Not starting, holding charge?

[JR Lupton]

This topic might be posted in the wrong section....

I have a problem with my 1991 318is. Here it is......


If I let the car sit for between 24+ hours it won't start.

But if I boost it, it starts right away.....and will hold charge for the time posted above. It varis though, but 24 hours is generally the max.

I tryed charging the battery last night, and when I put it back in it does the same.

I then tried hooking up my battery from my VW golf, running booster cables from it to my cars terminal wires.

Sooo, does this sound like a starter, an alternator or maybe a solinoid? Anyone with any similiar problem experience or suggestions, I would appreciate your feedback!

thanks,

JR

p.s I'm having trouble uploading pics for the intro section....mine are too big

[gearheadE30]

Did the battery from the VW work OK?

Sometimes the switches for the trunk light and the glovebox light can stick, and that can drain the battery enough in a short time for the car to have trouble starting.

[JR Lupton]

no, it didn't start with the VW battery:confused:

[JR Lupton]

Not sure if this is under the wrong section or not?

UPDATE:

I replaced the battery and that seems to have fixed it.

However, I removed the cd player(aftermarket) to fix up the wiring and can't get the unit powered up?

I followed the color codes from the "How to" section but no power? Even stranger is when I attempt to hook everything up to the head unit harness, it blows the fuse for the RPM gauge.....

I think my car is possessed!!

[b318isp]

Nothing to do with the CD, but it may be an idea to check the voltage of the car when running - should be a little over 14 volts if the alternator brushes are OK.