In my previous thread 94 E320 - Bad Ignition Switch??

Went through the diagnosis of a no start condition and it seemed the culprit was the alarm relay .....

Soooo ... ordered a new relay from Fastlane (can't say enough good things about that!!!!! .. ordered it Monday, received it Wed!!).

Pulled dash, inserted new relay and nada .. nothing .. zip ..

With the old relay jumped across terminals 1 & 3 the car starts fine and have used it in that temp condition .. with the new one it is no start ..

Another funny thing .. when I pulled the dash the first time I lost the instruments .. the warning lights worked but the fuel, oil pressure, tach did not .. found a fuse (#1??) blown, replaced it and they then worked fine ..

Today pulled dash, replaced relay with new, no start and now no instruments either .. no blown fuses and all appear to be making good contact .. put old relay (jumped) back and starts, but no instruments .. very aggravating .. wonder if there is a ground for the dash cluster that is not making? All wiring to dash tight.

Hope you guys have some insight into this one??

Cheers

Tim

Check fuse 5 and 6
Does arm led come on when locking car?

Thanks Arthur .. I swear I checked the fuses well, but sure 'nuff, 5 had a hairline break (really hate that style fuse) .. so the instruments are working ..

But what about the new relay .. with the old relay in place the led flashes .. don't know with the new one (DOA?)..

Thanks very much!!

Tim

What are the terminal #s on the new relay.

The new relay is PN P2020-25016 (fastlane has two styles of this PN .. I got the Hella).. the terminals are exactly the same numbers as the old relay 85, 30 , 87 along the top, 86 and 87a alongthe bottom ..

Just put in the new one to try again .. the led lights when locked, but no joy on start ..

Cheers

Tim

Ok
Is the led OUT when u try to start?
Do you have a meter?

The led is out when trying to start .. it is on when I lock the car .. off when I unlock and no response when trying to start with new relay in place ..

Yes, have a multimeter ...

Thanks ..

Tim

OK
New relay... out of car

check for cont. from
... 30 to 87
... 30 to 87a

Low ohms reading from 85 to 86

Readings:
30 - 87a - 0 ohms

30 - 87 - Open

85 - 86 - around 60 - 65ohms

Thanks

Tim

OK

Check fuse 6 .. give it a spin
The relay is not latching to complete 1 and 3 . This means no power to 4 and 5 [ relay coil 85/86]
I have to go to schematic
I have an audition to do at 7PM , but will return by 9

You can verify by looking for 12v at 4 and 5 with alarm off or test relay by bringing 12v from a battery source to 85/86 and see if that pulls contact 1 and 3 closed with cont test across 30/87
I suspect no feed to relay coil from N26 module, but we will see

I will check as you have indicated ... but will do so tomorrow afternoon. . time for us both to take a break .. I REALLY APPRECIATE your help and concern and will post findings tomorrow .. around 4PM .. have a great evening!!

Cheers

Tim

Checked as you suggested the fuses 5, 6, and put new relay back in .. low and behold started right up ..

I sure hate those fuses .. also noticed something as I put the relay in .. the holes for the relay pins all appeared normal EXCEPT pin 86 .. it was not all shiny as were all the others and looking at the old relay noticed a some discoloration .. so before replacing the relay used a little tool to polish the pin socket ..

Next I will be buying all new fuses, applying dielectric grease to each and replacing all ...

Still notice a buzzing from the other relay I mentioned, the one behind the fuse box in the engine compartment that controls the flashers and such .. it only buzzes once in a while, but suppose it is a sign of impending failure .. do not know how it is related to the starting circuits, if it is at all.

Now, of course, wonder if the original problem was anything more than a fuse problem that prevent the coil (85-86) from energizing .. do know for sure I will take the old relay apart and build a jumper inside and if there are any more problems will just replace the relay with the jumped one and eliminate a source of failure .. personally don't know that the interlock is all that useful.

Again would have never gotten there without your help!! Hope I can do something for you in the future .. remember I am here in FL so if you need something just let me know!!!!

Cheers

Tim

<< >>

Good Insurance .. That would be your Canadian conversion.. That is what the schematic had for CDN versions.. a jumper.

The problem with the ATA system is that once the ATAmodule detects a fault in the alarm anywhere , it won' t let the relay close for start... and that can be anything from a door switch to a trunk lock...
The problem finding such can be terrible on the 124.032 is they do not have code access like the later units, which would give some direction

Glad you got power and get some new fuses
see ya