bad starter?

[LoneWolf]

So yesterday my car didn't start, happy 4th to me!

I didn't take too much time to diagnose the problem yet and am looking for input on what to troubleshoot and how to proceed.

The car is a 91 318is with m42.

Thought that at first it was just a dead battery, but had no luck off of a jump. And voltage seems to check out, if that matters.

The car is making a single click when the ingnition is turned, but is not turning over the motor at all. When I try to start it the interior lights dim. Everything else in the car is working properly, windows going up and down fine, fan runs, all lights are working. So I don't know if it could be an electrical problem.

Last weekend I installed the ge keyless entry set up. I did tap into the red ignition under my dash to power that system. I did so with a butt connector to splice that wire into the line. Could this be suspect? It seemed to work fine for a few days though.

My money currently is on the starter being the problem. I have a pepboys one bought and ready to swap in tonight. (I know I should get an oem starter, but I need the car up and running asap. I figure I can buy one of those and swap the pepboys one out on my own schedule, not wait for it to leave me stranded again.)

** I just remembered that the night prior, as I was driving back home, the accessories like windows, a/c button, fan control, all stopped working. Almost like they didn't have power? But the sound system played and didn't cut out. I don't recall any dimming in the lights though which at the time I thought was odd.**

Anybody have any ideas or anything that I maybe looking over?

Any ideas on how to troubleshoot what I'm dealing with?

Big thanks to anyone with some input

[dnguyen1963]

Check all your ground straps before swapping out the starter. A single click from the starter could be an indication of bad ground somewhere on your engine.

[LoneWolf]

Check all your ground straps before swapping out the starter. A single click from the starter could be an indication of bad ground somewhere on your engine.

Would everything else work still work though? Maybe just the ground at the starter is messed up then?


**I added something to my original post that I forgot had happened**

[dnguyen1963]

** I just remembered that the night prior, as I was driving back home, the accessories like windows, a/c button, fan control, all stopped working. Almost like they didn't have power? But the sound system played and didn't cut out. I don't recall any dimming in the lights though which at the time I thought was odd.**

Definitely, check your ground.

[5Toes]

Get out a test light and touch the probe to the fat red wire. Ground out the other wire of the test light

If light turns on when you try to crank the car, your starter solenoid is probably junk

[LoneWolf]

Get out a test light and touch the probe to the fat red wire. Ground out the other wire of the test light

If light turns on when you try to crank the car, your starter solenoid is probably junk

I could just do the same with a voltmeter correct?

I would just get a voltage reading correct?

[LoneWolf]

****Update****

I finished the job today, here is what I did.

Checked all of the grounds using continuity test. Everything checked out.

Double checked the battery voltage. Everything checked out there.

Now I went ahead and climbed back under the dash, where I had recently installed a keyless entry system from german engineering. Great piece, I love the flip out key, works great, easy to install, and just a great thing to have on a dd.

I had tapped the ignition wire for the 12v to power the keyless brain. Double checked this connection and the neighboring ground, making sure that I did not bump or short anything. This all checked out.

Then went to the started, and sure enough I had voltage there and the starter was still not kicking over. Must be this.

To replace the starter I did all of my work from the top. Just took off the upper manifold and was given enough room to swap the starter. Pretty straight forward to swap it out, 2 bolts with star heads though. Make sure you have that star socket set.

Hardest part of the whole deal was just using some blind feeling to thread the nuts on with fingertips. (That sentence reads kind of dirty ha)

Buttoned it all back up, Andddd.....

Viola!

The car started perfectly. Now it is just a waiting game until this pepboys starter fails :). So I am going ahead and ordering a re-manufactured Bosch unit to have waiting on the bench.

Thanks for the input guys!

[5Toes]

Tip for doing a starter (I can have one in and out in 20 minutes). I dont remove anything

The etorx heads are great cause you can jam a fat screwdriver on them to keep them from turning. So basically jam a screw driver from the top and get the upper bolt. Jam it from underneath to get the lower one, pull it out.. then slide new starter in from underneath.

Two people helps, one to turn the ratchet and one for jamming the screwdriver.