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Post a picture of the battery setup and where you attached the body ground. Lets make sure it's attached correctly. Did you clean all the grounds? Shock tower/chassis? That ground cable is key. Your issue started with sequence #4 in your story. M+S lights/limp mode at 60mph. It has not started since.....Just a "Click". Agree with @Harvlr about the battery. Try and jump it or switch out the battery if no load test was done. Cables/ground points? If your starter/solenoid is bad why would that trigger M+S while traveling 60mph? Not trying to muddy the water here. You have received excellent advice on tracking a starter/solenoid issue and I would rule it out. Check all those cable connection. I had the alternator wire fray coming out of the wire harness once. Couldn't even tell it had failed until digging in and checking connections. Dead in the water.
To expand on Extinct’s comment, jumping those two large studs bypasses the solenoid. If it works then the solenoid is bad. If it still doesn’t work then you still have a cable or battery problem. If it works then move up to the start relay that drives the solenoid. If it works there then you have a bad relay. Keep moving up the chain until you locate the device that works when you bypass. That is your failed device. Make sure you don’t get hung up trying understanding why a given part might be bad before testing it. Test it THEN understand why it’s bad, or move on if it’s not.
This is a good point I neglected to mention, you can use a good set of jumper cables and bypass the entire electrical system and even the D2's battery. Just connect the cables to a running car, ground cable to the engine - alternator bracket is ideal, and red jumper cable to a big screwdrive and touch that lower lug. If it does not spin then you have a bad starter.
@Harvlr - I did, but that was when the battery in the LR was discharged and it didn't do anything except making a more audible *CLICK* when I turned the key. And you're also on to something with the test. They did not load test it, just hooked it up to some handheld device with a couple of jumper leads that they connected to the battery terminals. God I miss the analog days. Things are too electronic nowadays. And that's coming from a guy that works in tech.
@Windycity_rover - I grabbed a picture of the alternator bracket and battery area (see below) but I'll try and get one showing of the shock tower this afternoon if it doesn't rain, as I mentioned earlier. Battery & Body Ground Tab Ground Cable to Alternator Bracket
Ooooof! This is good news......you may have uncovered your problem. That is NOT where the body ground goes. You need to connect the body ground to the ground bar in front of the fuse box which is located behind the battery. In the picture you can see I have the ground cable running from the terminal to this ground bar. Then there is a ground cable that goes to the shock tower to ground the battery (from the ground bar). Loosen the terminal and rotate the cable to make this connection. It's tight, which is why I scraped the original setup, but it works. As pictured you have nothing grounding the battery. You are attempting to ground the battery to the metal battery hold down. I would undo the body ground and attach it to the ground bar. Then use that nut (add a washer) and tighten the metal hold down to secure the battery from moving around. Hopefully that gets you back in business.
Thanks for that insight @Windycity_rover ! As expected, it has been raining for the last 4hrs so I don't think I'm getting out there tonight. But your reaction has me enthused so I might have to get up early tomorrow to try this fix.
I've adjusted the ground tab & cable to follow the proper channels through the ground bar, as well as cleaning up the connection (there was some light rust on the nut). @Windycity_rover you were not kidding! That was tight and a PITA to make the cable was tightened at the battery terminal (picture below)
Follow ing @Extinct 's advice, I grabbed my jumper cables and went directly from the battery to the starter. Lo and behold, the cable was sparking it up against the big lug (the one with the blue mark and the hefty wire going to the starter) and there was not a peep out of the starter. I did not have to have the key in and turned to the ON position, correct? I figured the direct connection would bypass the ignition system.
So it appears, if I jumped the starter correctly, that my brand new starter is indeed dead. I will be ordering a new one tonight and will have to find some time next week to replace it as me and the missus are going out of town tomorrow. I was really hoping to have the LR running by tomorrow for the trip but we'll probably take her car or the Beamer.
To be honest @Windycity_rover , I don't think it was even clicking. I might bring the BMW out to test a jumpstart and verify it's not the battery again (but it is odd the direct connection didn't trigger the starter either).
