Hello!
My 2000 Toyota Corolla occasionally blows a 5 amp fuse that protects the starter.
I don’t have a background in electronics but from what I’ve read I think this is due to a short somewhere in the starter circuit. So I imagine that my solution is clearing the short.
It seems weird to me that this problem is recurring (it happens reliably every few months), and that my solution solves the problem.
The process to fix the car is:
-
Try starting it by replacing the fuse and turning the key. Blows the fuse.
-
Get under the car and unplug the plug that goes into the starter. There’s 2 plugs, I unplug the smaller one which I take it to be a control plug and not the power plug.
-
Plug it back in. Replace the fuse.
-
Car starts
Sometimes I try just shaking the wiring bundle that leads up to the starter, thinking that this might clear the short- it doesn’t. Not until I unplug/plug back in again.
Before I learned about this reliable 4 step process, I tried a number of other things:
- replaced the starter motor entirely
- hit the starter with a crowbar
- replaced the box of relays in the main engine compartment.
None of these worked (except replacing the starter, but that’s not a good solution because it takes a lot of effort and money, plus the starter is not broken).
Any one have some insight on what might be a reliable long term solution to this problem?
Thanks- Marc