Engineering Puzzle

[onlinebiker]

Nothing smoke tested....

It was corrosion on a spade terminal on the starter solenoid..... It took a while to find...

My youngest brother called yesterday, and one of his questions was why his Toyota Matrix won't start sometimes when it's hot. He put a test light on the solenoid and it lights when he turns on the key, so the thing is getting power, right? And if he goes out and touches the battery wire and the "Start" wire on the solenoid together, it cranks right over. I had to 'splain that the test light probably draws .1 Amp, and that the solenoid draws about 40 Amps. It took a couple of tries before the register went "ding!" I think that it is the ignition switch, since it is a manual, and any wiping motion of a contact is in the ignition switch, while the neutral safety switch is in solid(ish) contact when the clutch is depressed. I told him to go and clean all the connections before he puts in an ignition switch.

If it draws 40 amp there is likely a relay... That migjt have gone south...