For the past year my my wife's 740 has had starting problems on occasion. Always at the worst time and always after a short trip. Turning the key lights the indicator lights but it won't turn over. Eventually it will start. Maybe after a few minutes. Maybe after an hour -- you try again and it cranks and starts just fine. This never happens in the morning or after work. It seems to occur when making a stop after running for a while e.g. when coming out of the store. The problem of course can't be reproduced for the mechanics so they are having a rough time finding the problem. Last thing they tried was replacing the park - neutral position switch. Anybody have any ideas. Thanks in advance.
Those aren't exactly the classic symptoms, but ignition switch trouble is common in the 740s at this age. I replaced mine - in an '85 - four years ago because the warning lights wouldn't come on (and the engine wouldn't fire) for increasing periods of time on cold mornings. The part is under $100 US from IPD www.ipdusa.com and is a fairly easy DIY job. Starter problems are also not unheard of. The classic test is to whack the starter judiciously with a hammer and try again. Some people use that method to struggle along with a failing starter for months at a time. The starter is easy to remove and reinstall, and if you DIY cleaning and relubing can work wonders. Aftermarket starters have earned a bad reputation and OEM starters are pricey. Mike
Of course any fix for this problem is just going to be a guess, but I've heard of starters failing this way. First make sure that the cables from battery to starter and battery to engine block have clean tight connections and are in good shape. -- Mike F. Thornhill (near Toronto), Ont. Replace tt with t (twice!) and remove parentheses to email me directly. (But I check the newsgroup more often than this email address.)
