BMW Blog

I need some diagnostic help. Some friends just picked me up from a mall parking lot where my crippled '95 M3 is sitting...the car won't turn over at all. The '95 doesn't have a clutch interlock, but when I depress the clutch and turn the key, I feel a ticking through the clutch pedal.

The battery is fully charged and I drove the car to the mall without any problems; I was in the store only about 45 minutes. Any ideas or things I could try? I REALLY don't want to get it flatbedded unless I've exhausted all options. I have to wait to get it towed anyway because a flatbed won't be able to hook up with other cars in the lot.

Help!! thanks in advance. My thoughts are some connection to the starter motor, the starter motor itself...the clicking's interesting, though. It's faint and more of a feeling through the depressed clutch than a sound, and it only happens 5-6 times when the key is turned all the way. The OBC isn't showing any faults and the battery is connected properly and showing the green light meaning fully charged. Could a bad alternator cause the car to not turn over? Again, any tips for how to diagnose - or more importantly for getting the car started - would be really appreciated. I'm in Chicago, by the way.

If you have a second key you could try that. Sometimes the transponder chip in the key goes bad and the EWS won't let the car start.

If you have a second key you could try that. Sometimes the transponder chip in the key goes bad and the EWS won't let the car start.

it's a 12/94 build date, so I don't think I have EWS. The update is that it started when my friends drove me back a few hours later. Kind of embarassing, though...at least I won't have to take it into the shop.

Yea, your right. Your car has EWS I. No chip just basically the OBC code. EWS II started 1/95 and has the chip.