No Start.

[BahnE30]

so i go to jump in my car this morning, won't start. wont crank starter won't click. awesome. checked fuses, rubbed the battary terminals down with steal wool + ground and still nothing, all the dash lights come on as normal and don't dim when i try to start it.

any ideas on where to look next.

[Brew]

If you have battery voltage, then it is a problem with either the starter or the wiring to the starter.
There is a large gauge wire that runs directly from the battery to the starter that is hot at all times. Check to see if that wire has power at the starter. If it does, then you have an issue with the starter itself(unlikely, I think) or the wiring from the ignition switch.

Bust out the multimeter and figure it out.

[BahnE30]

how big is this wire (color)? there's a few, i'll figure something out.

[Brew]

Its the biggest wire that attaches to the starter. Could be either red or black.

[BahnE30]

so there is a exposed wire (grounding strap) maybe i'm not sure, it's broken, i see no way to re attatch it to the large round part on it's own, can i just ground to the body somewhere to resolve this weee problem or does it actually have to be grounded cylinoid to cylinoid

[Brew]

so there is a exposed wire (grounding strap) maybe i'm not sure, it's broken, i see no way to re attatch it to the large round part on it's own, can i just ground to the body somewhere to resolve this weee problem or does it actually have to be grounded cylinoid to cylinoid

All e30 starters ground through the engine block as far as I know.

Here's an awesome tech article from pelican parts that should help you troubleshoot your problem. http://www.pelicanparts.com/BMW/tech...arter_diag.htm

[kowalski]

as long as its grounded it should work, but make sure you use a big enough ground wire. the block grounds to the frame anyways so if you ground to frame/body it wont make a difference.