Air Pump Voltage Disappears when Connected!

Maintenance/Repairs
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1

Okay, so my secondary air pump isn’t turning on, and I need it working to pass emissions. I replaced the fuse and the relay and it still doesn’t work.

(1) Secondary air pump works when connected directly to the battery. (2) With the secondary air pump disconnected, the multi meter confirms that there is voltage to the air pump after the car is turned on.

(3) With the secondary air pump connected, when the car is turned on the pump doesn’t come on, and there multi-meter confirms that there is no voltage. (3) I have two different pumps and they both behave the same way.

It’s like having an outlet that when tested shows proper voltage, but whenever anything is plugged in it just stops…

And yes, I let the car cool down properly between tried, as I understand that this pump will now power on when the car is warmed up.

This is regarding my Saturn 2001 SL1

Any ideas?

Perhaps my new relay is bad?

2

Sounds like you have compromised wiring or connectors adding resistance to the circuit so there is not enough current to run the pump motor. First check to see if the relay coil is being powered or disconnect the pump and put a meter across the contacts to see if the relay closes when the car is started. Then check the power wire and especially the ground wire going to the pump to be sure it’s not compromised in some way (frayed wires, oxidized contacts, connectors etc)