BMW: ignition, bmw 318 ti, rear seat area

Question

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Followup To

Question -
i have a 1995 bmw 318 ti and it sat for about a month and when we went to start it back up it didnt start. the power comes on but the engine just wont turn. we replaced the ignition and it is still doing the same thing, nothing. we dont know if it is a relay switch gone out or a fuse, but we checked all the fuses too and there good. so we left clueless, do have a answer?

Answer -
The ignition is a straight input to the starter on that car. Please reply to this with a bit more specific info. Is the car a manual transmission or auto? If auto try starting in neutral. When you say the engine won't turn do you mean will not crank over with the starter or will it not fire after it starts cranking? Can you hear the fuel pump run after turning the key to start (under rear seat area)? The only other thing that comes to mind is take the cover off the fuse block under the hood next to the driver side hood hinge/shock. After you have the cover off there is another smaller cover on the engine side of the fuse block that covers a bank of 3 relays, your car may only have 2 relays but there is place for 3. Take the middle relay out and bang it on the shock tower or something hard. That is the ECU main relay (DME in BMW acronym) and it can do funny things when it goes bad. Please reply to this with as specific info as possible, I would really like to be of more help.

It is a manual trans, the ignition was changed out due to the key would only turn in circles and would not start the engine, we replaced it and this one will light up everything but not a wimper out of the engine, will not crank, there is some clicking from some relays under the steering column, but that is it.

Answer
The ignition that was replaced-was it the whole lock assembly or just the lock tumbler cylinder that you stick the key into? Pop that lower steering column cover back off and loosen the two flat head grub screws that hold the electric ignition switch on from the bottom. Pull off the electronic part of the ignition and look at the hole that the mechanical part goes into. Put a larger flathead screw driver in it, make sure the key is in the ignition cylinder, and turn the electronic part with the screw driver and see if it cranks just like you are hotwiring the car. If it does you probably need the whole ignition lock and not just the cylinder. If you already replaced that part then is may just be a starter problem. This one has me curious. Sorry to keep asking for more info but let  me know if we are on the right track.