M30 wont start! electrical issue!

[jamjars]

hi guys,
ive been lurking around this forum for a while now, its been very helpful with my m30 swap.

but i have a problem. the starter wont even budge (when the key is turned its like theres no signal to the starter)

heres my situation:
-m30b35 e34 auto and loom (was converted to manual while in the e34 and ran for 2 years like that)
-e30 318i 1990 auto (i have spliced the 3 green wires to one green wire and blue/white to blue/white and it started while auto was in)
-i have connected the e30 power cable to starter as per most people do.

things i have observed:
-ignition comes 'on' and click can be heard under glovebox and fuse box dash lights up, but when key is turned further, nothing happens.
-theres the green/black starter wire in the e30 c101 plug, number 15 iirc, but the m30 loom has a brown black wire in that pin that goes to the ecu. is this correct or wrong?

i have wirtten down and compared each pin on each plug, most are different coloured wires (havent found where they go just yet)

is there a certain pin i am supposed to connect in the c101 to get the starter to work? can anyone think of anything i havent done or done wrong?

im stuck :/

thanks in advance guys!

[zaust]

Pin 15 needs to be earthed. Silly question but have you put the rare strap back on engine to body ?

[jamjars]

engine is earthed from mount to chassis rail i believe.

yes pin #18 is correct,
sorry it is black/green, my bad.

pin #15 is definitely brown/black, brown wire with black stripe (similar guage to black/yellow wire too). it goes to the ecu im pretty sure.
the m20 harness i dug up has pin #15 as black/green also, so im just going to switch wiring harness' to eliminate one issue and see what happens.

i have all the colours written down for both pins, i was about to look up what they were, but the m20 harness seems the go.

also the black connector/harness next the the x79 white connector has both male connections so this will hopefully fix that problem too.

cheers guys

[Speedtouch]

Have you checked the green wire that runs behind the glovebox? It's a common cause of non-starting problems on E30s. Do a search for 'green wire'.

[jamjars]

will do man, cheers.

but for now, i went out to the garage quickly, cut off the brown/black wire and ran a thin wire from pin 15 to starter black/green terminal and hit ignition.

the starter seemed to slightly groan,

im guessing my battery is cactus as i had problems with it the last few weeks of being in the car, and the central locking actuators wont even budge. either that or ive got a really bad wiring problem on my hands!

[Speedtouch]

Test the battery before altering any wiring then. A good test is to switch the headlamps on and see how bright they are after, say half an hour or so. If noticeably dimmer, try recharging the battery and repeat.

[jamjars]

yep, left battery to charge overnight, plugged back in and the starter seemed to make a louder clunk noise, turned headlights on and after 3 mins the battery indicator was black again from green. starter made no noise.

went down and bought a battery to suit a 535i, put it in and the starter made the same clunk but louder.
removed the starter and freed it up, put it back and the engine cranked, but no spark or fuel.

turns out pin 18 on the ecu should go to power but doesnt, after a temporary fix to +12V the motor kicked over and started.

pin #15 on the x20 is still connected as brown/black and it starts fine, i removed the wire i put in from pin 15 to the starter.

im now in the process of rewiring the loom so that the ecu has power when ignition is on.

thanks for your help guys,
hopefully i wont have too many problems from now on!

[Speedtouch]

Could be a fusible link that's blown; these are to be found in the main thick lead near the battery + terminal.