After sitting for about a month I had to jump-start my '85 E24. When I tried to shut it off the engine kept running, dash lights on- I had to pull the main relay to get to shut down. I had a similar problem about 10 years ago and the local shop said "it was a bad relay." I tried swapping out the main and fuel pump relays with new-- to no avail. I next disconnected the ignition switch at the plug near the brake pedal—theoretically if it was a short in the ignition switch this should have shut down the engine, no nope it just kept running. Then… remembering that I had jump-started the car-- I disconnected the negative side of battery (now fully charged) then reconnected it and to my surprise the engine would turn off with the key!! Whatever was “stuck” must have “unstuck.” I took a nice drive to celebrate, patted myself on the back and went to bed. The next day I started the car and darn…. the engine would not shut off at the key again—very disappointing.

The car otherwise runs great as usual. The only other thing unusual is that SI lights will not reset with a reset tool- they just come on next time the car is started.

What do I try next?? Thanks for any ideas.

sounds like a personal problem..



hah

sorry just kidding, personally i havent the slightest what might be wrong, but i advise you to check over on roadfly.com or an even better place would be the forums at www.bigcoupe.com if those guys cant figure out at least what MIGHT be wrong than i dont know who can...bigcoupe.com has alot of technical fixes on it, might be your best bet.

Good luck

The car otherwise runs great as usual. The only other thing unusual is that SI lights will not reset with a reset tool- they just come on next time the car is started.

What do I try next?? Thanks for any ideas.

that would be your SI board. only fix is to replace it

that would be your SI board. only fix is to replace it


Yeah, the SI board can be tricky. I've never used the reset tool on my BMW's, I've just bridged the pins on the connector for a few seconds. Never can remember which ones they are, and I'm assuming that it's different for an E24 than an E30, pin number-wise.

You could have poor contact issues on the SI board, so I'd take a look at it and try cleaning the connections before buying a new one. Could also be bad electrical connections between the reset connector and the board.

That's a really strange engine problem that you have going. I have a bad ignition switch, and if I don't press in on the key as I turn it off, the engine or electricals (or both) will remain on. It seems though, that you wouldn't have this issue since you disconnected the ignition switch. I'd check out your ETM (http://wedophones.com/BMWManualsLead.htm), if you haven't already.

Alex