Please help me understand this diagram 2003

[happypessimist]

Hey all. So. . . i want to check my starter relay. I see this here diagram that shows it, but it makes no sense to me. I removed the little door to the left of the steering wheel and I see all the plugs and such - tons of them.
It seems to bear no resemblance whatsoever to this diagram which claims to be what I'm looking at. .

can anyone help? thanks!

Screen Shot 2017-06-20 at 4.02.21 PM.png (107.88 KiB) Viewed 3358 times

[jolt]

Your picture appears to be a view of the back of the fuse panel where the wiring cables plug into the fuse panel. When you remove the cover, you are looking at the front of the fuse panel where all the fuses are. The relay is plugged into the back of the fuse panel from the information you have provided here.

[joatmon]

Might be easier to see if you pull the trim panel with the air outlet and mirror controls. Just stick you finger in the vent and pull.

In the diagram you posted, the right side of the diagram is towards the front of the car.

Here is a picture of my 03 through the hole when that vent and mirror control trim panel is removed. On mine , the starter relay is the blue one, marked by the red arrow.

starterrelay.jpg (49.61 KiB) Viewed 3346 times

[happypessimist]

Thank you Joatman! That was so easy! Woo hoo! And thank you Jolt! Ya'll are awesome!!!

I'm about to try checking it. My starter tested fine but boy . . .I wish I'd known it was so easy to replace the two times I paid someone to do it!

[Anduril]

What should I be looking for resistance wise when metering between pin 1 and 2 on the starter relay. The wiring diagrams I find make no mention of a value.

I get around 77 ohms

Nevermind. I did the smart thing and put my fingers on it and turned the key. >.>

[happypessimist]

Are you having starter problems Auduril? I thought it couldn't possibly be my starter because it was only 2-3 years old. I checked everything and. . . it was the starter. Super easy to install.

What should I be looking for resistance wise when metering between pin 1 and 2 on the starter relay. The wiring diagrams I find make no mention of a value.

I get around 77 ohms

Nevermind. I did the smart thing and put my fingers on it and turned the key. >.>

[Anduril]

It did turn out to be the starter. Once I smarted up and put my finger on the relay to check it's operation I checked the voltage at the starter. Everything checked out to that point so I found a starter at a NAPA near me.

Ultimately the hardest part of the troubleshooting and swap out was the 2 or 3 trips back into the house to recheck the starters location before I saw it tucked in there right in front of me. Pulling the fan/shroud and putting a piece of cardboard in to protect the radiator were both great suggestions. Super easy and the reassembly after I got back with the part was maybe 15-20 minutes at most.

Wife has had this car since we bought it new in September or October of 2002 so I can't complain about a 15 year old starter dying.