Starter relay conundrum
Here is a new one that I've never seen before....
It pertains to a 75 Power Wagon of mine but since the electrical systems on cars and trucks are so similar, I figure that it applies here.
(I did post this in the Truck forum as well)
The truck is a 75 W 200 Power Wagon (1978 Grille) that was built as a 440 4 speed. I converted it to a 727 in case I needed the Wife to drive it to help me push cars around the yard.
Yesterday, it wouldn't start by the key but it would by jumping the terminals on the starter relay. It always started fine before as long as the battery was up.
Okay, bad relay, right? I went to the NAPA store and got a new one...$34! Holeeee crap. I know about inflation but jeeez! Rock auto does have them for less than half that but I wanted it now. I'm doing tree work out back and need the truck for it.
This morning, I swapped it in. Functionally, these truck relays are the same as the car relays but they have different mounting tabs on the housing.
Truck:
Car:
Here is where it gets weird. The old relay that I took off didn't have the spade at the bottom right corner like the new ones have. The truck also has no wires going to the transmission neutral safety switch. Normally when you don't have those wires, you have to "ground" that spade on the relay to complete a circuit.
For some strange reason, the truck has started fine for almost 7 years without the wiring or the spade to ground the circuit.
Does anyone know why? I sure don't.
I swapped in the new relay and it still wouldn't start by the key. Then I attached a temporary ground to the spade in the lower right corner and it started like normal. How did it start before all this time?
Here is a new one that I've never seen before....
It pertains to a 75 Power Wagon of mine but since the electrical systems on cars and trucks are so similar, I figure that it applies here.
(I did post this in the Truck forum as well)
The truck is a 75 W 200 Power Wagon (1978 Grille) that was built as a 440 4 speed. I converted it to a 727 in case I needed the Wife to drive it to help me push cars around the yard.
Yesterday, it wouldn't start by the key but it would by jumping the terminals on the starter relay. It always started fine before as long as the battery was up.
Okay, bad relay, right? I went to the NAPA store and got a new one...$34! Holeeee crap. I know about inflation but jeeez! Rock auto does have them for less than half that but I wanted it now. I'm doing tree work out back and need the truck for it.
This morning, I swapped it in. Functionally, these truck relays are the same as the car relays but they have different mounting tabs on the housing.
Truck:
Car:
Here is where it gets weird. The old relay that I took off didn't have the spade at the bottom right corner like the new ones have. The truck also has no wires going to the transmission neutral safety switch. Normally when you don't have those wires, you have to "ground" that spade on the relay to complete a circuit.
For some strange reason, the truck has started fine for almost 7 years without the wiring or the spade to ground the circuit.
Does anyone know why? I sure don't.
I swapped in the new relay and it still wouldn't start by the key. Then I attached a temporary ground to the spade in the lower right corner and it started like normal. How did it start before all this time?
