Auto Troubleshooting
ENGINE DOES NOT START | starter motor relay failure
STARTER MOTTO RELAY FAILURE
STARTER MOTOR RELAY FAILURE
On diagnosing starter motor relay you will need the following tools first.
1. Screwdrivers
2. Test lights
3. A piece of wire to act as a jumper
4. Wrenches and sockets (in case you need to lose anything).
now on testing the starter relay you must make sure your battery is fully charge or you get one and a portable jumper cable. here goes the procedure
i. Find the starter relay fuse location. The fuse location may vary from vehicle to vehicle. The fuses are majorly located close to the battery sitting with the positive battery terminal connected to it.
ii. Have an assistant help you turn the ignition key to the ON position. If you hear a weak click sound, you will need conduct an electrical resistance test. But if you hear an audible click, you need to diagnose the starter relay for voltage drop.
To diagnose the electrical resistance (weak click sounds) here goes the process:
i. Get a multimeter and set it on the ohms scale. Contact one of the probes on the earth lead and the other on the ignition circuit terminal. A good starter relay should read below 5 ohms. Any reading above that indicates a defective relay.
ii. you can also run the test by using other method; contact the red multimeter probe to the ignition circuit wire and the other probe to the earth wire. If it reads less than 12V when you turn on the ignition switch, it indicates a faulty relay.
If the resistance of the relay is perfect, then go for testing it voltage drop.
i. Reset your multimeter to be on 20V (volt) DC
ii. Contact the red probe of the multimeter on the red terminal lead from the battery. Place the black and thin wire on the lead that goes to the ignition circuit lead switch.
iii. Tell your assistant to turn the ignition key to the ON position as you examine the multimeter reading the voltage should not be above 0.2V. If the multimeter reads above 0.2V, either you have a bad starter relay or a problem with the electrical conductivity of the starter relay that needs proper attention. You have to check the connectors and clean them.
D. IGNITION SWITCH FAILURE
Here are some symptoms of ignition switch:
a. Failure in starting vehicle
b. Stalling
c. Jammed key
d. Jammed steering wheel
e. Car starts but stalls
f. The accessories are not powered
g. Flickering lights
h. Quiet starter motor
If one the above-mentioned symptoms occurs you need to test run your Ignition Switch, the steps are as follows:
This can be done in two ways:
1. Testing it with a multimeter:
I. Rotate the ignition key to the switch-off state. Back-probe the power feed wire of the module by utilizing the positive leads on the multimeter.
II. As the key goes to the running state, you have to measure the voltage. If the battery voltage indicates anything below 90%, then there lies an issue within the ignition mechanics.
2. Testing it with a test light:
I. Turn off the ignition switch and disengage the module wire connection. Detach the solenoid's S terminal as well.
II. Turn the ignition key to settle it in the run station. To test the voltage, probe the red wire connection and the battery terminal in the ignition coil.
III. Set the switch to the 'start' station and probe the battery terminal in the ignition coil and the module's white wire connection to investigate the voltage.
IV. If you witness no voltage, the switch and the circuits have errors.