NO power to Solenoid and headlights

[camry94v6xle]

Hi All,

i have a 94 Camry XLE V6. i had few issues with starting my car. i saw that whenever it was cold it took few seconds to start the car. i had to hold the key in the start position for it to crank and start this has been happening for a while. Today all of a sudden it wont start and i cant hear any sound. so i replaced the Starter and nothing changes yet. i dont even get the power to the headlights. the battery is good and the connections are good. when the key is turned to ignition there is no power in the solenoid wire. so i directly connected a wire from the +ve Battery terminal to the solenoid (where the solenoid wire is in the starter). it starts without any problem but still dont get the headlights. one mechanic who looked at the car told me that there might be issue with the Car Alarm system or the wiring of the car. the other mechanic ruled out the Alarm and said its the wiring in the car. Please can anyone help me out with this issue.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks
Chris

[hzt30]

Do you have dash lights when the key is in the ignition position? Will the engine start in neutral? Could be the neutral starting switch or starter relay in engine compartment... check fuses.

[Mister_Perkins]

oh no, another wiring issue

[hairball]

Originally Posted by camry94v6xle

...might be issue with the Car Alarm system or the wiring of the car...

My questions are:
1. Is your alarm a factory alarm or was it installed after new?
2. Have you/a mechanic checked the headlight relay?

I asked about the alarm because if it has a starter-interrupt (sometimes known as starter lockout) the alarm could indeed be the problem!

I've mention this in other threads....

I personally hate using the starter interrupt feature, and haven't installed one in any of my cars since they were first introduced years ago. The reason is because to install it, you need to cut the main (usually yellow) power wire going from the ignition switch to your starter. Then, if your
alarm ever malfunctions, your car won't start! It won't start and won't crank/turn over because the power from the switch, instead of going directly down that wire to the starter relay, has to detour into the alarm, then go through some circuits and back out, then back to the main yellow wire. If something in your alarm fries, the power won't go back to the starter relay.

But before I continue explaining this proven theory, I want to make sure you have a starter interrupt, especially if the alarm didn't come in the car from the factory.

As for the starter relay, it is on the lower right hand side of your fuse panel under your hood, located on the driver's side in front. The starter relay is closest to the left headlight in the forward box. Standing beside fender looking down, it will be the box on left, and the starter relay is closest to the fender and all the way to the front of the box near the angled corner.

As for the headlights, not really sure what to say about those right now other than check the headlight relay too.

[camry94v6xle]

hi Hairball & HZT30

thank you for your responses. I really appreciate all your help

Answering HZT30's question i have dash board lights for all except for the Headlights. Even when i put the Head Lights in High-Beam the dash bard light will not come on on the dash board.

Answering Hairball's questions
I think the Alarm is factory Installed. It has a red security light to the left of the steering wheel on the dash near the fuses.

Please can you let me know how to check if the Relay's are working fine. one more point my mechanic mentioned was that there should be 3 wires connecting to the +ve battery terminal on these models but i had only 2 wires connecting to the +ve terminal. Is this true. is this an issue. this has been the same way from the day i purchased the car 5 years ago.


Thanks for all your help.

Chris

[hairball]

Do your tail lights come on and stay on? The easiest way to test a relay is to just go get a few from a wrecking yard and try them. Chances are you'll find that most of them work even if they're in wrecked cars. If no relays work, then your problem lies somewhere else. Also, you might try a new Integration Relay.




Also, there is good chance your alarm was installed by someone else over the years. Very few OEM alarms or ones installed by the factory will put the red warning light in or if they do, they would put it as high as possible in the center of the dash, not where you say yours is. So, with that note, does your alarm actually work fine? Even if it does, what I would suggest is to remove the lower panels to expose all the wires coming from the ignition switch. Look for the biggest yellow ones. Those are usually the "industry standard" for the ignition wires (they've been yellow on damn near every car I've ever installed an alarm in over the last 30+ years). Look to see if there is a larger gauge (4 or 8 gauge) that has been cut and rewired. If you find this, you might have found your problem. If you can, carefully disconnect the connectors and jump the main start wire, bypassing the alarm wires. If your vehicle then suddenly starts, rip that alarm box out and toss it across the garage... it's junk! No, not really. But the starter interrupt feature is fried. If your car starts by bypassing the alarm, disconnect the alarm wires and permanently reconnect the main wire and you might be smiling when you turn the key! Believe me on this one, I've seen it before!

[hairball]

[hairball]

[hzt30]

Have someone turn the key to the start position while you feel/hear if the starter relay in picking. If you have a voltmeter then meter the wire coming off the starter relay to the starter. You could also swap the starter relay with the rear defogger relay or EFI relay, they are the same relay.

[camry94v6xle]

Hi All,

I solved the Problem Today. The Issue was with the Main 40A fuse. The Fuse was bad and i replaced the fuse and the car started and i was able to get the Headlights. I am attaching the pics of the 40A fuse in the front fuse box under the hood on the drivers side. i am attaching the circuit diagram showing how the power flows from Battery to the 40A fuse and then to the Starter Relay and Headlight relay. As the power was flowing from MAIN 40A fuse to starter Relay and Headlight relay i was not able to start the car and the headlight did not work as my 40A fuse was bad and the relays were not getting the power.

Thank you all for your post and help

Thanks
Chris