*666* My car is possessed!! (okay - it may be electrical)

[TimmyBigHands]

I'm wondering WTF is happenening??

Sometimes when I go to start the car up, it only kicks over for .5 seconds and then acts like I'm not turning the key anymore. Then I have to turn the key all the way off, and then try to start it again. It's taking longer and longer to turn on too... like it turns over 6-8 times where it used to take only 3-4 turns before it cranked.

Now, the window switches dont work sometimes. Same thing, if it doesnt start the first time, the window switches dont light up and non of them work. ALSO noticed that when this happens my blower motor doesnt work either. HOW do I know??? 'Cuz it's 112 F&*king degrees outside and I was ROASTING in my car with no windows down and no air working!!!!!! AGAIN, I have to turn my car off, and wait a coupla seconds and then try to restart it.

THIS SUCKS! WTF is happening? It's almost like a relay is not working or something sometimes.

[TriFlow]

Welcome to e30's Muhahahahaha... It's probaly a problem in your wiring harness under the clutch or foot rest area...

[TimmyBigHands]

Lol, thanks TriFlow. Best case scenario on the whole taking longer to start thing could be a dying battery... worst case is I'm loosing compression due to bad rings...

I have no idea what the windows/blower not working sometimes is all about. The wiring harness runs right under the clutch? I was hoping for a bad relay or something.

BTW, for people with lighted switches, do they light up ALL the time on your cars when it's on, or only when your lights are on? Mine are on all the time :(

[Giga Shadow]

I'm wondering WTF is happenening??

Sometimes when I go to start the car up, it only kicks over for .5 seconds and then acts like I'm not turning the key anymore.

I get the same think sometimes. :shock:
The key is all the way cranked but nothing! Then I go to restart
it and it cranks over like nothing is wrong, weird :?

[TimmyBigHands]

I *think* that this can be attributed to a dying key-switch, but I'm not certain - that's why I asked.

[imported_PiercedGuy]

My window switches stay lit up all the time.

[Giga Shadow]

...That's normal.

[TriFlow]

Clean out your ICV the big thing that goes into your intake boot made a huge difference after I cleaned it..

[TimmyBigHands]

Clean out your ICV the big thing that goes into your intake boot made a huge difference after I cleaned it..

Makes a big difference to what, TriFlow? How quickly it starts up?

[TriFlow]

It will help with starting and smooth out the idle..

[TimmyBigHands]

Great, I'll do it this weekend. Did you take it off to clean it up, or just do it on the car? What did you use?

[Cephas]

Timmy,
1) The window switches should always be lighted, that's normal.
2) The starting problem sounds like a bad winding in the starter. These Bosch starters are really strong though, and it will take a long time longer before it goes completely bad.
3) If the blower motor doesn't spin on speeds 1-3, but works on "4" then you need to replace the blower motor resistor. It's located inside the firewall cover. It's really easy to do, and the part is only $20 from the dealer.

-Good Luck!

OK. Here's a picture:

http://rust.mine.nu/bmw/images/n/340.png

Part number 19 is the resisitor. If you need to know how to get to it, let me know. I've replaced 2 blower motors and 2 resistors already.