Car is a 91 si
New starter ( about a yr old )
Re-soldered main relay (about two months ago)
Posts on the battery are good
Batery is good


When I turn ignition key to start the main relay clicks along with the starter and the car will not start. No crank neither

Question # 1
Car should crank without main relay installed right?

If so, mine does not crank


Q#2
How reliable is resoldering the main relay?
( I am confident in my skills to solder)

When car does start is with push start or with me turning the key several times

Any help will be greatly appreciated since this is my daily
Chris Riz

 

If vehicle is a Manual transmission model check the clutch starter kill switch and relay. This would cause your problem.

I do the following checks in your situation. Insert key, turn ignition to run and watch for Check engine light - directly lit by ECM so no light, likely no power to ECM, at se time listen for fuel pump prime for 2 sec and then off.. No buzz no fuel

 

But should crank regardless. The tip helps isolate main relay defect in no start situations

 

i had the same kinda pain in the *** problems last year, replaced main relay, then found out it was the fuel pump. it's not easy to check, but it could be what's wrong.

 

@ mo
No cel light on. Other than when the key is first turned. And fuel pump is good I can hear it prime.

Most trubble I have is it won't turn over if it does turn over starts right up no hesitation

@neo
Yea it is a pain.

 

loose wire somewhere??...clean the copper wires on the battery or tighten starter wires. Dirty connections will click once per key turn but eventually crank.

 

@ jdm
Yea dude that was my first thoughts checked connections and wires are good. I might have to rip up a bit of the wire loom and check really well

 

I need to clarify that the Check Engine Light "on" that I'm talking about is the bulb check function. So when the key is turned on, the bulb should light up for 3 sec and then go off.

If this doesn't happen then the main relay or the power supply may have a problem.

So here's how that fits for you and how you can use this to solve your problem. You'll need a multi-meter with record function or min/max at least. When it doesn't start next time note if the bulb check came on - more useful when cranks and no start. But a clue none the less.

So to understand your problem we need to know that the main fuse box supplies the ignition switch with 12v. BTW 12v means 11v to 14.8v and should be recharged if low 11v

For a manual transmission: when the ignition is turned in start position 12v is supplied to the starter relay coil & grounds through the clutch starter kill switch. This pulls the relay and sends power to the starter solenoid - at this point the starter solenoid activates and is supposed to turn the motor once it is fully moved into contact with the ring gear. Once the motor engages the battery voltage vehicle wide will drop to no less than 10v.

For automatic transmission: 12v is supplied to the neutral safety switch which allows 12v to the solenoid when in park and nuetral then the starter works the same.

So when no start occurs and bulb check was good, you hear the pump prime - main relay and vehicle power supply should be good and can be ruled out. I would measure battery voltage at key points to isolate - battery, battery wire at starter, starter solenoid wire.

If any are below 10v during no crank then you can find your problem: battery if weak or bad (example: open cell will drop below 10v under load needs to be properly charged and tested/replaced. Would cause voltage issue at main relay and may be visible with faulty bulb check operation)

Starter motor power wire may have corrosion or bad connections creating very different voltage than seen at battery - Wiring needs repair or replaced, or stater motor windings are bad causing high current draw and no operation.

If starter solenoid line below 10v then easiest to test power into ignition switch first. If good then problem is between ignition switch and starter solenoid.. If NOT good - problem is from battery to ignition switch -test at both fuse boxes for poor power quality back to battery. If well above 10v then starter solenoid contacts are suspect and can be serviced/cleaned.

Please note this basic principle: when measuring voltage on the ground side of a circuit the voltage must be less than (IMO) 1 volt or you have a bad ground.

Why? Because the voltage is used by whatever load is consuming it.. Current however remains the same. So if your "testing" the clutch switch at the pedal that device simply toggles a path to ground for the starter relay coil.. So this should lose its voltage in the relay when the starter relay is energized during cranking. This can be confusing: pedal to floor during cranking - no voltage found at clutch switch shows it has no power or it is good, so you'll need comfirm your reading - easiest way is to crank with clutch pedal up and voltage should now be visable.

Why? Because electricity needs to flow.

Hope this helps somewhat.

 

Having same problem. I went to Autozone and the guy checked battery, it was good. he said maybe the starter but not for sure. I don't think its starter bc on mine it works or it doesn't. It doesn't constently not work.

 

@Mo
Thank you sir I do have a multimeter and I will get some numbers tomorrow which is my day off work and school

 

Ok so I decide to take a little bit of loom off and I found one of the wires broken almost completely off so I soldered it back and badabing-badaboom that was the colpret. Thanks to all that helped. I appreciate it
Chris

 

awesome man..

 

On average, I have the "click-clicks" 3 or 4 times a week. Sometimes i turn the key 2 times ....sometimes 6 or 7. I really should tighten my starter wires..lol