Looking For Starter Relay

I can't believe I have searched high and low for a relay diagram showing where the starter relay is and I just get fuse diagrams and under the hood relays. Close I can get is possibly the one relay on the right side of the junction/fuse box inside. There is one relay on the right side PN 07-003 and a black relay on the left side. Am I close?

 

Problem: Had car smog'ed in CA on Monday and drove home. Tuesday it won't start. No starter clicking, no sounds. All dash lights come on, headlights come on and don't dim when turning the key. Battery has 11.2v and the main cable on the starter solenoid shows same. I ran a jumper wire from battery positive to starter cable that goes from the solenoid to the starter and the engine turned over.

 

2011 Legacy 2.5i Premium.

Well, for an automotive battery, 11.2V resting is pretty much stone dead, so that's likely the cause and not a bad relay. You probably got it to crank by jumping the starter because you didn't need the electronics upstream of the starter to work. I'd say put it on a charger for a few hours and give it another shot, and if you still have issues getting it to crank when you have good voltage (ideally 12.6V or higher), then start looking for more complicated things.

If you are getting voltage at the starter solenoid, and it won't turn over, but when you bypass the solenoid, it starts, then your starter solenoid is fried - replace the starter and you'll be good to go.

How old is your battery, and when is the last time you changed it? I don't think 11.2 volts is enough power to get your car started... unless I'm blanking out.

Thank you all for the replies. I figured 12.2v would at least make a noise but maybe not. Autozone tested the starter and it passed but I didn't have much confidence in the way he was going about it so I took it to NAPA and they said it failed the amp draw but they didn't have any in stock so I'll have to go back to Autozone. I might take the battery out of my truck to try out because I know it has over 12.4v and see what happens.

I just realized in my original post I said 11.2v, should be 12.2v is what I measured.

Ah, gotcha- yeah, 12.2 will definitely start, no problem at all. I suffered with (read: was too lazy to replace) my old battery until it got down to about 11.6V resting, and although it was a little reluctant to do so, it still cranked and fired. If you get down closer to 11V, you'll just lose all electrical power when you turn the key.

If you are jumping the starter solenoid with the key off their is less compression fighting the engine while cranking. I wouldn't be surprised if their are some circuits not activated with the key not turned to the crank position.

Had it towed to a mechanic today, he ran a scan and some code came up saying there is an ECM problem. This is getting out of my pay grade so I'm playing it by ear now. I'll know more tomorrow.

Have you load tested the battery? I learned not to rely on resting voltage but on voltage while cranking. Not the most convenient test, but reliable especially with an analog gauge so you can see the voltage drop. Hopefully it is an easy fix.

Have you load tested the battery? I learned not to rely on resting voltage but on voltage while cranking. Not the most convenient test, but reliable especially with an analog gauge so you can see the voltage drop. Hopefully it is an easy fix.

 

Thanks. Hadn't thought of that.