i just bought a 1983 320i for about the price of a case of beer. The problem is I was told that the starter needed replacing so I did that. The car doesnt have any juice period, no lights no buzzers nothing except that the car is grounded and the engine block is grounded. There are two wires that are not connected. One is at the starter with a clip the same size as the one that connects to the blade connector on the solenoid. The other is on the part of the harness that goes to the alternator, it also is a blade style connector. I dont understand what happened to it. could there be a Fusible link in the car somewhere? If so where is it? My idiot buddy I got the car from said that he accidently crossed the battery cables and got a big arc and he never touched the car again after that. The fuses in the fuse box dont even seem to be grounded ( I put a test light on them and got nothing) there is a big black wire coming out of the fuse box that is a ground but I dont know if it should be connected or not. I tried to connect it to see if that was it but it didnt help. Any one have an idea?

Well you've not even mentioned the source of the "juice". The battery. Did you test it? Is it even charged? Will it hold a charge? Take it and have it tested. If he "arced" it as you said it's probably fried. Either way you have to start at the battery and work from there.

Extra wire hanging around. Not a very good start either. Since current doeesn't move by magic you need to find out if the solenoid and the alternator are connected properly. Do you have a manual like Haynes or are you just kinda flying by the seat of your pants on this one.

Any chance you can post pics? How adept are you at working on your own car? But for now let's start with the battery. Get a meter on it or take it and have it tested. Wont cost you anything. Then let us know as much more info as you can. Did you buy it from someone on here? I seem to recall someone doing exactly that same thing to their car.

I guess as long as you're testing stuff take the alternator out too. Have it tested as well on the bench. You're going to NEED to know if it's ok or not. If you can start the car that would be better time to test it but that's not an option right now I see.

Thanks for the infor but common sense dictates that you should check your battery first. I bought a new optima battery for it. My buddy isnt smart enough to use the mouse on a computer so he probably never has been on here. As for the haynes manual I ordered it from Advance Auto Parts where I work part time. I have asked some of the more experienced mechanics at Keeter Ford where I work (as a mechanic) to no avail. Although I do work on vehicles this is the first time that I have been stumped. All I want to know is where if any are the fusible links on this piece.

The ony "big black" wire I see on mine out of the fuse box (1980 320i) is actually a red wire mostly sheathed in black and it goes to the positive terminal of the battery. The other wires going in or out are wrapped bundles which are obviously for their components.

The other large wire from the positive terminal runs to the starter(black) and from the same place then a red wire goes to the alternator. A smaller black wire on the starter runs back eventually to the ignition switch.

Thanks man. I just dont understand how the black wire coming out of the fuse box is grounded (test light on postive post and touching the wire with the point) if it goes on the positive terminal. All it will do is arc if I connect it and fry the whole system wont it? Have you ever come across any fusible links on your car? This thing is really ticking me off. If I cant get the car to run how much do you think I could squeeze out of it by parting it out?

I am confused which black wire you are talking about. Like I said mine is black but really red underneath and basically brings power to the fuse box from the battery. All I can think of right now is that it grounds by its common conection at the starter which then goes to the alternator, and the alternator is grounded to the engine. You can try it with a test light very quickly and see what happens. I saw a guy try to jump one of my engines once with reversed polarity, smoke started coming up, I yelled at him to stop. The system did not fry luckily since it was not long enough to screw things up. The connection at the positive terminal of the battery should be rigged for the wire. If not I don't know what to tell you, like I said mine is an 80 but they should be the same. With the disconnected wires you mentioned it is possible someone has re-routed something so that it is not stock. Do you know the Roses there in Shelby?
As far as parting it out it depends on what it has that people want, but you should at least get your case of beer back.....

I havent met anyone with the name Rose here in Shelby but I have only lived here for about 5 months. Any chance you could take a close up picture of the wiring coming from the ground terminal and all the ones coming from the front of the fuse box? That might help. I really would like to get this car running so that I can drive it. When I test drove the one at the car lot I had a fit. It was so much fun hanging those curves. Sure as hell beats driving in a straight line at the dragstrip in my mustang. Where have BMWs been all my life? You could email me at ponyboy87@excite.com