So I got my e36 back together after pulling the engine and when I tried to start all I got was clicking. I charged the battery but I'm not sure it's holding the charge well. Is this an electrical issue though or did I mess up with the alignment of the starter?
Thanks!
Any ideas? I'm gonna take the battery to Autozone and have them check it. From what I have read on the interwebs this seems like an electrical problem not mechanical... Does this sound right?
1: Test battery 2: Check wiring wiring for tightness 3: Check grounds 4: Put the ground back on that you forgot 5: Test starter
Highly likely it is an electrical issue.
If the starter were somehow mis-aligned with the flywheel, you'd hear either a high pitched whine (the starter free-wheeling), or a very bad grinding sound (not meshing with the flywheel).
The click implies either 1) the starter is not getting enough power (low battery, bad or loose cables, bad ground) or 2) bad solenoid or starter (probably not the case if it worked fine before the swap).
I'd bet on the battery or cable connections.
1 click = bad starter or loose connection.
Multiple clicks = bad battery.
Yep if it's one click it could be similar to a problem all Samurais have with a loose connector on the starter motor (well it's really the wrong type, it's a speaker connector).
Solenoid on the starter?
I have a VW Rabbit - before I replaced the Bosch starter, the solenoid would stick - a sharp couple of raps to it with a wrench and it would start right up.
common not enough juice getting to the starter... poor electrical connection, or not enough power in the battery... after that goes the starter option...
Not sure on the Bimmer but on my Opels it's pretty common for the main contacts within the solenoid to build up a corrosion or pitted layer and just not conduct well enough to make the starter motor turn. The solenoid works, the splines engage, but there's nothing actually getting to the armature of the motor. Toyota trucks had the same issue, but on them the actual contact points inside the starter would wear away.
On the Opel I can un-solder the solenoid, take it apart, and clean everything back up to as-new condition for $0.03 worth of solder. Not sure if you can on the BMW, or if a refirb starter might be cheap enough to make fixing it not worth the trouble.
