Chrysler Repair: 88 LeBaron wont start, inner fender, starter problem

Question
QUESTION: Hi Roland,

I have a 88' LeBaron (2doors convertible) and it didnt start right now.

It was starting yesterday.

All the electrical stuff including the dash board, the radio, the headlight... are working, and i have just recently replace a new battery.

When i turn the key to start position, i can here a "click" sound from the far right inside the hood (facing the engine), and i can feel the click in a small metal cap(which i suppose is a relay) which have around 6-8 wires connected with a connector. Also i can hear a "click" sound inside the car just coming out under the glove box of the right hand seat.

I wonder if its a starter problem and i just cannot figure out where is the starter located in the hood.

Besides, if it is the starter fail, could i possibly start the car by pushing the car in "D" gear and instantly push into Neutral and start it?

Thank you so much~!
Have a great day~

ANSWER: Hi Mario,
There are two relays that should click when you use the ignition key. When you turn the key to 'run' there should be a click from the rearmost relay on the inner fender on the right side as you look from the front of the car. That is the ASD relay and when it clicks the fuel pump in the rear of the car will run for about 1 second and then the relay opens and the pump stops. Then when you move the key to 'start' the same thing will happen again but also the inner relay on the strut tower (around the corner) will click and that should then cause the starter motor to simultaneously spring to action (so you won't hear it unless the starter motor doesn't respond).
It appears that your starter motor is not responding in any case, but see if that starter relay clicks (by touch/sound) and let me know. Then we can go on from there to resolve the problem.
On the 'push' start idea, no that will not work as the connection between the engine and the transmission is a fluid coupling which will not effectively turn the engine over fast enough to get the engine to catch and run.
The starter is on the side of the engine next to the firewall and is at the level of the bottom of the block so you have to jack up the front of the vehicle to get underneath it to see it if that is the problem. But let us see if we diagnose that it is the problem.
If the starter relay doesn't click, try moving the gear shift lever slightly off the detent position in neutral/park to either side, and see if that causes it to activate the starter or not.
Roland
PS: Please 'rate' my answer and consider a 'yes' to the nomination question you will find there.



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Roland,

YES, there are a few metal caps mounted on the strut tower (on the driver side) and one of them did click when i turn the ignition key.

Cheers,
Marius

Answer
Hi Marius,
That means that the ignition switch and the P/N safety interlock are ok. The only possible reasons why the starter is not responding is that the relay's internal points are not conductiing current from the battery to the starter motor switch (which you can check to be sure that 12v shows on the brown wire at the relay plug or not when a helper tries the start position at the ignition switch) and if you find 12v to be present on that wire then I would say OR that the starter motor is now defective/marginal unless one of the two cable clamps at the battery is not cleanly and tightly connected to the battery, OR that the battery is too discharged.
So you could check those clamps, and also check the other ends of the wires on the - post clamp to be sure that the wire that is attached to the engine proper at the rear of the cylinder head is clean and tight. If all that checks out, then it points to the starter motor as the problem. You could jack up the car (right front wheel), support it on a jack stand for safety, then get under the car and find the starter motor  (previously described location) and then while a helper tries the ignition key you could tap on the side of the motor to try and 'jar' it into action so that you can verify that is the case and also contemplate getting an exchange rebuilt motor, getting the starter motor rebuilt at an electrical shop, or driving it to a mechanic who would do the job of starter motor replacement. If tapping on the side of the motor with a hammer produces no response then you are stuck with towing the car, or just removing the starter and getting a replacement and installing it yourself.
Be careful to disconnect the - post battery clamp before you touch the fat red + post wire at the starter motor and to only replace that - clamp after the + wire is connected to the replacement starter motor.
It may also be the case that the battery is discharged too much to activate the starter so you might want to try using jumper cables to jump voltage from a known good battery to your present battery. A discharged battery can still cause relays to click but not have enough voltage to activate the started motor. So consider that possibility.
Roland
PS Please 'rate' my answer and also consider a 'yes' to the question of my nomination to be volunteer of the month.
Thanks