Hello all. I have a 1989 740 Gl. The car has not been a daily driver for 3 months. I would turn it over once a week and now it will not start. Battery is charged and good. The dashlights go out at the cranking position and the car will not start. When key is at the II position, dash will light up.
Any thoughts? Thanks for anything you can come up with.

 

the lights are supposed to go out when trying to start, as the car is mustering any available power and sending it to the starter.

do you hear a click when you try to start (or a series of clicks)?
do you hear your starter motor trying to turn over?

of you hear the starter motor then there is an issue likely in the engine bay
if you hear nothing at all, not even a click then check the starter relay under the front passenger footwell

if you here a series of clicks, your battery has voltage, but not enough amperage to turn your motor (bad battery)

 

It was the neutral safety switch. I am able to start the car if I cycle through the gears a few times. Thanks all.

 

More than likely it's the shift linkage bushings - assuming your car is an automatic. Is the shifter real sloppy with a lot of forward/backward play? If so, the little nylon bushings at each end of the linkage connecting the shifter to the transmission are probably worn out and missing. It's not too terribly difficult to replace them.

This is what I am referring to:

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/vol...c-trans-381704

There are two of them on your car.