Starter relay

[Brice Ray]

When I turn the key to start the engine I hear the starter relay click and nothing else happens. Does the relay always click or is this where the issue is. Could it just be a bad connection or do I need to replace the whole thing. Let me know what you think. Thanks

[hal2814]

The relay closes the gap between the battery and the starter. That’ll make a single click and it’s a good thing. Multiple clicks is likely the starter solenoid and not a good thing. The first thing I would do is make sure your battery is charged and your electric connections are good. It takes a lot less power to close that relay than it does to run an electric starter motor. From there, I would grab a multimeter and make sure electricity is making it to the starter when you turn the key. If electricity makes it past the relay, it’s probably the starter. If not, it’s probably the relay. I wouldn’t skip the multimeter. It clicking doesn’t necessarily mean it’s working. It can fail and still click.