BMW: bmw 318ti compact 96-97 n reg, air control valve, bmw 318ti

Question
in cold weather car will crank but not start until battery is disconnected and then replaced,on disconnecting battery it sounds like a valve is opening.once battery lead is replaced car starts and will start ok until next morning

Answer
I had one like this once and it was the DME. The vehicle would start all the time in the warm, but as soon as it got cold it would not start unless you did a battery reset. I can say for sure this is your issue though, so don't go out and buy a DME hoping this will fix it. The clicking noise makes me think that the idle air control valve may be sticking. Have you had it in the shop and checked for codes? There are many things that can cause this issue, but without being there I can't tell you what it is for sure. First thing to do though is get codes pulled from all modules and see what they say. If you can get that then maybe I can help you further. Hope this helps.