I recently took my car in for an oil change, inspection and brake pad replacement and they told me that I had a tail light out. They replaced that “at no charge” and proceeded to charge me an arm and a leg for the rest. Now, two days later my car wouldn’t start. So there was a clicking noise from the fuse box that I determined was the “head relay” because when I removed it, the clicking stopped but then there was a buzzing noise on the inside that stopped if I put the key in the ignition. The horn, the radio, the lights, automatic locks all did not work. And here are a few things that I don’t know if they are related to this particular problem but I would like to get them out there in case they may be of help:
-Before I took the car in, there was a wire hanging slightly down from my frame on the driver’s side underneath the seat and when I got the car back, it wasn’t hanging down anymore
-Before I took the car in, my automatic locks started acting screwy (would only work on passenger side, but only sometimes)
-It’s been less than a year since I replaced the battery
-My husband and I haven’t tried to jump the car yet
Also, I’m sorry if a similar complaint has been posted before. It’s difficult for me to find the exact problem I’m having in other people’s discussions, even with selected searching. And thanks in advance!!
Do the interior lights work? I ask because this seems like an almost dead battery, without enough oomph to kick anything over. Batteries should last more than a year, though.
If you have a multimeter, set it to DC, and see what you actually have at the battery. It should be somewhere near 13-13.5 volts. Then have a helper (or husband) turn the key on, and watch the voltage. What does it drop to? Then try starting. Now what does it read?
I’ve never herad of a “head relay”.
Under what conditions did the click occur? When starting the car?
My best guess is that the relay you removed was integral to the citcuits that are no longer working. A common method of creating circuits that will remain enabled when operating yet shut off when the engine is turned off is to run them through the contacts of a relay. The key being in the “on” position activates the relay coil, which closes the contacts, and the individual circuits when turned on go through the contacts. A single relay can contain the contacts for multiple circuits. That way, once the engine is turned on the individual circuits can operate and when you turn the key to OFF everything shuts off.
The wire hanging down was probably totally unrelated overall, but may have been why the locks were acting screwy.
There simply isn’t enough detail contained in you post to make more than a wild guess, but I’d start by putting the relay back.
In response to mountainbike: Ha! Yeah, I put the relay back and kept it there because my husband said I shouldn’t leave it out even with the clicking…
The clicking was going on after I got off work and it wasn’t going on when I drove in, so I don’t know when it started or how long it had been going on. The clicking was constant with the relay in and decreased with certain movements of my door (sorry I didn’t include that earlier-I forgot). I think it increased (in speed and sound) with the door closed or maybe the other way around.
The “head relay” is what it says on the little diagram on the fuse box cover
Thanks so much for your attempt at discerning my problem without the actual car in front of you!
In response to chaissos: The interior lights did not work. And I will try what you said about my battery. Thanks so much.
The HEAD relay is the headlight relay.