Wife called in panic - Z4 would not start

[mariaevinne]

My wife left in her 03 BMW Z4 to travel to Denver to visit her sister. Anyway, along about 11AM, I get a panicked call from her stating that she had stopped to get gas in Colorado City and now her car would not start. When she turned the key - nothing. I had her check the battery, which appeared to have good, tight, clean connections. The battery was also relatively new. Anyway, we never did figure out what the problem was but after several attempts it all of the sudden decided to start. She made it to her sister's house and so far the car seems to be starting fine. Assuming she makes it home, I intend to check the electrical system to see what the problem might had been (maybe a clutch lock-out switch?).

Could some of you more experienced folks suggest some things I might check? I think this car has a lockout switch on the clutch? Is there also a neutral switch (the car must be in neutral?) This is a 5 speed manual by the way. I also know the key for this car has a chip that must be in proximity of the dash to allow the car to start. I'm wondering there could be a problem with her key/chip - could a weak Fob batter cause this issue?

Thanks

[wingnut]

Hi.
Had a similar problem with mine (which is manual), turned out to be the ignition switch electrical contacts which get pitted, they are in a separate unit attached to the back of the ignition key/barrel easy swap and about £25.

Good luck

[Chris_D]

Could be a number of things, so cancelling out potential issues is a good idea.
afaik starter motors can fail on older cars and mine was replaced along with the alternator before i purchased it.
If you have lights on the dash at ignition position 2 then this would point to the starter solenoid not engaging.
If no lights at position 2 then there's a battery/electrical issue.
Did the starter motor turn over at ignition without the engine firing up? If yes, then it could be fuel delivery issue.
If the starter motor didnt turn over then this points to a dodgy starter motor.
Ignition barrel can also be problematic.
search threads on here as there have been similar issues reported.
good luck.

[srhutch]

Hi.
Had a similar problem with mine (which is manual), turned out to be the ignition switch electrical contacts which get pitted, they are in a separate unit attached to the back of the ignition key/barrel easy swap and about £25.

Good luck

As above, the ignition switch is quite a common failure.

When mine failed the car would turn over but not fire. After a while of course it would start. By turning the key to position 2 I could see sometimes there were no ignition lights. Continuing to try and start the car under this condition of course failed. By turning the key through to position 2 and back off until the lights came on was the solution until I swapped out the ignition switch. 10 minute job and under £20 easy.

[WLH]

If the car is turning over but won't start it sound like the ignition switch which is not an uncommon failure.
See video and text below:

I made a video for the dealer in the event the problem would not happen when the car went in. They told me to crank the engine for a max of 20 seconds in the video. Notice that on the fourth try to start all of the indicators lights came on and that was the indication that the problem was with the ignition switch. There was no charge as this was covered by the warranty.

[Rich8]

If the OP's description is literal, he said "turn the key - nothing" - suggesting nothing happened at all (I.e. No lights on dash, and engine not turning over/starter not spinning).

I have no answers either way . Just trying to help clarify the original problem