No start issues, need help please.

[Anony Mouse]

Ok, I've been messing with this for about 48 hours now, I've officially lost my shit. I'm mildly embarrassed to come here with this, but I've searched these and other forums and googled the crap out of it and now I'm at a loss, this is a cry for help.

Two days ago, started up the e30 [92 325ic stick] started fine, drove to fast food joint about 15 minutes from home, started fine when I left there, drove to liqour store about ten minutes from there. Just a single click from the starter on attempting to leave. Bummed a jump from someone at the store, no joy, push started it and got home, I figured it was the starter.

SO picked up a starter the next day, popped it in no joy, that starters solenoid was loose in the housing so I exchanged that starter for another still no joy. At this point I scoured all the forum threads I could find on the subject, learned everything I could. On checking and verifying everything I could I learned that my windows mirrors and blower motor were all non working as in the load reduction relay terminal on the starter was bad, I grounded that and got the accessories working but still only one click from the starter, however this seems to suggest that the relay itself is ok because the accessories worked, right?

I tried all the alternative ways suggested here and there to wire the starter all with no effect. So I exchanged the starter one more time thinking maybe I'd gotten two bad starters and why not try that. So this morning I installed another new starter, wired it up appropriately [battery cable and alternator cable on the large terminal, black green on the smallest-top-terminal, black and yellow on the middle sized-bottom-terminal] same as previous starter, one click from the solenoid when trying to start it, no windows mirrors or blower power. I went through all my battery terminals and cables looking for brakes, sanding contacts and tightening everything up, same at the alternator and the ground on the oil pan/frame all to no effect. Also the battery in the car is maybe two weeks old, and running a jump box to the battery [as if it were dead, which it isn't] made no difference in my attempts to start her.

Please god for the love of all thats holy, I hope someone smarter and more experienced than I, can give me some insight into this madness.

Thanks in advance.
Mouse

[BoxDriver86]

In what condition are your engine ground and battery ground wires? I had a similar issue and replaced both of them which fixed my problem.

[Anony Mouse]

I had a similar issue and replaced both of them which fixed my problem.

How similar? I'd love to know what symptoms you had with those bad calbes, for comparison, thanks Box.

Thats where I'm starting when I get home from work (graveyard sucks) I'll replace engine ground, battery ground and positive-to-starter cable. As well as look into Fuse #10. Maybe you guys can confirm some thoughts for me.

#1) I jumped the top terminal (black/green) to the braided cable on the starter and my windows mirrors and blowers worked (no change to starter function, a single click), does this mean that the system beyond the starter (load reduction relays, ignition switch, k5 k7, etc) is intact?

[jlevie]

Have you checked the battery? A nearly dead battery could do this and until the battery is charged some a jumpstart may not even work. As stated, check all of the primary power & ground connections, especially the ground wire between the engine and chassis on the left side.

[Anony Mouse]

Mission accomplished. All new battery terminals and cables and a new pan to chassis ground cable got her started. I did have to ground the green/yellow cable to the intake manifold. Normally it sits on the smallest uppermost terminal of the solenoid, however in that configuration the windows mirrors and a/c did not function.

Everyone here has earned a visit from the blowjob fairy, I have already filed the paperwork, someone will be there sometime between 9am wednesday and 4pm friday, please be sure it is the blowjob fairy, the cable guy doesn't think its funny anymore.

[jlevie]

Mission accomplished. All new battery terminals and cables and a new pan to chassis ground cable got her started. I did have to ground the green/yellow cable to the intake manifold. Normally it sits on the smallest uppermost terminal of the solenoid, however in that configuration the windows mirrors and a/c did not function.

That almost certainly means that the unloader switch in the starter isn't working. You can leave the unloader lead grounded all the time, but having the switch in the starter not work doesn't give me a "warm fuzzy" about the quality of the starter rebuild. My guess is that this was a generic (cheap) reman and not a factory reman in a Bosch box.

I've had enough bad experiences with the generic starter & alternator rebuilts that I won't use them any more and now will only use a factory reman that comes in a factory or BMW box.

[Anony Mouse]

That almost certainly means that the unloader switch in the starter isn't working. You can leave the unloader lead grounded all the time, but having the switch in the starter not work doesn't give me a "warm fuzzy" about the quality of the starter rebuild. My guess is that this was a generic (cheap) reman and not a factory reman in a Bosch box.

I've had enough bad experiences with the generic starter & alternator rebuilts that I won't use them any more and now will only use a factory reman that comes in a factory or BMW box.

The reman was from O'Reillys, can't recall a brand name atm but decidely, and necasarrily cheap. That being said, never again!