2000 Z28 will only starts 1 out of 20 times = bad starter relay
11-12-2014, 08:19 PM
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2000 Z28 will only starts 1 out of 20 times = bad starter relay Problem starting became worse over time. Turn key and there is no sound from the starter -- no loud click from the starter solenoid, certainly no cranking. Just dash lights, fuel pump, and the ignition and starter relays clicking when the key is turned. How to verify the starter relay is the problem:
EASIEST & QUICKEST way to fix = buy $15 starter relay and replace. Relay is located in fuse box in front of engine bay on driver's side.
Easiest way to check and LIKELY find the problem (a bad starter relay) - swap the ignition relay to the starter relay position and see if the starter will work when the key is turned all the way to the start position.
If you like to trouble-shoot things, or the ignition relay does not make the starter work, or a new relay does not fix it, then the following steps can help track down where the problem lies (assumes that the battery is good):
1) Pull the starter relay
2) Have someone turn the ignition key while measuring the upper left and lower right sockets where the relay was plugged in. It should read 11+VDC. If not, the problem is in your VATS, key switch, or ?
3) IF you have 11+VDC, then with the ignition key turned to the start position, take a short length of wire and connect the upper right and lower left sockets -- you should hear a loud click from the starter bendix engaging...and the starter should turn the engine over too...and the engine may start.
4) If the jumper wire does not work, then the starter, or the wire from the relay to the starter, could be bad. Or the wire from the battery to the starter could be bad. Bad meaning loose connections, broken wires, corrosion.
I bench tested a bad starter relay and found it to close the contacts when energized, measure low resistance, and even read full battery voltage at the starter when the small wire was disconnected from the starter solenoid. BUT WHEN CONNECTED TO THE STARTER, voltage goes to zero and nothing happens.
The contact faces were damaged and would not conduct the amperage needed to power the starter solenoid! But they tested OK without the load of the solenoid. Now we all know!
Pictures show what the relay looks like and what a bad contact looks like inside the "black box".
EASIEST & QUICKEST way to fix = buy $15 starter relay and replace. Relay is located in fuse box in front of engine bay on driver's side.
Easiest way to check and LIKELY find the problem (a bad starter relay) - swap the ignition relay to the starter relay position and see if the starter will work when the key is turned all the way to the start position.
If you like to trouble-shoot things, or the ignition relay does not make the starter work, or a new relay does not fix it, then the following steps can help track down where the problem lies (assumes that the battery is good):
1) Pull the starter relay
2) Have someone turn the ignition key while measuring the upper left and lower right sockets where the relay was plugged in. It should read 11+VDC. If not, the problem is in your VATS, key switch, or ?
3) IF you have 11+VDC, then with the ignition key turned to the start position, take a short length of wire and connect the upper right and lower left sockets -- you should hear a loud click from the starter bendix engaging...and the starter should turn the engine over too...and the engine may start.
4) If the jumper wire does not work, then the starter, or the wire from the relay to the starter, could be bad. Or the wire from the battery to the starter could be bad. Bad meaning loose connections, broken wires, corrosion.
I bench tested a bad starter relay and found it to close the contacts when energized, measure low resistance, and even read full battery voltage at the starter when the small wire was disconnected from the starter solenoid. BUT WHEN CONNECTED TO THE STARTER, voltage goes to zero and nothing happens.
The contact faces were damaged and would not conduct the amperage needed to power the starter solenoid! But they tested OK without the load of the solenoid. Now we all know!Pictures show what the relay looks like and what a bad contact looks like inside the "black box".
