95 Maxima automatic. Starter wouldnt engage one day, & I noticed exposed red, large bore wire going to the starter post from the solenoid. Wrapped it well with electrical tape to the starter housing. Had to replace the clutch interlock relay. Started once, then blew the same relay again. Talked to a good Autozone technician, and he advised to remove starter housing and wrap the wire all the way in as far as I can, since it might be shorting/grounding out on the metal housing. This wire looks good to me, now. Also got a replacement solenoid installed. So I'm on my third relay now. These relays are hard to find, except at the dealership for $96! Found one on ebay for $5. This time, before I try the relay, how can I troubleshoot this starter electrical system with an ohm meter? Dont I need to check the resistance across the starter, solenoid, and wires to the relay? If so, what resistance measurements am I looking for? And can I jump across the relay pin inserts to test before installing the relay?

 

For any electrical item to burn up, it requires a abnormally high amount of electrical current to go through it.

There are 2 sections to the relay and either one of them going bad will make the relay useless. First you have the relay energizing coil. It is pins 1 and 2 of the relay. Then you have the contacts that close when the relay energizes. These are pins 3 and 5.

If the energizing coil is burning up, that would be rather unusual as the coil itself would have to be shorting out.

More likely it is the contacts burning. The relay is an electro magnet operated switch. The relay energizes and the contacts close. Electrical current can then flow through the relay to what ever it is, in this case the starter solenoid. The starter solenoid could be going bad and drawing too much current. Problem is, there is a fuse that should blow. It is fuse # D, 30 amps. Plus you changed the solenoid.

Do you have a bad relay that you can check? Check the resistance across pins 1 and 2, the energizing coil. If the coil is bad, you would have an open circuit or infinity. Do this check on another relay of the same color to see what a good relay coil should read. If pins 1 and 2 give a good reading, then the relay contacts evidently are the problem.

But you have to find out which side of the relay is going bad so you are not chasing the wrong circuit.

 

I do have a good relay and a bad relay. I will get these readings and report back. Thanx