QuestionQUESTION: I have a 2005 chrysler sebring touring 4-door 2.7 engine. the #8 fuse blows whenever I try to start the car. The fuse is marked start/fuel. What I did was removed fuel pump relay try to start car fuse #8 still blows. Put fuel pump relay back in removedved starter relay no blow on #8 fuse. When I turn power on to car but not turn over the engine, gauges come up like gas gauge etc, and you can hear what I think is the fuel pump turn on. But when the engine tries to turn over the fuse blows, gauges drop and everything is dead.
My question is it the starter and how do I change it? Or what should I do now?
ANSWER: Hi Eric,
That certainly does implicate the starter motor's solenoid assembly as the culprit. You might try using a different relay with the same part number in the starter relay socket just in case the relay has an internal short to ground and if the fuse still blows that would show it is not the relay. Or instead if you have a digital ohmmmeter you can check that the pin in the very center of the starter relay socket is or is not shorted to chassis ground. That pin is attached to the brown wire that goes to the starter motor solenoid switch. If it is shown as shorted to ground you could go to the starter motor proper and disconnect the brown wire from the solenoid and then see if the pin still shows a short. If not, then that implies that the solenoid is shorted out; if so, then that implies that the brown wire is shorting to ground. By 'short' I would mean a resistance to chassis ground of less than 0.5 ohms as that is low enough to blow the fuse. If the resistance shown on your meter is a few ohms then that would not blow the 20 amp fuse #8.
Let me know if indeed it appears that the short is at the starter motor solenoid switch where the brown wire attaches and then I can tell you the details of how to remove and replace the starter motor. You might be able to replace the starter motor solenoid alone, if that part were available separately from the entire motor. There are a few 'tricks' to doing it.
Roland
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---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Switched relays, still blew. Checked the center pin and got .3 ohms. Definite continuity to ground. Now what do I do? Just to make sure I got the right pin there are three pins going one way and two pins going another. The one of the two pins going the same direction closest to the center.
AnswerHi Eric,
Yes, that is the correct pin. So unless the brown wire from the pin to the solenoid switch on the starter motor somehow got shorted to ground then the solenoid itself is bad. You will want to remove the starter to either change the solenoid or replace the starter if you can't get the solenoid as a separate part. I have the '05 Sebring manual on a CD and can copy and email you the pages that show the steps to change it out. Use a 'private' follow-up question to tell me your email address as the Allexpert site doesn't show it to me, so if you don't do a 'private' it will edit the email address and then I can't see it.
Roland
PS Please 'rate' my answer. Thanks
PPS I have the pages copied and am ready to send them to your email address.
