When your car is running normally everything is fine, nevertheless if it starts to have regular complications you may start to question, specifically if your car won’t start. In this post we will teach you where the starter of a BMW 7 Series is, it will help you to resolve your ignition complications. To achieve this, we will first explain the purpose of a starter, then, where is the starter on a BMW 7 Series , and, finally, how to replace the starter of a car.
Purpose of the starter on your BMW 7 Series
We start this article by explaining the purpose of the starter motor on your BMW 7 Series. The starter is an electric motor which is powered by your battery, its job will be to make your engine run at a high enough speed to start it (usually around 300/400 rpm). It is made up of three main parts:
- The Solenoid: This component is an electrical relay that will act as a switch, it will be activated by the key of your BMW 7 Series and let the current from your battery to the engine unit of your alternator.
- The engagement pinion: This is the last component of your starter, it is the toothed wheel that will be in direct contact with the flywheel, it allows to send the force from the starter to the engine.
The engine unit: Main component of your alternator, it is the one that will drive the flywheel of your BMW 7 Series and create enough speed for your engine unit to start.
Where is the starter on a BMW 7 Series?
Now that we have quickly explained what a starter is and how it functions, we will answer the question that most of you have to ask yourselves where is the starter located on a BMW 7 Series? It is quite easy to discover a starter, in truth, it is a large component that will almost constantly be positioned in a similar place. We let you see the two possible locations for your car starter below.
Location of the starter on classic BMW 7 Series
First and most common circumstance, where to discover the starter of a BMW 7 Series with a conventional motor (implied without start and stop). The starter has a particular action, to start the engine unit of your car, for that, it must constantly be near the engine unit flywheel of this one because it is the component that it actuates when it is used. The flywheel is located at the junction between your gearbox and your engine unit.
Location of the starter to BMW 7 Series with start and stop
And now second possible starter location of your BMW 7 Series . This case is much less frequent. It just relates to engines built with start and stop, and a good component of them will be equipped with a starter positioned close to the flywheel. However, on some particular series or engines, the starter of your BMW 7 Series might be built in in your alternator, it is then named a starter-alternator, to discover it nothing less difficult, find your accessory belt and you should discover the big starter block.
How to replace the starter on a BMW 7 Series?
Finally, we’ll describe to you actually quite quickly how to replace the starter of a BMW 7 Series. This procedure is not necessarily complex, it can be considered by people who have a minimum of simple mechanical experience and adapted equipment. Adhere to below the main steps to carry out this intervention:
- Disconnect the battery on your BMW 7 Series, if you don’t know how to do it, don’t hesitate to seek advice from our article which explains how to do it without taking any risk.
- After discovering your starter, loosen the fasteners that hold it in your engine unit block, there will in most cases be 2 or 3
- It will be time to disconnect the power cables from the starter motor of your BMW 7 Series, nevertheless before doing so we suggest you to take a picture of the installation to avoid making a mistake when reassembling.
- It’s possible that to take out it you may need to take out auto parts like the gimbal.
- Remount the new starter, being careful when connecting the connectors.
- Reconnect your battery and test your starter.
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If you wish more guides on the BMW 7 Series, go to our BMW 7 Series category.
