QuestionQUESTION: I have an 02 Dodge Intrepid, 3.5 liter motor. Occasionally it will not start. All electrics seem to work, battery has been tested, alternator too, it just clicks like the battery is low and engine will not turn over. Battery connections appear secure and are clean. Usually occurs when the engine is cold/has been sitting overnight or a few days. I took the starter relay out and tapped it, and the car starts. Is THAT the problem or would something else possibly be causing the relay to malfunction? Should I just blindly replace the relay?
ANSWER: You could try switching out the starter relay with a different one in the box that has the same part number and also is not so important. See if that makes it more reliable and if so then replace the switched out relay. The contacts inside the relay might be oxidized so even if it clicks it may not conduct current to the starter solenoid switch.
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QUESTION: is the relay bad??? or did something ELSE cause it to malfunction? Like fuses don't blow, something causes them to blow.
AnswerHi Terry,
What you described, that tapping on the relay seemed to result in it then starting, is a sign that there may be poor internal contacts in that relay. So try switching it with say the high speed radiator fan relay and see if the starting problem is gone. If so, then buy a new relay and get rid of the intermittent one. Sure, if a fuse blows you would like to know why. But an intermittent needs to be caught 'in the act' as it were to know for sure which part is bad. But switching out for another relay with the same part number and which isn't crucial (like the high speed radiator fan relay) is what makes sense to me as a first go at this issue.
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Thanks,
Roland
