E3 electrical prob

[JC Nordyke <jc.nordyke@xxxxxxxx>]

Oh BMW gurus... and the rest of you too,

  I'm new to this list and to BMW's so here's a little about me.

E3 76 3.0Si 00/02 122K JC Nordyke <jc.nordyke@domain.elided>
USA,CO,Colorado_Springs

  I read a majority of the FAQ and found it very lacking for info on my
particular car so I shall propose a few questions.

  I've got an intermittent electrical short. When attempting to start
the car I occasionally get only the clickety-clack of the relays on the
fuse block. From my past experience I'm guessing that the starter
solenoid is very worn and the starter may need rebuilding. 

  A separate but somewhat related electrical problem I find that is that
when the ignition is off and I turn on the headlights they don't come
on. But when I get the car to start (get past the clickety-clack of the
relays on the fuse block) the headlights come on. I'm wondering if there
is some interrelated wire that I could trace to see if there is a short.
If it is not related, I was guessing that either this is a built in
"feature" that the headlights don't come on 'til the car turns on (it
doesn't seem like a feature to me), or if the headlight relay was
wearing out and the extra voltage that the car is creating when it is
running is enough to make it work. Ok, so I'm grasping for answers.

  I have found that finding parts for this particular Bimmer is quite a
task. The local parts chains are clueless (I'm used to it, I also own a
1972 Toyota FJ40). Are there any cross references as far as relays and
such electrical stuffs? Anyone have a Bosch Catalog?

Thanks,
JC Nordyke
jc.nordyke@domain.elided
'76 3.0Si

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