Starter Relay

[Moparsmitty]

I'm about to jump in the truck and head into town for another starter relay for my 64 Belvedere. This will be the third starter relay that has gone bad in the last 4 or 5 years in a car that isn't driven very much. The one that's in the car now is an Echlin (NAPA) relay that was supposed to be good quality. I also tried a Standard Products relay that lasted about a year. I would be quite willing to pay a little more for quality dependable electrical parts instead of the crap that I have been getting lately. Any ideas?

 

[Cranky]

Will it work if you jump the start terminals? Mine would quit working from time to time but would work for another several months after jumping it. On another car that had no carpet or mats, I could just turn the key and slam the floorboard with my work boot and it would fire right up. It too would work fine for a few months after doing that. I figured that one out when it was pouring rain one day when I got off work and I didn't want to get back out and raise the hood to jump it so the thought of kicking it in the arse came to mind (I was kinda pissed) so I just slammed the floorboard and it worked! Had to grin on that one lol. In the 10 years I drove that car, it only got one relay replaced...but as far as a brand name goes.....I think they are all made in China now.

 

[Moparsmitty]

Yea, it'll start right up if I jump the terminals. I never thought of kicking the firewall, I'll have to remember that one. It just pisses me off that the parts market has been taken over by cheap Chinese crap. You can't really buy quality electrical parts even if you are willing to pay more for good stuff.

 

[snakeoil24]

Their is nothnig left being made here!

 

[bigmanjbmopar]

Alt bad?

 

[Sixpactogo]

It don't seem to matter how old or new they are. I've had a new one fail after two starts. Mine was an Echlin too. I guess it is just the luck of the draw with some of these China made parts.

 

[jborg]

Which terminals do I need to jump? I tried jumping the positive battery cable to the large lug that goes to the stARTER. iS THAT CORRECT?

 

[Shorthorse]

If you want to start the car by bypassing the relay altogether, simply jump the large lug to the lug in the middle. It has a square hold down with a hex/slotted screw. However, that does not test the relay.
If you want to test the relay itself, momentarily jump the large terminal to the spade lug marked "I" with the transmission in PARK. If the neutral safety switch is working properly there will be a ground at the "G" terminal. If jumping those terminals activates the starter, then the starter relay is working properly.
The wire on that lug "I" goes back through the bulkhead terminal to the ignition switch. The reason I mention that is bulkhead terminals are notorious for having bad, dirty or corroded connections.

 

[bm02tj]

If the relay has a bad ground or if poor power from ignition switch it will be hard on the relay
test for good ground and proper power before blaming relay

 

[rm6p]

Could the starter relay cause the starter to spin but the solenoid not to engage? Looks like the starter is spinning and hitting the flywheel teeth but just not enough to fully engage. I put a volt meter on the solenoid terminal and read 12.7 volts when the key was turned. Also replaced a bad battery which I though would clear this up. The old starter sounded like this a couple of times but always caught on subsequent tries. I thought the solenoid was going and replaced the starter... twice today. Second and current starter tested good at the store.

 

[nm9stheham]

NO; the starter relay would not do that. The problem is in the solenoid on the starter, the bendix gear that the solenoid throws into the ring gear, the ring gear teeth are ground off, or the starter is not aligned properly. The latter 2 seem more likely if you replaced the starter with the same type of results.

 

[rm6p]

The flywheel ring gear teeth are in good shape. The starter is mounted flush all the way around that I can see. While looking at the flywheel I saw a cup in the bell housing that I would think receives the starter nose to ensure proper alignment. Is there a way to check the starter gear under load? It may be moving just enough to spin against the flywheel but not strong enough of a push to mesh with the flywheel teeth.

 

[65RoadRacer]

I've been through a couple of these relays, the last one just started clicking and I had no idea why. I went to O'Reilly and got one (lifetime warranty -which I probably can't use because the receipt ink fades in three months! ). This last one has been doing well and I haven't had any issues. The last one was from NAPA and it failed after a few months.

 

[nm9stheham]

The flywheel ring gear teeth are in good shape. The starter is mounted flush all the way around that I can see. While looking at the flywheel I saw a cup in the bell housing that I would think receives the starter nose to ensure proper alignment. Is there a way to check the starter gear under load? It may be moving just enough to spin against the flywheel but not strong enough of a push to mesh with the flywheel teeth.

Then most likely the solenoid action is weak, there is crud on the shaft preventing the bendix from sliding properly, or the one way clutch in the bendix itself is failing. I'd rework or replace the starter as a next step. There's no way to test the gear under load that I know of. Sometimes, if you take the bendix out, a marignal/failing one will show signs of slipping when you simply twist it in reverse by hand.

 

[rm6p]

Mystery Solved....Ring gear broke away from the flywheel. The starter was spinning the ring gear around while the flywheel remained stationary. That is why everything looked right but sounded and acted like the starter was bad. The intermittent spinning of the ring gear one time then catching and starting the next time threw me off. Hope this helps someone in the future..Have someone run the starter while you watch the ring gear/flywheel. Time for a new flywheel.

 

[Bb70charger500]

On the relay issue I buy everything that is made in China at AutoZone because it's all (most of it) lifetime warranty so when (no if) it quits I just go get a new one no ?'s I keep spairs of the common culprits beings I have 3 cars that share the same parts .
Good luck