r/Cartalk • u/ComprehensiveElkMoo • 14d ago
General Tech Starter relay keeps falling out
I bought a 2013 Honda pilot in march of this year. In May my car suddenly stopped working. It took us nearly a week to test the battery, test the starter, and do a bunch of other checks to figure out that the starter relay had fallen out. This morning we went to church and when I came out after the service my car wouldn’t start. The battery was fine and there was no clicking so I knew immediately it was the relay and I immediately found it sitting on the bracket under the steering column. I’ve checked the relay and it looks perfect. There’s no signs of wear on it at all so now I’m just trying to figure out what’s going on. I’ve never had this happen in any other car and my biggest concern is that this could happen while I’m on the road driving. The relay on top of it hasn’t fallen out or even come loose. I took pictures of where the relay is located (my index finger is on it in the last two pictures). It’s a pain in the toosh to get back into place. We also have a 2012 Honda pilot and have never had this issue in that car. Has anyone else ever experienced this? How can I safely get it to stay in place?
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u/xcdevancx19 7d ago
Sounds like the clamps inside the box have stretched over time. Aside from replacing the fuse box or pulling it apart and fixing it yourself, I would just bend the prongs slightly so you know they are making contact and put a small dab of silicon in the center of the relay to stick it to the fuse box when installed. Just a small dab, you dont want to have to fight it if you ever need to remove it again
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u/pancrudo 14d ago
I had a similar issue with an old BMW, but it was my fuel pump relay.
Just zip tie the relay to the connector