Help! Intermittent starting woes

[deuchant420]

Hi, I've owned my X5 for about 8 months now. I have done a lot of work on it to bring it back to spec. Lately I've been having an intermittent starting issue. I had the battery and alternator tested and the battery was found to be low on charge on a consistent basis so I replaced it. Was good for a while, then it started doing it again. It would usually crank over and start after several tries, but one night it wouldn't even after 20 or more tries. I got out and whacked the starter with a ratchet I had in the back and it fired right up! I assumed it had to be a bad starter motor so I ordered and replaced it with a new, never rebuilt Bosch starter. It was great for about a week with no issues and I thought I had it fixed. But, the other night it did it again and it's happened 2 or 3 times since then. I've checked all the cables for loose connections or breaks and I've pulled the steering column covers off and checked for anything loose to no avail.
Could I have a defective starter? Is there anything else I can check?
Here are the specifics: all lights come on as usual, I can hear the relays click, I can hear the fuel pump come on, but when the key turns to the ignition point nothing happens. It seems like the first time I turn the key I can hear a brief click, but the the subsequent tries no noise at all. This leads me to believe that maybe I have a faulty starter. One other thing, the heat shield was missing when I went to put on the new starter so it has none. Not sure this would cause this type of problem.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[upallnight]

Do you have another key? Could be the security chip in the key is not being recognized by the EWS module.

The other thing will be to get the car scanned and see if the EWS module is the problem. Don't think that a bad EWS module will throw up a CEL light.

[deuchant420]

I don't have another key, I just ordered one from the dealer. I had heard the chip could be a problem but the dealer told me that's pretty unlikely. I ordered a new one anyway because I only had one key which I already replaced the battery in and then re synced it to the security system. Could an EWS module act up intermittently? It seems to me it would just go out and not work at all. I know it basically acts as a relay for the power to the starter. thanks.

Battery was consistently reading sub 12v via multi meter testing. It cranks over hard when it does, and now it's a new battery so I'm pretty sure it's not the battery at this point because the issue is that it won't crank at all. The alternator consistently reads 14.4 +v whenever I test it at the battery. Thanks

[deuchant420]

I think I need to specify that when it cranks, it starts every time. The issue is that it does not crank when the key is turned. It never stalls out and it runs well at all times, no drive-ablity issues.
thanks

[upallnight]

Could also be a bad ignition switch.

[David.X5]

+1 on the switch. If it's not the starter (since it has a new one), I would suspect the switch next.

[CapeX5]

Another thing to look at. I had this problem on a 325. Since your battery is in the back of the car, the engine/computers/etc all relay on the chassis as the ground. Start at the back of the car and find out where the main ground wire from battery connects to chassis. Clean/tighten everything from the battery out. Then go to engine compartment and find out where the main(big) ground cable connects to the engine and then the chassis. Make sure all of those connections are clean and tight. This sounds like a bad connection issue to me, not defective equipment.

[Roman D]

From what you are describing, i had a similar issue which was resolved with help of the foum (thanks again guys). I bought an x5 tapped in rear, and active restraining system went active.. While not a single airbag deployed, system kicked the positive wire out of terminal and before issue was resolved, if I would attempt to start the car, all ligts would go on/off as normal, there would be a relay click under the hood but nothing else. So may be you should too check the "+" wire (the finger thick one)that goes off the battery and perhaps concider that problem you are having not a mechanical i. e. battery/starter/alternator but electrical key/ignition switch/key chip reader/theft preventing module and jave that diagnosed.

[jdstrickland]

Key or switch.

The car and the key do a handshake to be sure that they belong together. If the handshake does not go well, the car will not start. It will not even try. Put the gear selector into any position that is not P or N and try to start the car, the exact same thing will happen if the handshake does not go well.

The ignition switch has contacts inside that will become charred over time, the result being that the contact on the Start Position and starting will become random. When the key hits START, it puts power to the starter to close a relay that in turn provides high power (current) to the starter motor and the huge electromagnet that pushes the starter gear into the flywheel.

[deuchant420]

thanks, I will go through the cables again. I did take the ignition switch out and take it apart to check for bad contacts. everything looked good inside(no burned contacts, etc.). I re greased the turn mechanism and put back together. I couldn't find any loose or broken wires under there either. I'm having none of the common issues with the ignition switch such as the visor light, radio, or other odd electrical problems. The seller I purchased the starter from is sending me a new replacement which I will install just to be sure and I have a new key coming in the next day or so.

Anyone know where the ground connects at the block? It's the only thing I haven't checked.