Mystery cable after engine reinstall

[Bonto 14]

[M20 B27 in an E28]

Hi bimmer people,

Help a fulla out here.

I've reassembled everything for my e28 after the engine failure a while back. The engine in the bay now is a replacement M20B27. It's all gone pretty smoothly apart from this mystery cable. It looks like it wants to go to the starter motor and I've seen some images on the web that show something like this i.e. black goes to same positive terminal as the red... but under the black sheath it looks like brown plastic and it looks like an earth cable...

I didn't work connected to the starter - not even a click. No hot smells or anything either thankfully.

Is it safe to just connect it to the block / body to see if I'm right? Or am I likely to burn something out?

Thanks in advance...

Tom

Edited April 30, 2016 by Bonto

[525ix tourer 8]

One cable from alternator to starter to battery positive stater earths through the block

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[525ix tourer 8]

Where are you based

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[Bonto 14]

Dunedin

[Bonto 14]

I think I actually had it right the first time - thanks for that, it will be easy to test that loop at least, then I can work out why it didn't want to play first time around. Or just look at it blankly and make another cup of tea.

[525ix tourer 8]

Lol enjoy always a sense of acomplishment when a car purrs again

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[Andre3000 55]

looks like an earth to me, you don't have a captive nut somewhere along the left of the engine bay which it will reach? disconnect battery and check continuity from earth terminal to confirm.

[Bonto 14]

Hey all, thanks for the help. It was the power line from the battery.

The non-start problem was (as usual) pretty ridiculously simple in the end. The 12volt tongue plug needed to go onto the -other- connector UNDERNEATH the solenoid, which I couldn't see until I went under the car to check other things.

It cranked over after that. Still didn't start until we worked out that the fuel lines to the rail were reversed. As soon as that was sorted, it fired up and purred like a kitten after just a few revolutions.

So good.