Question-I have the 3.3 motor and have pulled the small air box off the strut tower and have not found the starter relay. Bought a new one today so I know what it looks like but haven't found. On the strut tower there is a relay/fuse box with several items in it but none that look or labeled as such. Was relunctant to open bottom of relay/fuse box until I knew where the relay is located, if even in there(Fuse box) at all.
Appreciate your thoughts,
Kyle ------------------------
Followup To
Question -
I have a '90 Chrysler New Yorker 5th Ave that gives the appearance on cold and/or wet days that the battery is weak on the first attempt to start. That being, no clicking at the starter, just appearance of being dead. Then, release the key and immediately turn key again and starts like a new vehicle. Battery,connections and alternator have all been checked and are good. This does not happen on warm/hot days or after vehicle is warm.
Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Kyle
Answer -
Hi Kyle,
To fire up the starter, you need to have both the primary circuit of the starter relay AND you need the power from the battery to reach the starter solenoid (but that big cable is probably o.k. because the failure as you describe it seems to say that the solenoid is not getting the go ahead from the relay (i.e.,no loud click).
There are several components in the primary to consider:
The ignition switch (it may have a flakey contact)
The park/neutral safety switch on the trans (""", or be out of adjustment).
The starter relay (the next time the starter fails, try again but get under the hood and listen for a soft click from it, when a helper operates the ignition key to "start"; if you hear that then you know the ignition switch and the relay coil and the safety switch are o.k.; and the problem is either the relay's internal switch contacts, the brown wire from the relay to the solenoid, or the starter solenoid itself. If you don't hear a soft click, then either the ignition switch, the safety switch, or the relay coil is bad. The starter relay is located on either the driver side strut tower or the driver side inner fender shield depending upon which engine you have).
The last possibilities (if you hear the relay's soft click) is that the contacts in the relay are worn, the brown wire from the relay to the starter solenoid is loose/corroded, or that the starter solenoid itself is flakey. The relay is pretty cheap, and the brown wire can be checked at the solenoid, so you might try checking the wire at the solenoid and if that is o.k. buy a new relay. If that doesn't fix it, then the solenoid on the starter motor is probably worn enough to be flakey.
Unfortunately, there is no simple answer, but if you have a voltmeter and you can get the start function to "fail" predictably, I can tell you where to check voltage to figure out which of the components in this chain is the weak link. I can't be sure which would be most likely to intermittantly fail due to wet/cold conditions. If it only will fail for one try of the ignition switch it makes it difficult to troubleshoot because you don't know when it is going to fail and you have to set up you meter before you even give it a try to start it. So you may have to wait till it becomes a bit more intractable.
Feel free to write back if something here doesn't make sense to you.
Roland
AnswerHi Kyle,
I don't have the '90 diagrams for the New Yorker/5th Ave. but my '91 diagrams say that the relay is located on the left side inner fender shield and it has red, brown, yellow and brown/yellow wires. I suspect it would have been in the same place in the '90 model year. Probably it is next to the engine controller.
