3.0 m60 starting probs

[cortez]

Sometimes after driving my car for a while i park it up, go to re start it and nothing happens, starter doesnt turn. at first i thought it was the battery but thats all sorted now. Also sometimes when i'm backing off the accelerator the enging revs itself up to about 1500rpm and theres a little squeal. I'm thinking that maybe the starter motor wiring is ****ed and that its the starter motor turning the engine when the cars moving, and sometimes not turning it at all when im starting up. its not the immobiliser because the car will bump start. any help would be greatly appreciated coz theres nothing worse than an unreliable car. thanks

[BillionPa]

check the starter relay first

[cortez]

cant find starter relay, cant even see starter motor, everythings crammed in the way. Found a page on an e38 website that says only early 1994 cars had a relay. could it be that the soleniod on the starter is sticking sometimes. doesnt make any noise or clicks. thanks for reading

[BillionPa]

i think the starter relay is under the back seat.

my seat isnt there, and i can hear it very clearly when i start the car.

[cortez]

Have tried disconnecting every relay (in turn) in the car, front and back. still turns over but i can guarantee next time i fill up i'll be stuck on the forecourt. I cant understand it. all terminals on the starter are tight. when it fails it doesnt make a clicking sound, nothing happens at all. it could be the starter connection at the ignition switch but i had a peek before and that looks like a big expensive job. bought the car accident damaged in march, has been fine until a month ago. now its every couple of days it wont start. really like the car but i cant trust it.

[pingu]

Do you mean that your car starts fine when cold but when you've driven it for a while (about half an hour to an hour) that it won't start when warm?

If so then I've had this on a manual 1991 M50 525 and also on my 1993 540 M60 automatic. It was basically the ignition switch - the contacts feeding the starter motor would drop about 2V (i.e. the switch acted more like a resistor than a switch). That together with a slightly low battery voltage gave me loads of grief. Since getting a new ignition switch and battery, it starts every time.