76030 miles
- Dr. Bob 9/99
An intermittent problem
becomes chronic!
 Back in April, I asked Grady to look at what I thought was a starting
problem with the ignition switch. It was intermittent, and they couldn't find
anything. Recently, it became more common, and finally I could not start the car.
Turning the key caused no noise from the starter! The car remained
dormant in the driveway for a week.
At first I thought it was the starter relay, so I swapped the relay with the AC fan
4th speed relay but the problem remained. (See the picture below: Rob Grady says the
relays marked 8 can be swapped.) I
could hear the relay clicking, but still no starter activity. I accused the starter or
starter-solenoid, and removed the starter. The Workshop Manual (Get a Copy!) says you should remove the oil filter first. It
means it! Well, I needed an oil change anyway.
I cleaned the starter & solenoid with "GUNK Engine Cleaner" and tested
the solenoid by connecting the battery directly across it. The starter gear was
thrown, just as it should be! I then tested the starter by connecting the battery
directly to it. The starter spun, just as it should. I remounted my (now
cleaner) starter and turned my attention to the relay compartment behind the passenger's
seat.
Although the starter relay ( S in the figure) was being energized,
there was no voltage across the switched contacts. Then I noticed a brown wire from the
starter relay was not connected on the other end. This is the ground connection for the
starter solenoid! I reconnected it to the "AC/Heater Fan circuit breaker" which
is 22 or 23
in the figure. It is the one with the other 3 brown wires on it! Problem
solved! I may have just scared the gremlin, or maybe disconnecting and
reconnecting every wire connector that had anything to do with the ignition helped. We'll
see.
I still need to replace the water hose!
From section 3/7/4 of the spare parts catalogue.
Click for a larger view (22 Kbytes).
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