dslranger wrote:
Got the drivers side raised up enough to crawl under it & check tightness of starter wire connections. They feel plenty tight. I may have to take it in to a dealer & do a diagnosis.
Please don't do that - it will end up costing you more money than you can ever imagine, especially when they blame the paint color for causing the failure.
Dealers aren't a good option ever. They are universally incompetent.
Please try swapping the relays and let us know what happens. There are still a couple other things to try that are MUCH cheaper, and you have to know that a dealer will always aim for the most expensive problem first, rather than do any practical diagnostics.
This engine WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO CRANK if the computer is not able to properly run through its power-on-self-test. This isn't like the old systems where you turned the key and that mechanically powered a starter relay that sent power directly to the starter. This is ALL computer controlled. When you turn the key, you "request" a start from the computer, and the COMPUTER decides to send power to the relay or not - If the airbags were blown, for example, the engine would be allowed to crank approximately 1/4 rotation, and then the computer would cut the power. Why? To prove the engine could turn, for some reason. But the COMPUTER decides whether the engine is allowed to run or not.
You have an electrical problem, and it is not in the starter. What you could do, is follow that heavy power lead up to the top where it connects, and with the key in the run position, jump power to that starter feed wire - this is a more complex version of hotwiring the car, but it would prove that the starter worked. If the ASD relay isn't working however - The engine won't start because the injectors won't have any power to fire and won't be told when to fire by the computer.
See how everything is connected to the computer? Why would the starter stop working, and that make the engine stop running WHEN IT WAS RUNNING / DRIVING? It wouldn't. This is computer related, or power related. Period. But a dealership is less equipped to test that out, than to tell you that $random$ part is broken, and that will cost you $$$$ before they try the next spin of the part-o-matic wheel.
Right now, however, because you have so many things during startup that are NOT happening, and the CRD died while it was driving... The ASD relay is really the most likely suspect. It isn't the crankshaft or camshaft relays, because while they will cut the engine off while running, those won't stop the engine from cranking until after it HAS cranked at least 3 seconds. Much of the rest of the electrical system will still allow the engine to crank, or will throw codes at you. That is the next thing to try if the ASD relay doesn't help - pull whatever codes may be there, and let us know. THEN, we can really get into diagnostics.
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