The first thing I check is the battery health, especially if the battery is 3-5 years old and in a hot climate. If the battery checks out, I would check the starter relay and any nearby fuses that could be related—if both of those check out, you may have a bad starter.
Depending on where the starter is (hopefully in an easy place on the E36; BMW and Cadillac got in bed with their worst notes with the E46 and stole their notes and buried them in weird places like under the cylinder or head gasket), hit it with a rubber mallet and see if the car starts. If it does, you will need a new starter.
-
If it keeps acting up, I would get a compression test kit (pending link), pull the fuel pump relay, and make sure the compression levels are within spec - it should be at ~200+ for compression on the E36, but the [https://www.mediafire.com/file/gldgnyynz4y/Bentley_BMW_3-Series_Service_Manual_(e36).pdf|service manual|new_window=rtrue] indicates 10-11 bars is acceptable with a 0.5 bar variation. Numbers on the edge of being too low do not mean the car is dead, but it will need an engine sooner rather than later. If they are really low, the engine is worn out and will need to be rebuilt or replaced.
+
If it keeps acting up, I would get a [https://www.amazon.com/BETOOLL-13pcs-Compression-Tester-Spark/dp/B0BDFLD8C5/|compression test kit|new_window=true], pull the fuel pump relay, and make sure the compression levels are within spec - it should be at ~200+ for compression on the E36, but the [link|https://www.mediafire.com/file/gldgnyynz4y/Bentley_BMW_3-Series_Service_Manual_(e36).pdf|service manual] indicates 10-11 bars is acceptable with a 0.5 bar variation. Numbers on the edge of being too low do not mean the car is dead, but it will need an engine sooner rather than later. If they are really low, the engine is worn out and will need to be rebuilt or replaced.
The first thing I check is the battery health, especially if the battery is 3-5 years old and in a hot climate. If the battery checks out, I would check the starter relay and any nearby fuses that could be related—if both of those check out, you may have a bad starter.
Depending on where the starter is (hopefully in an easy place on the E36; BMW and Cadillac got in bed with their worst notes with the E46 and stole their notes and buried them in weird places like under the cylinder or head gasket), hit it with a rubber mallet and see if the car starts. If it does, you will need a new starter.
-
If it keeps acting up, I would get a compression test kit (pending link), pull the fuel pump relay, and make sure the compression levels are within spec - it should be at 200+ for compression on the E36. Numbers on the edge of being too low do not mean the car is dead, but it will need an engine sooner rather than later. If they are really low, the engine is worn out and will need to be rebuilt or replaced.
+
If it keeps acting up, I would get a compression test kit (pending link), pull the fuel pump relay, and make sure the compression levels are within spec - it should be at ~200+ for compression on the E36, but the [https://www.mediafire.com/file/gldgnyynz4y/Bentley_BMW_3-Series_Service_Manual_(e36).pdf|service manual|new_window=rtrue] indicates 10-11 bars is acceptable with a 0.5 bar variation. Numbers on the edge of being too low do not mean the car is dead, but it will need an engine sooner rather than later. If they are really low, the engine is worn out and will need to be rebuilt or replaced.
The first thing I check is the battery health, especially if the battery is 3-5 years old and in a hot climate. If the battery checks out, I would check the starter relay and any nearby fuses that could be related—if both of those check out, you may have a bad starter.
Depending on where the starter is (hopefully in an easy place on the E36; BMW and Cadillac got in bed with their worst notes with the E46 and stole their notes and buried them in weird places like under the cylinder or head gasket), hit it with a rubber mallet and see if the car starts. If it does, you will need a new starter.
-
If it keeps acting up, I would get a compression test kit (pending link), pull the fuel pump relay, and make sure the compression levels are within spec - it will usually be the SM, which can be [link|http://www.mediafire.com/file/gldgnyynz4y/Bentley_BMW_3-Series_Service_Manual_(e36).pdf|found here|new_window=true]. Numbers on the edge of being too low do not mean the car is dead, but it will need an engine sooner rather than later. If they are really low, the engine is worn out and will need to be rebuilt or replaced.
+
If it keeps acting up, I would get a compression test kit (pending link), pull the fuel pump relay, and make sure the compression levels are within spec - it should be at 200+ for compression on the E36. Numbers on the edge of being too low do not mean the car is dead, but it will need an engine sooner rather than later. If they are really low, the engine is worn out and will need to be rebuilt or replaced.
First things I check are the battery health, especially if the battery is 3-5 years old and in a hot climate. If the battery checks out I would check the starter relay and any fuses that are nearby that could be related -- if both of those check out, you may have a bad starter.
+
The first thing I check is the battery health, especially if the battery is 3-5 years old and in a hot climate. If the battery checks out, I would check the starter relay and any nearby fuses that could be related—if both of those check out, you may have a bad starter.
-
Depending on where the starter is (hopefully in a easy place on the E36, BMW and Cadillac got in bed with the E46 and stole their notes and buried it in weird places like under the cylinder or head gasket). Hit it with a rubber mallet and see if the car starts - if it does, you will need a new starter.
+
Depending on where the starter is (hopefully in an easy place on the E36; BMW and Cadillac got in bed with their worst notes with the E46 and stole their notes and buried them in weird places like under the cylinder or head gasket), hit it with a rubber mallet and see if the car starts. If it does, you will need a new starter.
-
If it keeps acting up, I would get a compression test kit (pending link), pull the fuel pump relay and make sure the compression levels are within spec - it will usually be the SM, which can be [http://www.mediafire.com/file/gldgnyynz4y/Bentley_BMW_3-Series_Service_Manual_(e36).pdf|found here|new_window=true]. Numbers on the edge of being too low do not mean the car is dead but it will need an engine sooner rather than later. If they are really low, the engine is worn out and will need to be rebuilt or replaced.
+
If it keeps acting up, I would get a compression test kit (pending link), pull the fuel pump relay, and make sure the compression levels are within spec - it will usually be the SM, which can be [link|http://www.mediafire.com/file/gldgnyynz4y/Bentley_BMW_3-Series_Service_Manual_(e36).pdf|found here|new_window=true]. Numbers on the edge of being too low do not mean the car is dead, but it will need an engine sooner rather than later. If they are really low, the engine is worn out and will need to be rebuilt or replaced.
First things I check are the battery health, especially if the battery is 3-5 years old and in a hot climate. If the battery checks out I would check the starter relay and any fuses that are nearby that could be related -- if both of those check out, you may have a bad starter.
Depending on where the starter is (hopefully in a easy place on the E36, BMW and Cadillac got in bed with the E46 and stole their notes and buried it in weird places like under the cylinder or head gasket). Hit it with a rubber mallet and see if the car starts - if it does, you will need a new starter.
If it keeps acting up, I would get a compression test kit (pending link), pull the fuel pump relay and make sure the compression levels are within spec - it will usually be the SM, which can be [http://www.mediafire.com/file/gldgnyynz4y/Bentley_BMW_3-Series_Service_Manual_(e36).pdf|found here|new_window=true]. Numbers on the edge of being too low do not mean the car is dead but it will need an engine sooner rather than later. If they are really low, the engine is worn out and will need to be rebuilt or replaced.