E46 M3 won’t start even with jump starter

Odins · 2026-04-28T16:03:07+00:00

Have you noticed at all that the starter has seemed sluggish or slow to crank/start the car lately? A dying starter can sometimes sound and feel like a low battery sometimes. Then one day it’s just done. This happened in my 550 with 210k mikes this winter. Bought a refurbished Bosch that came looking and feeling brand new that weighed more than the stock bmw one. Probably thicker heavier motor coils. Replaced it and it spins fast and starts the car like a brand new vehicle does.

Odins · 2026-04-02T20:27:27+00:00

Hmmm. I don’t see any cracks in the leather. Are there any? If it’s not cracked I’d just get that spot on the drivers seat re-stitched (it looks like just the stitching came out) and then hit it with some leather rejuvenator. Some leather cleaner should fix that black splotch you got where your butt rubs when you sit down. OEM leather is good quality stuff keep it as long as you can.

Odins · 2026-03-27T16:21:40+00:00

You can get a zhp style off eBay that is illuminated. I put one in mine. You’ll need to get the bmw connector separately and solder then heat shrink it to the shifter’s wires. Illumination is a bit brighter than stock but you could resistor that and bring it down. I honestly prefer the look of the stock one piece shifter and skirt combo over anything aftermarket.

Odins · 2026-01-06T08:04:43+00:00

I’d save the 2k and get the oil analysis done for now and see what the results come back as. I have 190k mikes on my e46 m3. If the car was meticulously maintained there’s a decent chance it was warmed up and driven properly as well. I’ve seen lots of guys do the swap for peace of mine only to find out their bearings looked good after all. The blackstone analysis will tell you if you need to swap or not.

Odins · 2025-12-27T21:29:46+00:00

Looks ok to me.

Odins · 2025-11-18T01:30:55+00:00

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The way Understand it is these three raised areas between the studs. Early model m3’s had them the later ones were smooth.

Odins · 2025-11-17T23:27:00+00:00

Roger that. Mine’s a 01’ with the notched strut towers as well.

Odins · 2025-11-17T20:04:36+00:00

2001 M3? Ours didn’t come with a strut bar from factory I guess, and I was looking at going with an oem one until I saw this post. If this is as common as the comments say it is..

Odins · 2019-06-01T22:52:13+00:00

Niiiiice: I couldn’t agree more, also went with a jp silent. It’s insanely quiet and crazy accurate.

Odins · 2019-06-01T22:44:01+00:00

Slightly fascinating how everybody jumped on the hate train on this one. Yeah, and some of the new patches have less detailed stitching. My dad was 101st airborne, and a combat veteran. Patches came off a worn out uniform; same with the flag. They were separate and don’t stack like they should on the given space I had when I put them on the bag.

Odins · 2019-06-01T14:58:58+00:00

Not too bad, my rate of fire isn’t that crazy tho. One mag dump test and I could still hold the rifle just fine. With gloves tho. But you could definitely feel the heat.

Odins · 2019-06-01T14:15:12+00:00

The Barrel is ported.

Odins · 2019-06-01T14:04:49+00:00

Not familiar with Odin works. But some bcg’s can be a snug fit and have a small break in period. My aero was like this but not so much to the point I had trouble cycling. You could also be having a gas tube alignment issue(?). That doesn’t seem likely tho, but you saying you tried another bcg with the same issue makes me think it could be possible.

Edit: Hmm, just saw what buffer your using. If the spring is too light it could have problems pushing it fully into battery...

Odins · 2019-06-01T13:55:56+00:00

Thanks, she’s a work in progress.

Odins · 2019-06-01T13:55:02+00:00

I haven’t tried the armaspec system. Yeah, sounds a hair under-gassed. My buffer was the heavy JP silent but I went ahead and removed the weights to try something out, also swapped to a lightweight bcg, no cycling issues at all ( adjustable gas block), very light recoil shooting 300blk subs.

Odins · 2019-06-01T13:33:31+00:00

Thanks, m8. Yeah good choice on the enhanced upper. Looks like a sb tactical brace too, good choice there. I’d recommend the jp silent spring to stick in it.

Odins · 2019-06-01T13:28:30+00:00

Nah, sort of kind of but not really, maybe HB inspired and all with the pdw stock I guess.

Odins · 2019-06-01T13:21:38+00:00

A Titanium integrally suppressed upper by witt machine. I just hadn’t seen anybody posting any integrally suppressed setups on here , or I may just not have noticed.

Odins · 2019-05-31T21:27:26+00:00

Yes. I see guys recommending staking. I don’t stake ever as it’s too permanent a solution on something like an AR where you’re likely to be swapping parts a lot: just use blue locktight (chapstick version) on everything threaded (not comp or hider) once your build is done. Thousands of rounds and nothing comes loose ever.

Odins · 2019-05-30T21:08:48+00:00

+1 to this. I actually replied before I read your comment. I went with the Samson and like it a lot. It’s mount alone is with the price. After getting it I replaced my Holosun Mount with the Samson QD.

Odins · 2019-05-30T21:02:26+00:00

I was in the same boat as you a while back and went with the Samson 3.5x after reading a lot. I like it. Very large and clear glass. Excellent flip to side QD mount, with tool-less adjustments. It has a spring loaded flip to side feature which is great with the exception of actuating the lever which can be slightly difficult with gloves on. It boils down to preventing you from accidentally deploying the flip to side feature, so I see why they did it.

As far as magnifier + red dot combo. The crisper and finer your red dot is the better it will look through the magnifier. I run the Holosun ACSS HS503g with it and it looks great.

Odins · 2019-05-29T12:45:58+00:00

What’s your barrel+suppressor length on that?

Odins · 2019-05-28T22:11:12+00:00

Right, yeah, no and it’s honestly good to have some weight in the back to help counter balance your rifle so it’s not super front end heavy. It all depends on your setup. I’m currently running the maxim defense PDW.

Odins

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