Car is dead... at work!

[Jay87]

Hey guys,

Pulled into the parking lot this morning at my job and the car was starving like it wasn't getting enough fuel. I pulled the fuel pump relay to ensure that I was getting fuel through the return, and there was at least some (didnt take the line off).

Replaced the relay and tried to start the car, and the starter is not engaging. No fault codes (1444 - nothing wrong).

What happened here?! What do I check!?

[Jay87]

Oh - everything seems to have power. - Dash lights and head unit come on. I can check fault codes. Starter solenoid does not click, and engine does not turn over.

[jlevie]

Check the battery.

[KennyT]

Sup Jay? Try jumping the solenoid with a screw driver. Jumper cables also might get it to crank.

[Jay87]

Hey Kenny. I will jump the starter this evening after I get it home and see if its gone bad. Can anyone tell me what components of the electrical system to check if the starter is good? Car is an '87 325is.

Thanks!

[Jay87]

Ok, car push-starts easily. Put some fuel in it and drove it home. Will test tomorrow whether there is battery voltage at the starter terminals.

Again, what is the path of the electrical system from the battery to the starter? Assuming there is no voltage at the solenoid terminas, what should I check?

Jay

[Jay87]

Found battery voltage at starter terminals, and pulled starter from car convinced it was dead. Luckily, it isnt the job from hell that I've been told. With one mostly neutral helper to hold a wrench from the top, the starter goes in and out in about 20 minutes. Helps to take the airbox and inlet elbow off for wrench access, and will require a couple of socket extensions. Anyways...

Tested the starter at autozone and it ran fine for them. Put it back on the car and couldn't figure out what my problem was. Decided to try grounding the starter to the strut tower. I can now say from experience, dont use a 10 gage wire for this haha - you will melt all of the insulation from the wire.

Grounded the starter body with a jumper cable, and the car starts. Thinking I can solve the problem with a new grounding strap, but unsure why the ground failed all of a sudden... grounding strap from oil pan to body looks to be in decent shape.