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Starter Relay #302885
04/29/09 10:30 AM
04/29/09 10:30 AM
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 230
Babylon,NY
440_ci Offline OP
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Babylon,NY
Man this cars electrical system just hates me to death i think , I was driving last night and hate the lights on (of course) when all of a sudden the lights starting dimming and dieing and then the car sputtered and died. Now i have no electric inside the car (no dome lights, gauges) and the key inst giving any juice. This would have to be my starter relay right? i replaced the ballast resistor already because it ran quickly when i jumped the ballast last night but it didn't help anything today. Thanks for any and all help guys

Re: Starter Relay [Re: 440_ci] #302886
04/29/09 10:42 AM
04/29/09 10:42 AM
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 36,040
Lincoln Nebraska
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RapidRobert Offline
Circle Track
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Lincoln Nebraska
Start at the battery positive & work downstream. 12V at the large terminal on the starter relay then check it a bit further at the bulkhead(pull it apart & check for corrosion. If good go inside the car & check both terminals at the ammeter. Actually from your symptoms I think I'd take a peek at the ammeter 1st.


live every 24 hour block of time like it's your last day on earth
Re: Starter Relay [Re: RapidRobert] #302887
04/29/09 10:44 AM
04/29/09 10:44 AM
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 32,907
Grand Prairie,Texas
stumpy Offline
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Not the starter relay. Trace from the battery as Robert suggested. Don't just start replacing parts until you do the diagonsis.

Re: Starter Relay [Re: RapidRobert] #302888
04/29/09 10:48 AM
04/29/09 10:48 AM
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 230
Babylon,NY
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Ok but why would the ammeter be the cause for not getting electric into the car? Thanks

Re: Starter Relay [Re: 440_ci] #302889
04/29/09 11:08 AM
04/29/09 11:08 AM
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 17,861
albany ny
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05dakota Offline
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Posts: 17,861
albany ny
because all the power passes thru it.

Re: Starter Relay [Re: 05dakota] #302890
04/29/09 11:10 AM
04/29/09 11:10 AM
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 230
Babylon,NY
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o yea that might be important , iell go check that

Re: Starter Relay [Re: 440_ci] #302891
04/29/09 11:33 AM
04/29/09 11:33 AM
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 8,850
Central Coast, Calif.
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Snoopy Offline
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Central Coast, Calif.
Be sure to check the fusible link attached to the starter relay.

Re: Starter Relay [Re: Snoopy] #302892
04/29/09 11:51 AM
04/29/09 11:51 AM
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 18,678
Fresno, CA
Jim_Lusk Offline
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Fresno, CA
Check the fusable link AND the connection at the bulkhead. Then the ammeter.

Re: Starter Relay [Re: Jim_Lusk] #302893
04/29/09 12:03 PM
04/29/09 12:03 PM
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 230
Babylon,NY
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Are there any signs that something is wrong with the ammeter? or am i just looking for loose/disconnected or damaged wires?

Re: Starter Relay [Re: 440_ci] #302894
04/29/09 12:11 PM
04/29/09 12:11 PM
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 18,678
Fresno, CA
Jim_Lusk Offline
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The ammeter can open up, but the bulkhead is the most likely culprit.

Re: Starter Relay [Re: Jim_Lusk] #302895
04/29/09 12:22 PM
04/29/09 12:22 PM
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 25,200
Upper Midwest
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MoparforLife Offline
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Upper Midwest
Alternator possibility.
Sounds to me like You were running on battery power til the electrical system overwelmed the battery charge and ran it dead by the alternator not putting out a charge to keep the battery charged. Check out your charging system and see if the alternator is putting out.
charge your battery and see what happens.

Re: Starter Relay [Re: MoparforLife] #302896
04/29/09 12:24 PM
04/29/09 12:24 PM
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 230
Babylon,NY
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Actually the battery is still completely charged and turning over the engine just fine, the alternator is also brand new too so i don't know.

Re: Starter Relay [Re: Jim_Lusk] #302897
04/29/09 12:26 PM
04/29/09 12:26 PM
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 230
Babylon,NY
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Babylon,NY
the only other thing i changed with the car electrically was added a temp gauge to the fuse panel but it was connected correctly.

Re: Starter Relay [Re: 440_ci] #302898
04/29/09 12:49 PM
04/29/09 12:49 PM
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Posts: 25,200
Upper Midwest
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MoparforLife Offline
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Fuseable link, although it should have been and almost instant electrical loss.

Re: Starter Relay [Re: MoparforLife] #302899
04/29/09 01:20 PM
04/29/09 01:20 PM
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 8,850
Central Coast, Calif.
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Snoopy Offline
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Central Coast, Calif.
Grab hold of the fusible link wire and move it around. If it feels crunchy, has a bulge or will stretch, it's toast. If it is bad, look for a heavy current draw downstream of the link.

Re: Starter Relay [Re: Snoopy] #302900
04/29/09 01:39 PM
04/29/09 01:39 PM
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 230
Babylon,NY
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It is very soft actually and has some spots were a bit of the wire is exposed, i tested the link wire and its getting 12volts but on the other side of the bulk head connector its like .2-.4 basically nothing. I also tried to jump the coil with a wire to the battery and smoke just came out of the ballast resistor.

Re: Starter Relay [Re: 440_ci] #302901
04/29/09 01:54 PM
04/29/09 01:54 PM
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 4,587
St. John's Newfoundland
440newport Offline
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St. John's Newfoundland
amp gauge is fried most likely...everything in the car is run through it. Been there done that.

Re: Starter Relay [Re: 440newport] #302902
04/29/09 02:06 PM
04/29/09 02:06 PM
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 8,850
Central Coast, Calif.
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Snoopy Offline
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Central Coast, Calif.
Look at the bulkhead connector. Loose and dirty connectors cause a lot of problems at the bulkhead connector.

Here is a 70 E-Body bulkhead connector that had a melt down.

Re: Starter Relay [Re: Snoopy] #302903
04/29/09 02:09 PM
04/29/09 02:09 PM
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 230
Babylon,NY
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Nothing is melted or burnt and i used a can of that canned air for dust on the connectors and blew out alot of dirt and stuff but it didnt fix anything.

Re: Starter Relay [Re: Snoopy] #302904
04/29/09 02:09 PM
04/29/09 02:09 PM
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 32,907
Grand Prairie,Texas
stumpy Offline
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Grand Prairie,Texas
The smoke from the ballast resistor is normal. It gets very hot and will burn off the coating it was made with for a little while. If your not getting power out of the bulkhead connection then either the fusible link is bad or you have a bad connection at the bulkhead. It's that simple.

Last edited by stumpy; 04/29/09 02:12 PM.
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