My son is having issues starting. He's not local so discussion is over text. Facetime and phone. Says he hears a click when he turns the key but starter doesn't crank. After about 2-3 (maybe more) repeat attempts, it will crank and start right up. Once running, it's fine. He's already cleaned the battery terminals and main ground. He says the cables look good.

I have a 2002 Protege shop manual. It would indicate there is no separate starter relay. I also couldn't find one listed on Rock Auto. A relay would give us another part to test before concluding it's the starter,

So is there no starter relay? Does power from ignition switch go straight to the solenoid? Is there something else I may be overlooking?

TIA...

P.S. He lives in another state so he'll likely have to take it to a shop for repair. There's only so much I can do remotely so I just want to make sure the shop focuses on this issue and not "upsell" us.

 

I have the same issue, perhaps battery is low or could it be alarm, mine won’t do anything is alarm armed… issue annoying 😀 following your posts here! Cheers

 

It's a new battery (replaced a few months ago). Since I can't diagnose it remotely, a shop may be the only recourse. What's frustrating is that we could take care of it faster and cheaper if he was nearby. It possibly could be cheaper to pack my tools up, drive 800 miles (round trip), spend a few days in the blazing AZ sun and fix it myself.

Anyway, I'll update the thread when something new develops. Knowing my son, since it will eventually start for now, he'll keep driving it until it doesn't, then declare the emergency.