E30 wolnt start after trans swap

[conekiller]

ok so heres the deal, im in the process of completing my trans swap in my e30 to make it manual, i have a 87 325i. at the moment everything is done except for putting in the new driveshaft and rearend. but anyway i wanted to try and start the car before finishing just to make sure everything is ok. However when i turn the key to the on position (not trying to start it) the battery light is on. and the car is drawing alot of amps. which leads me to believe that there is a grounding problem somewhere in the system. Im pretty sure i have the tranny sensor and everything wired properly. But i think i may have accidentally damaged a ground connection or something like that. Any insight on what my problem might be or some trouble shooting techniques to try and figure it out would be greatly appreciated.

[LRod]

I don't know the E30 very well, so I can't help you with particular schematics, but I would go over every sensor and wire you touched while changing out the tranny. Make sure nothing is crossed and all the wired are properly connected. Beemers are so electrical, they get to be a pain in the butt. Also check the starter wires/connections, too.

[conekiller]

yea ive gone over the wiring pretty thuroghly but i havent found anything suspicious, however does any one know if the reverse lights are suppose to come on when the car is in the on position but not started? because mine dont im pretty sure they are wired properly but if there suppose to come on and there not that may be my problem, and hopefully if i solve that problem it will solve the other problem.

[Markdas]

reverse lights shoudl only be on when the car is in reverse gear.

Have you turned the car over my hand to make sure the flywheel to clutch and transmission is free enough?

Have you measured the amps being drawn? What happens when you engage the starter?

[conekiller]

Originally Posted by Markdas

reverse lights shoudl only be on when the car is in reverse gear.

Have you turned the car over my hand to make sure the flywheel to clutch and transmission is free enough?

Have you measured the amps being drawn? What happens when you engage the starter?

ok heres an update on what i accomplished today...I was able to get the car to start by installing a push button ignition switch. I wired power and ground from the starter to a high amp relay and then used the button to activate the starter. However a new problem has arisen now keep in mind there is no rear end or driveshaft in the car at the moment. But when i start the car the tachometer works for like 5 seconds when i start the car and then the needle falls to zero even though the car is still running

[Markdas]

Tacho uses some internal batteries in the cluster itself, if the car has stood for a while they may need charging ( by running the car) or you can change them withcare! Sounds like you could have found the problem with your ignition barrel then? Well done!

[conekiller]

yea i think it was just something wrong with the ignition switch so i just bypassed it completely which seems to be working. thanks for the insight on the cluster hopefully that is the problem and it will fix it self?