hqbmw1@gmail.com

I have never had to try it on my allroad, but can you bypass the ignition switch for testing purposes. You need to connect positive unswitched (30) or switched (15) power to terminal 50 of the starter. This will energize the starter motor and prove it is good and properly grounded.

If you cant access terminal 50, I will search the etm for an easier place to access it. You can definitely find terminal 50 coming off the electrical portion of the ignition switch. By supplying B+ to terminal 50 the starter should engage.

My background is almost all BMW, but All Bosch terminals are the same. BTW, we ARE referring to a car that does not turn over, correct? If it turns over but doesnt start, we need a completely different diagnostic procedure.

01Allroad_k04

Haulroad, have you confirmed that your ignition switch did not go bad? It seems unlikely, but if you are looking for places to start...

Northwestern

Happened to me recently in my x3. Different battery and car but same problem.

Replace your battery

New batteries from wal-mart don't last but they exchange them for free. Every two yrs I walk in with my battery and exchange without issue. This is my 4yr on 4 different batteries

Good luck.

Haulroad

In case anybody stumbles upon this thread, the problem ended up being the nuetral saftey switch. Somewhere in the ignition to starter circut lies the nuetral saftey switch which among other things, prevents the car from starting in anything other than park. I managed to basically hot wire the car for a while before the tip finally just went haywire and wouldnt shift or anything, which is what tipped me off. Being on the upper side of the trans, completely covered by the trans mount, if you think this is your problem I would seriously recommend towing it or hottwiring to get to a shop because it was an absolute nightmare job