Weird situation with my '95 530i...

[dternst]

I jumped in the car this morning, stuck the key in the ignition, and nothing. Absolutely nothing. The lights and the radio operated fine. The weird thing I noticed: there was no resistance when I turned the ignition. Also there was not audible verification of the wireless entry system. The remote worked fine (I just replaced the battery).

As the title mentions, my car is a '95 530i with a manual transmission (sorry about leaving the manual part out Ryan).

Anyone have any suggestions? Has the wireless entry system locked up the ignition? I have no clue...

Thanks in advance guys and gals...

David

[Boone.Msi]

is it the original key? my friend bought a 01 330ci and kept using the spare key that he was given. the computer recognized this and locked the ignition until he used the main key. im 99.9% sure our keys dont have chips. but just a thought since same problem.

[dternst]

is it the original key? my friend bought a 01 330ci and kept using the spare key that he was given. the computer recognized this and locked the ignition until he used the main key. im 99.9% sure our keys dont have chips. but just a thought since same problem.

I've been using the same key for the last four years.

[94530inh]

that happened to me. My starter was toast.

[dternst]

that happened to me. My starter was toast.

How much did it cost to replace it? Did you replace the starter on your own?

[ryan roopnarine]

i'll refrain from making any tangential comments....

is it an automatic transmission car? if it is, try and start it in neutral, instead of park, with your foot on the brake, and the e-brake on.

[dternst]

i'll refrain from making any tangential comments....

is it an automatic transmission car? if it is, try and start it in neutral, instead of park, with your foot on the brake, and the e-brake on.

Manual... made the change in the post.

[dternst]

i'll refrain from making any tangential comments....

is it an automatic transmission car? if it is, try and start it in neutral, instead of park, with your foot on the brake, and the e-brake on.

I apologize for leaving that little but very important word out of my initial thread... thanks for the reminder.

[ryan roopnarine]

if you were to put your headlights and radio on, and attempt to start the car, do the lights and radio go out when you have the key all of the way forward? when you say "no resistance". do you really mean that the key spins forward with no effort, or that it just goes forward a lot easier than it normally does?

[dternst]

if you were to put your headlights and radio on, and attempt to start the car, do the lights and radio go out when you have the key all of the way forward? when you say "no resistance". do you really mean that the key spins forward with no effort, or that it just goes forward a lot easier than it normally does?

The headlights won't come on only the running lights. I turned on the lights, turned on the radio, and tried to turn it over. The key goes forward a lot easier than normal but the lights and radio remained operating. I also noticed, never noticed this before, that the total mileage, trip mileage, and the LCD below the speedometer lights remain on when the doors are closed.

I'm totally confused...