uh oh.. weird noise leading to car not starting

[mrsleeve]

My condolences on the departure of your starter.

x2

Your stater never disengaged after the engined fired, the motor may have stopped when so it was free wheeling but the stater gear never retracted and stayed engaged on the fly wheel. Have fun changing it the top bolts are a pain in the ass. If its a 5spd car just park on a hill all the time or get help to push start it every time.

[volta06]

Ya, radio and cd player still worked. The antenna even retracted and extended. Fuse maybe?

[kowalski]

does your radio still turn on?

[volta06]

ugh... really? Would that lead to all of the other strange 'power-outs' (i.e. windows and fan not working)? How much does a new starter run for? Thanks for the help

[DaveSmed]

My condolences on the departure of your starter.

[volta06]

Sorry, forgot to state that its a 87 325is! Thanks

[volta06]

Sorry for the foreboding, vague title, but here is my story:

I get in my car today nd start it up to go to my girlfriend's place. Right when I start it, I notice this somewhat loud rattling, whining noise. It almost sounded as if a fan was going and something was rattling around in an electric motor. Probably not the case, but that is what it sounded like.

Anyways, the engine worked fine, didn't run any hotter than normal, but the fan/heat in my car would not work. Then, I notice that the windows won't role down. So, I start to think that something went wrong electrically. However, the radio/cd player and displays still worked fine. This noise continued the entire 10 minutes of driving.

Once I shut the car down, I tried to start it up again, but to no avail. I turned the key but absolutely nothing happened. The starter motor didn't even try to turn the engine over. Definitely something electrical, but I have no clue what it could be. Any suggestions? Am I screwed?