossed.. Oh and Stiggy, best DIY ever, so simple even I could do it ;-)
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      08-07-2016, 01:51 PM   #31
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This started happening to me in the past few months. Occasionally it would take two turns to start. Lately it's been a little more often and three times a charm. I have an 06 z4 and I ordered one from carparts.com for about $30 shipped. Here's a link. http://www.carparts.com/details/BMW/...FdBahgodR3QHZA

I'll report back after I replace it to let you know if that's the issue.

-Jonathan
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      08-09-2016, 03:53 PM   #32
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Tried many suggestions on this thread when my 2003 Z4 3.0 wouldn't start this past April. Also purchased manual, and spent many hours trying other things, to no avail. Finally had the car towed to the dealer, who had similar problems locating the problem. They finally found a mouse nest under the driver side of the dash, and many wires messed up (insulation chewed off, shorts, and cut wires). Also a few wires messed up in the trunk by the battery. After repairing the wires, all was fine again. I now use dryer anti-static sheets in the trunk and under the driver's seat to keep the mice out. The cost was high, but car insurance covered most of it.
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      08-12-2016, 04:55 AM   #33
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Excellent DIY post. Something similar happened to my beloved MC last month, and after I did the switch switch, the problem remained. Off to the dealership in a flatbed...

In my situation, the service tech found out that both my keys lost synchronization to the immobilizer. They could not discern how or why both had lost sync at the same time, but were able to quickly re-synchronize it.

Oh well... I DIY'ed a part that would probably go bad on me soon *sigh*
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      09-20-2016, 10:16 AM   #34
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In case anyone is thinking of doing this, ECS has the part for dirt cheap right now, $22.31 USD:

https://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-Z4-M_C....2L/ES2723987/
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      02-02-2017, 04:10 PM   #35
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I just replaced my ignition switch, is it necessary to use that red locking paint on the screws again? I completely forgot about them, I just tightened the screws and reassembled everything
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      05-15-2018, 06:51 PM   #36
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how do you view the photo bucket photos in this post?

Hello New to this, how do I view the photos? It says photo bucket?
Thanks
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      05-28-2018, 07:33 AM   #37
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Quote:
Originally Posted by in4no View Post
Hello New to this, how do I view the photos? It says photo bucket?
Thanks
Photobucket doesn't allow third party hosting any longer without paying buttloads of money.

Here is a link to the pictures (hope this works):
http://s181.photobucket.com/user/Str...n%20fail%20fix
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      06-17-2018, 11:39 AM   #38
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Had a several instances (in 1 sitting) recently of turning the key all the way but the starter not even trying. Battery is good and all electronics work just fine....only issue was the starter not even trying....just pure silence (aside from me swearing). After a bit, all worked as normal and everything has been fine ever since.

Seems like my problem was in line w/ some other folks so I ordered a BavAuto ignition switch and a remanufactured Bosch starter assembly (also from BavAuto). After 10 years, nothing a little preventative maintenance won't hurt.

Haven't put the parts in yet since I've been TDY, but I'll report back if it doesn't fix the problem. Hate intermittent issues!
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      10-12-2020, 06:47 AM   #39
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Thumbs up Thanks

StigJ, Thanks for the imbedded videos, been struggling with diagnosing this problem for weeks, even though it got progressively worse over the last six months. And thanks for opening the old ignition switch (with video); I was able to open mine clean the medal contacts and reinstall and it works like new again. Although I might still order a new one.
Thanks again...
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