I picked up a ef 5speed xr8 and everything is working except the starter, now the starter will work if you put power straight to the solenoid but not off the key, relay has power and is working when you turn the key and there is 12v going out of the relay but no power down at the solenoid, so hoping someone can tell me what is between the starter relay and the solenoid on the starter

there is nothing in between the relay and starter except for the loom plug, so there is more than likely a break in the wire somewhere or maybe corrosion at the loom plug

The wire from the starter is going back to plugs at the back of the motor which then run into the cabin on the passenger side, the wire from the relay is going into the loom that goes into the cabin on the drivers side

This is a fairly common symptom of starter failure as well. Just like the older i6's - the solenoid is susceptible to being cooked. Ive done 2 over 6 years in 2 different cars.

Have you replaced the relay, just to confirm that nothing is wrong with it? - If youve done that, take the connector off the starter and test that 12v is being switched to it when you turn the key. If thats the case, then youve got a starter issue.

Seperately, especially in EF Vehicles the BCM gets dry joints on the Starter imobiliserrelay (part of smartlock) and often the starter imobilise relay needs to be bypassed (often seen as two wires joined at the back of the BEM).

Nigel