Usual Suspects for Starter Not Cranking

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G03rt2
Posts: 62
Joined: Sun Nov 05, 2017 11:48 am
Location: Wisconsin

Usual Suspects for Starter Not Cranking

Post by G03rt2 »

As the topic says. I had an issue today where I parked my car at a store, go out to start it, and everything works but the starter won't make a sound. I didn't really have any tools or a multimeter on me, so there wasn't much of a chance to troubleshoot it. I jiggled the wires under the dash, jiggled them under the hood, hit the steering column a few times and nothing. Eventually i found the location of the starter and shorted the battery power wire to the ignition wire to get it to crank over and start.

Now that I have it home I'm looking for some advice. It's a 1981. I'm having problems finding decent electrical schematics for it, but I can I do have electrical troubleshooting ability. Before I have to dismantle the car to trace wires are there any electrical components I should be focusing on in this situation?
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ericono
Posts: 500
Joined: Fri Mar 23, 2007 1:51 am
Location: Spartanburg, SC

Re: Usual Suspects for Starter Not Cranking

Post by ericono »

I am not an expert, but if your other electrical components were working and you were able to short out and force the starter to turn over enough to get the car started, then I'd say your battery is fine and the issue is in the starter solenoid. Not sure how, or if, you can refurbish at home, but you might find a shop local to you that could rebuild it or just replace the starter.

Hope you get it square soon,

Eric
'85 M635, '00 528iT, '98 Z3
G03rt2
Posts: 62
Joined: Sun Nov 05, 2017 11:48 am
Location: Wisconsin

Re: Usual Suspects for Starter Not Cranking

Post by G03rt2 »

Thanks for the feedback ericono, but I "jumped" the battery power directly to the ignition wire on the solenoid and it activated. That means the solenoid is fine, but something is restricting that ignition wire from going hot.
EdwasRed
Posts: 43
Joined: Tue May 31, 2016 2:23 pm
Location: St Louis, MO

Re: Usual Suspects for Starter Not Cranking

Post by EdwasRed »

Had a similar problem that ended up not being the starter. Although, my car had intermittent times when the starter didn't crank. Have you tried starting it again, or is it 100% not cranking?
1985 635CSi M Euro M88
G03rt2
Posts: 62
Joined: Sun Nov 05, 2017 11:48 am
Location: Wisconsin

Re: Usual Suspects for Starter Not Cranking

Post by G03rt2 »

I got it solved. The disconnect for the ignition wire on the starter (black and yellow wire I think) fell off the spade connector.
I was going to troubleshoot it from the starter back to the key, or the key to the starter and I'm glad I started (pun intended) from the starter side since I didn't even need a meter, just a visual.
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