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E36 question, starting with door open/closed

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    #1

    E36 question, starting with door open/closed

    I have been asking around but have had no such luck. Maybe some of the e36 guys have an idea.

    I replaced a door that was dented recently and have been having an intermittent starting issue.

    Previous to door swap:
    My car would only start if the drivers door was open. If it was closed, it would start intermittently. Sometimes it would crank like half a turn and then stop. Closed it would take me 15 tries, open it would take me 1. If the door was open, it would start religiously.

    Post door swap:
    My car has the intermittent starting problem whether the door is open or closed. Starts once out of 15, door open or closed. Maybe a short in the wiring harness?


    *Notes*
    1)I used a door from a 92 on my 93 325is.
    2)I used the wiring harness from my 93.
    3)I don't like driving E36's as much as E30's.


    Anybody have any ideas at all? What parts in the door are even related to starting? Is the car not supposed to start unless the doors are closed if working properly? I think I might try swapping the wiring harness from the 92 door in this weekend and see if it helps.

    Any tidbit of info would help tremendously.
    sigpic
    "The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter." - Winston Churchill
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    #2
    I think you have an unusual coninsidence on your hands. There is nothing in the starting system that is directly related to door position.
    Adam Fogg- '88 M3

    Common sense- It's the new 'gifted'

    Comment

      #3
      F*ck me...I should enter the lottery, because the statistical chances of what happened would seriously be one in trillions if it was truly random.

      Imagine flipping a coin and calling it correctly 75 times in a row...

      In any case, somebody on another forum mentioned that the starter may be tied in with the locking mechanism or something to that effect. Could this be the case? Is it possible that the starter is indirectly related...maybe some sort of factory antitheft setup or something?

      I think I'm just going to end up bypassing all the bs and just wire up a simple pushbutton.
      sigpic
      "The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter." - Winston Churchill

      Comment

        #4
        did it have an aftermarket alarm in it at one point??

        If it did the alarm (which is hooked into a starter kill) might make it not work properly. I would look for any components left of the alarm in the door hardware and under the steering columb.

        Comment

          #5
          Does it crank but not start, or won't even crank?

          I've got the factory electrical diagrams in front of me here and there are no directly related systems. Does the car have an aftermarket alarm installed? If so I'd bypass that thing first.
          Adam Fogg- '88 M3

          Common sense- It's the new 'gifted'

          Comment

            #6
            As far as I can tell, there's no aftermarket alarm.

            It won't even crank when I try to start. Sometimes it will crank for a second and then stop cranking.


            Let me try the push button setup this weekend and see how it goes. Thanks for your help adam.
            sigpic
            "The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter." - Winston Churchill

            Comment

              #7
              Originally posted by shiftbmw View Post
              As far as I can tell, there's no aftermarket alarm.

              It won't even crank when I try to start. Sometimes it will crank for a second and then stop cranking.


              Let me try the push button setup this weekend and see how it goes. Thanks for your help adam.
              good luck,
              make sure you do not:blowup:

              Comment

                #8
                Haha, i'll definately try. I'm going to set it up with a relay and everything and use a momentary button. I think it'll be a success...but who knows. If my car explodes, pictures to come ;-)
                sigpic
                "The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter." - Winston Churchill

                Comment

                  #9
                  One more thing- check if the battery connections are tight. If they are even a little bit loose this can happen. Check if the connections on the starter have worked loose as well.
                  Adam Fogg- '88 M3

                  Common sense- It's the new 'gifted'

                  Comment

                    #10
                    Originally posted by AdamF 88iS View Post
                    One more thing- check if the battery connections are tight. If they are even a little bit loose this can happen. Check if the connections on the starter have worked loose as well.
                    Yeah, I was going to pop them all off and clean them with a wire brush.

                    I had a starting issue on my M3 a while back that required a good cleaning of the battery terminals and I haven't had a problem since.
                    sigpic
                    "The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter." - Winston Churchill

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