Clutch Sensor?

[wstr75]

Hop in the car, put in neutral, push in clutch and turn key. Nothing. Actually the noises of all the system interlocks clicking around me, but no starter action. Release clutch and push in again and the car starts. What I just described happens 90% of the time. I always have to release the clutch and then push it back in a second time and the car starts. The other 10% of the time it does not start on the second cycling of the clutch pedal, rather it may take three, four, five, six clutch pedal in and out cycles before the car electrifies the starter motor.

Is it the clutch sensor or is it the ECU not recognizing the key and if it were the ECU/key thing, why then do all the interlocks and other actions take place? Battery is good. Car starts easily when it does decide to start and life is good. I've searched these terms quite a bit and while not getting an exact replay of my issue, those with the closest similar experience seem to say the clutch sensor is the fickle actor. My car is a 2004 330Ci convertible ZHP. Anyone experience a similar clutch in, clutch out, clutch in again then start?

[brettbimmer]

I would suspect the clutch sensor is definitely on it's way out. How many miles on your car? Also, if you are sure you will remember, it is easy for the clutch switch check to be coded out so it won't be an issue in the future, even if it did go out. Also, if you want to add a clutch stop, it works best with this coding bypass.

[wstr75]

109K. I recently bought an Elm327 OBD2 Wifi reader but have not used it yet. Is this something I can read and code through the Elm OBD2? If so, where do you suggest I go to get the coding particulars for bypassing the clutch. Otherwise, how much difficulty is it to replace the clutch sensor?

[alexandre]

You'd need a BMW Scanner 1.4 cable to code it off. Mine hasn't given me any issues but it's coded out.

[wstr75]

Coded the clutch sensor to off. It starts instantly when the key is turned. Thanks for the recommendation.