Ahsai

Haha, good. Yeah, I'm always amazed by the power and torque of the starter.

Ahsai

I guess it doesn't matter anymore now that you've confirmed your starter is working. I anyway measured one from a '99. I got 0.3 ohm between the solenoid terminal and the starter casing.

EEES

I installed the new relay. Then I went to start the car, and it won't start. I'm stumped. I even put the old starter back in just to make sure that there wasn't some weird issue with the starter. All the lights on the dash come on. all the accessories work. I hear the click of the relay when I turn the ignition key, but then nothing happens. Then I release the key and about five seconds later I hear the relay click off.

Is there anything in the engine bay they could be stopping the car from starting? I don't have all the connections put back together because I wanted easy access to the starter. I am half tempted to remove the alternator again. That's the only other thing that I messed with, but the alternator is on a different circuit and shouldn't affect the starter.

Maybe an immobilizer issue? I would love to hear the starter turn over. Please help:-(

Ahsai

Can you remove the new relay and bench test it to make sure pin 30 and 87 close when energized?
Then before putting the relay back on, put the car in neutral and try to crank it, check if you get 12v on pin 30 on the relay socket. The ignition switch sends 12v to that pin 30 directly when you turn the key to crank. If everything checks out, put the battery 12v (using a fat cable) onto pin 87 relay socket (relay removed) and that should start the starter.

I agree the alternator circuit should not affect it as long as the fat 12v cable is connected to the starter.

Ahsai

One more thought. Are you sure the solenoid doesn't engage at all? I wonder if it's possible the solenoid engages but the infamous starter "Y" cable is so bad that it can't supply enough current to the starter to spin.

That "Y" cable is the cable that goes from the alternator to the starter then to the engine "+" jump start terminal right above the a/c compressor. That cable is known to fail and I've replaced mine twice. When it goes bad, I lost 0.7v on that 2 feet cable when 50A is going though it. However, I never had problem starting my car though even when the cable was bad. Not to say it can't happen. https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...ter-cable.html

To verify, you can do a v drop test between the battery "+" terminal and the starter power terminal (the one that connects to the "Y" cable). When you crank, either you will see 0v if the starter is not even getting power or something low like 1-2V but if you see anything higher, that means the starter is not getting enough current.

Also I assume your battery is still in good shape? BTW, should also check the engine ground cable behind the right rear wheel.

EEES

The relay closes when energized. Also, we are getting 12 V to pin 30 when I turn the key.

The rest of the tests are a little more advanced then I can do by myself. I'm going to have to wait for my dad to help me tomorrow. Thank you for all the help. We're going to solve this.

Ahsai

Ok, at least you're sure the ignition switch and the immobilizer are good. The new relay is most likely good (pending bench testing) and your starters work OUTSIDE of the car when you jumped them.

So that leaves the yellow wire to the solenoid and the fat wire (the "Y" cable) to the starter and the engine ground wire.

EEES

Alright so we worked on the car again today. We checked the relay, and the relay is actually bad. Something fried it. I pulled out the alternator again and we checked the Y cable. Forgive me of my lack of vocabulary when it comes to explaining electrical tests. We checked checked the ground strap, and all other possible components to ground. Everything was excellent, and we have continuity from the battery all the way back to the Y cable. We checked everything!

Then I went and got another relay at the auto parts store. We tested the relay and the relay tested well. Then we plugged it into the car and tried to start the car. Again, nothing happened. Then we took the relay back out and retested it. The relay was toast. So, I have toasted three relays. Is it time to take this to the dealer or does anybody know why I am going through relays with the turn of the key.

Ahsai

This scenario did cross my mind when you mentioned your red hot pin hence my suggestion of testing pin 87 on the socket shorting to ground (chassis). You need to remove the relay and disconnect the starter solenoid to isolate that yellow cable to test it. Did you check that? That's the only logical explanation left.

EEES

We did check continuity from pin 87 to the wire lifted off the solenoid. We did have continuity. We do not have short to ground.

Then we disconnected the solenoid wire and checked pin 87 to ground and got .2 ohms, which I understand is normal.

Any ideas?

Ahsai

The 0.2 ohm is not normal. That's short to ground! With the solenoid wire and relay removed, pin 87 should float and not connect to anything else. Am I missing something?

EEES

Oh wait. I said the .2 ohm was with the wire disconnected. It was actually connected to the solenoid. No short when disconnected.

EEES

Oh wait. I said the .2 ohm was with the wire disconnected. It was actually connected to the solenoid. No short when disconnected.

Ahsai

This is baffling. You have already eliminated a lot and I don't know how much more you can test.

Since your relays (the power contacts side) keep blowing and your starters work outside the car, I have to suspect you have a short to ground somewhere after pin87 toward the engine. However, you said you tested that wire and there was no short.

How about if you remove the wire from the solenoid and connect that wire to a 12v light bulb (e.g., 55w headlight bulb) instead? The light bulb itself would not blow a good relay and you can see if power is delivered. You may also want to take apart the blown relays and see if they are repairable.

EEES

Oh brilliant! We will try that (and recheck the wire as well to confirm there is no short). Dad is taking one of the relays to the station tomorrow to inspect the relay.

I will keep you updated. Your level of knowledge on this topic is really amazing.