When your car is running normally everything is fine, nevertheless if it begins to have frequent complications you may start to question, especially if your motor vehicle won’t start. In this article we will show you where the starter of a BMW i3 is, it will help you to solve your ignition complications. To achieve this, we will first describe the purpose of a starter, then, where is the starter on a BMW i3 , and, finally, how to change the starter of a motor vehicle.

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Purpose of the starter on your BMW i3

We start this content page by explaining the purpose of the starter motor on your BMW i3. The starter is an electric motor which is powered by your battery, its function will be to make your engine run at a high enough speed to start it (usually around 300/400 rpm). It is built from three most important parts:

  • The Solenoid: This part is an electrical relay that will act as a switch, it will be activated by the key of your BMW i3 and let the current from your battery to the engine of your alternator.

    • The engine: Most important component of your alternator, it is the one that will drive the flywheel of your BMW i3 and generate enough speed for your engine to start.

  • 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 transmit the force from the starter to the engine.

Where is the starter on a BMW i3?

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 found on a BMW i3? It is quite easy to discover a starter, obviously, it is a large component that will almost constantly be positioned in a similar location. We let you see the two possible places for your motor vehicle starter down below.

Location of the starter on traditional BMW i3

First and most common circumstance, where to discover the starter of a BMW i3 with a conventional motor (implied without start and stop). The starter has a specific action, to start the engine of your motor vehicle, for that, it must constantly be near the engine flywheel of this one because it is the component that it actuates when it is used. The flywheel is found at the junction between your gearbox and your engine.

Location of the starter to BMW i3 with start and stop

And now second possible starter location of your BMW i3 . This case is much less frequent. It only is about 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 specific series or engines, the starter of your BMW i3 might be built in in your alternator, it is then called a starter-alternator, to discover it nothing less difficult, find your accessory belt and you should see the big starter block.

How to change the starter on a BMW i3?

Finally, we’ll show you to you quite quickly how to change the starter of a BMW i3. This procedure is not necessarily complex, it can be considered by people who have a minimal of simple mechanical expertise and adapted equipment. Adhere to down below the most important steps to perform this intervention:

  • Disconnect the battery on your BMW i3, if you don’t know how to do it, don’t think twice to seek advice from our content page which details how to do it without taking any risk.
  • After locating your starter, loosen the fasteners that hold it in your engine 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 i3, nevertheless before doing so we recommend you to take a picture of the installation to avoid making a mistake when reassembling.
  • It’s possible that to remove it you may need to remove auto parts like the gimbal.
  • Remount the new starter, being careful when connecting the connectors.
  • Reconnect your battery and test your starter.

To get more tips on the BMW i3, take a look at the BMW i3 category.