(August 18, 2020 at 10:35 pm)onlinebiker Wrote:(August 18, 2020 at 9:23 pm)Fireball Wrote: 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...
Oh, yeah, this new shit has relays. I'm hoping he checks it out properly, but he's a wrench and hammer kind of guy, and isn't into the sparks and wires so much. My old vehicles, like my '70 Chevy truck, don't have relays...except that I did add a relay setup so that the headlights are powered directly through them from the battery. All the headlights and marker and tail lights are noticeably brighter.
If you get to thinking you’re a person of some influence, try ordering somebody else’s dog around.
