Replacing the VAZ 2107 starter retractor relay

Unlike previous “classic” models, the VAZ 2107 has an additional element in the starter control circuit - a starter relay. Like any car part, the relay can fail, making it impossible to start the engine. You can identify and fix the malfunction yourself; to do this, it is enough to know where the starter relay is located on the VAZ 2107 and have a minimum of tools for checking and replacement.

Why do you need a VAZ 2107 starter relay?

The starter traction relay on all classic models, except the VAZ 2107, was switched on directly through the ignition switch. The problem is that when it is turned on, a current of more than 15A passes through the contacts on the ignition switch, which over time leads to their oxidation, heating and failure. To reduce the current passing through the ignition switch when the starter is turned on, the designers of the “Seven” provided an additional element - the VAZ 2107 starter relay. The small current required for its operation does not harm the contacts of the ignition switch, and the relay itself more reliably switches the power to the starter traction relay . Often, owners of older “classic” models, tired of regularly changing the contact group of the ignition switch, independently install an additional relay that allows them to increase the service life of the contacts responsible for turning on the starter.

Where is the starter relay located on the VAZ 2107

The designers provided for the installation of a starter relay on the VAZ 2107 on the right side of the engine compartment. It is attached directly to the right wing, for which a stud is installed on the wing, onto which the relay mounting nut is screwed.

The easiest way to find it is to trace where the wires from the starter traction relay go.

Starter VAZ 7 models (from 01 to 07)

The commutator-type electric motor used to start the engine is located on the side of the crankcase of the power unit. The parts are connected to each other by bolts with a hexagonal head. Power is supplied from the battery.

Removing the starter and protective screen

To repair the starter, it must be removed from the car. If the car is relatively new and the starter has not yet been removed, then the heat-reflecting protective screen is in its rightful place. It will prevent you from removing the starter, so you need to remove it first.

The protective screen is attached on top to two studs with 13 nuts and on the bottom with a 10 head bolt. And if the nuts can be unscrewed with a simple wrench, then to unscrew it you will need a long thin socket wrench. Many, having removed the protection, do not put it back in place, but it is better to do it anyway. Without it, the starter gets very hot from the exhaust manifold, especially in summer in traffic jams.

Starter guard and bottom bolt location

Video of starter removal

Purpose

The device is designed to force the engine crankshaft at startup. The product is equipped with a special Bendix clutch, which engages with a ring gear mounted on the flywheel of the power plant. The electric motor is controlled remotely using a contact group in the ignition switch through an additional relay.

Starter electrical connection diagram

There are 2 types of electric motors for starting the power plant:

How to check the VAZ 2107 starter relay

To check the functionality of the relay, you need a voltmeter or “control”. The functionality check is performed as follows:

remove the wire block from the relay; check whether the contacts on the relay and the block are oxidized;
clean contacts if necessary;
make sure there is ground on the wire going to contact “86” of the relay;
check whether voltage appears on the wire going to terminal “85” of the relay if you try to start the car with the key;
make sure that when the ignition is turned on, voltage is supplied to the wire going to terminal “30”;
if there is voltage at the terminals, the problem is in the relay, not in the power supply;
remove the starter relay from the car;
make sure that when voltage is applied to terminals “85” and “86”, the contact between “30” and “87” relay terminals is closed.

If the relay does not operate, it must be replaced with a new one.

How to replace the starter on a VAZ 2101-VAZ 2107?

Note! Before you start replacing this unit, be sure to make sure that its performance is not due to other reasons, for example, the battery is discharged, or its terminals are oxidized, or the wiring that goes to the starter is not working properly!

And also take into account the fact that the starter must be replaced in an inspection ditch, otherwise it will be inconvenient and very problematic to remove from the car!

Removal: 1) First, loosen the clamp that secures the warm air supply hose to the air filter housing.

2) Then loosen the clamp that secures the hose to the air intake itself.

Replacing the VAZ 2107 starter relay

To replace the VAZ 2107 starter relay, you will need a 10mm wrench. To replace the relay, you must perform the following steps:

disconnect the ground wire from the battery by removing the negative terminal;
Using a wrench, unscrew the nut holding the relay on the right wing;
remove the starter relay;
install a new relay;
screw in and tighten the fastening nut with a wrench;
connect the wire block to the relay;
connect the ground wire to the battery.

This completes the replacement of the VAZ 2107 starter relay. It remains to check its operation by turning the ignition key.

How to replace the starter solenoid relay on a VAZ 2107

One of the main reasons for starter failure on a VAZ 2107 is the failure of the solenoid relay. The first symptoms of a malfunction are when you hear clicks when you turn the ignition key, but the starter never starts to turn. Today we will look at how to replace the starter solenoid relay on a VAZ 2107 with our own hands.

Replacing this part is quite simple, but the first step will be to completely remove the entire device from the car. Let us recall that in the previous article we looked at how to repair the starter on a VAZ 2107 with your own hands. There we looked at the main starter malfunctions that you can fix yourself in a garage.

- one flat screwdriver; - 10mm wrench or ratchet head.

Replacing the starter retractor relay on a VAZ 2107

The first step is to unscrew the terminal securing nut, as shown in the photo below.

Then bend the terminal to the side so that it does not interfere with future removal.

Next, take a screwdriver and unscrew the two bolts. with which the retractor is actually attached to the starter itself.

And after that, you can safely remove the relay by turning it slightly in the desired direction, finding a comfortable position so that the rod disengages.

After this, we will need a new solenoid relay, the price of which for a VAZ 2107 is about 450 rubles in most stores in the country. The installation is carried out in the reverse order and there will be nothing complicated in this process either.

Repair of starter retractor relay

Worn relay contact plates

On many modern cars, the solenoid relay is made in a non-separable form. This is done for two reasons. First, this increases the reliability of the mechanism and its durability due to mechanical protection from external factors. The second is that automakers want to make more profit from the sale of their components. If your car has just such a relay, then the best solution in this case is to replace it. Write down the brand of the relay, its technical parameters, or better yet, take it with you and go to the nearest store or car market for a similar new one.

However, some car owners repair it themselves. But at the same time you need to know how to disassemble the starter solenoid relay . If the relay is collapsible, then it can be repaired. In the case of non-dismountable parts, repairs are also possible, but to a small extent. In particular, when burning “nickels”, improving and cleaning the contact. If one of the windings burns out or short-circuits, then such relays, as a rule, cannot be repaired.

Starter retractor relay VAZ 2107 - price

Despite the fact that the solenoid relay, as a mature mechanism, was used in a car starter more than a hundred years ago, for the first thirty years of its life it was not particularly popular. Drivers used a "crooked starter" - a handle that engaged with the crankshaft pulley. Naturally, no one was especially delighted with this kind of engine start, but as standard, the crooked starter came to all VAZ cars until the end of the 70s.

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Content:

How to repair a VAZ-2107 starter with your own hands

To repair the starting unit yourself, you must:

remove and disassemble the device;
check the condition of the windings, bushings and brushes;
replace damaged elements;
perform reassembly and check the correctness of the electrical wiring connections.

Dismantling and disassembly

To remove and disassemble the unit you must:

Disconnect the terminals from the battery, and then remove the battery from the engine compartment.
Remove the protective shield under the power unit, which limits access to the electric motor.
Unscrew the nuts holding the wires to the starter housing.
Using a wrench, unscrew the bolts connecting the electric motor housing to the power unit crankcase.
Pull the assembly out of the seat.
Unscrew the solenoid relay nut and remove the assembly from the electric motor housing.
Unscrew the tightening bolts and carefully remove the covers, and then remove the rotor from the stator.

Replacing bushings

Replacement of starter bushings is carried out when the gap between the shaft and the support is increased. Due to a violation of the relative position of the parts, the rotor touches the stator plates. To eliminate the defect, it is necessary to remove worn parts.

Read, it may come in handy: Motor oil and other oils poured into the VAZ-2107 - how to choose the right one

The damaged front support is knocked out of the mounting hole with a handy tool, the rear blind bushing is removed with a puller or drilled out on a machine.

To install new elements (made of bronze or composite material), mandrels made of soft material (for example, wood) are used. During installation, do not warp parts or use excessive force.

Before installation, the composite bushings are kept for 5-10 minutes in a container with motor oil, which saturates the porous surface. Bronze bearings are lubricated when installing the rotor shaft.

Replacing electric brushes

To supply voltage to the rotor windings, a flat commutator and brushes (made of a mixture of graphite and copper powder), pressed by springs, are used. The number of brushes corresponds to the number of poles; the design of the elements includes an elastic stranded wire. During operation, the graphite elements wear out and burn, and at the same time, wear appears on the collector.

Replacement of graphite brushes is carried out according to the following algorithm:

Remove the back cover of the case.
Unscrew the screws securing the brushes (there are 4 elements in total).
Remove worn elements and install new brushes.
Clean the stator cavity from residual wear products of graphite elements.
Install the removed parts in their original places.

Repair of starter retractor relay

The electromagnetic retractor relay ensures the movement of the gear on the rotor, which engages with the flywheel ring gear when the electric starter is connected to the vehicle's on-board network. The device is located on the body of the starting unit; the design of the circuit includes an additional power relay (located under the hood).

If the unit breaks down, it is necessary to check the functionality of the control relay. It is recommended to tighten the fastening screw and make sure that there are no oxides on the contact plates and wiring.

To test the relay, you must close the starter directly. If the rotor rotates, the electromagnetic unit must be replaced. Additional diagnostics involves measuring the voltage of the windings with a test device.

Serviceable coils have a resistance of 75 and 55 Ohms (for the holding and retracting windings, respectively). If the value differs from the factory parameters, then the unit must be replaced; it is impossible to repair the relay with your own hands or in a workshop.

The owner can remove the relay on the installed starter. After disconnecting the battery, the surface of the electromagnet is cleaned of dirt, and then you need to disconnect the wires (secured with nuts).

Then the bolts securing the relay to the motor housing are unscrewed. The assembly is disengaged from the rear cover. The new electromagnet is installed and connected in the reverse order.

Why do you need a solenoid relay?

The retractor relay device is quite simple. Its operating principle is based on the use of a conventional electromagnet, and the relay assembly must perform several tasks at once: engaging the starter Bendix gear with the flywheel crown to transmit torque from the starter motor to the crankshaft of the car engine; control of the power supply of the entire starter, both the electric motor and the retractor clutch; The retractor relay synchronizes the starter circuits and the rest of the vehicle's electrical circuits.

Operating principle of the solenoid relay

Before moving directly to the malfunctions and methods for eliminating them, it will be useful for car owners to know the device of the starter retractor relay and how it works.
It’s worth noting right away that the mechanism is a classic electromagnet, consisting of two windings (holding and retracting), a circuit for connecting it to the starter, as well as a core with a return spring. When you turn the ignition key, voltage from the battery is supplied to the coils of the solenoid relay

. This creates an electromagnetic field that moves the core located in its body. That, in turn, compresses the return spring. As a result of this, the opposite end of the “fork” moves towards the flywheel. In this case, the gear connected to the bendix is squeezed out until it engages with the flywheel ring. As a result of engagement, the contacts of the built-in starter circuit are closed. Next, the retracting winding is turned off, and the core remains in a fixed position with the help of a working holding winding.

After the ignition key turns off the engine, voltage to the solenoid relay stops supplying. The anchor returns to its original position. The fork and bendix, which are mechanically connected to it, disengage with the flywheel. Thus, a malfunction of the starter solenoid relay is a critical failure due to which it is impossible to start the engine.

Diagram and description

The design of the VAZ retractor relay is shown in the diagram and it hardly requires explanation. The solenoid formed by the cylindrical retractor coil and the armature pushes the starter fork and meanwhile moves the contact plate that closes the starting contacts of the starter motor. The relay itself is a dielectric container with contact plates mounted in it. On the outside, the contacts end in a threaded part, onto which the terminals are placed and clamped with nuts.

The relay's operation is also extremely simple. When we turn the ignition key, we supply current not immediately to the starter, but to the control relay, which is located under the hood in the VAZ 2107. The contacts of the device close and pass current from the battery to the contacts of the retractor. Voltage is applied to the holding winding, which creates a magnetic field. Under its influence, the rod is simply retracted into the device body, thereby killing two birds with one stone - using a lever, it brings the Bendix gear to the flywheel crown and closes the contacts that supply current to the electric motor. As soon as the engine starts, the current supply stops, the spring returns the rod to its original position, disengaging the bendix and flywheel, breaking the contacts and de-energizing the electric motor.

Basic faults

A fairly simple and reliable design, however, given the high loads and high currents with which the mechanism has to work, various problems appear from time to time. They can be expressed either very simply, for example, the starter does not respond at all to turning the key, or as permanent problems, the cause of which is most difficult to establish.

The main malfunctions of the solenoid relay are listed below, but the difficulty is that the malfunctions can either be combined with each other or be a consequence of the usual loss of contact at the battery terminals. Therefore, troubleshooting must begin from afar. However, here are the problems:

Short circuit of the holding or retracting windings, then the fuses will simply burn or the control relay will simply not supply voltage to the contacts;
deposits on contacts;
winding breakage;
distortions or damage to the return spring;
physical damage to the relay housing or parts.

How to check the relay on a VAZ 2107

Testing the relay consists of measuring the resistance of the pull-in and holding windings. The retaining one should have a resistance of 75 Ohms, and the retracting one should have a resistance of 55 Ohms. Problems with windings can be of only three types - complete short circuit, open circuit and poor contact on the contact plates. In principle, if the relay is dismountable, then you can eliminate some malfunctions - clean the contacts with fine sandpaper, unsolder and rewind the windings, but given the low cost of the relay, such repairs are unlikely to be justified.

In any case, before disassembling the relay, it is necessary to dismantle the starter, and then draw conclusions about the advisability of replacing or repairing the unit. Good luck to everyone with the repair and quick start of the engine!

Lada 2107 › Logbook › Replacing the traction relay (retractor) starter

Hi all! As you may have guessed from the title of the post, something has happened to me again. I came out of work like this last night with a lot of plans in my head and got into the car. I start the engine, but it doesn't start. There is a retractor click, and it’s kind of different, but there is no “Dryndygydyn”. Just silence. How come it was still normal?! The first thought was that the battery was drained by an incorrectly connected new device, but experience spoke otherwise. Checking the contacts did not give any results. Well, there's nothing to do. I remove the battery, move the washer fluid reservoir to the side, remove the heat-reflecting shield and take out the starter. In fact, it’s not that simple, you need to get a little tricky)

It is clear that a “patch” has fallen off the back cover of the traction relay or, as it is also called, the retractor. Either he ejected himself, or I “helped” during the removal. The first option is quite likely judging by the dust on the cut. The second option also has the right to life, judging by experience) Upon closer inspection, it turned out that the plastic (or something) of the back cover, under the influence of temperature from a nearby outlet and time, lost its properties and became brittle. That's why he flew away.

I closed everything and stomped towards the nearest spare parts store where this relay was purchased:

I didn’t bother about the manufacturer, I didn’t have time for that. And everything was done quite well. Even the nuts and washers were all present. There’s one thing I don’t understand: how can it be forbidden to modify something in a car that initially contains all sorts of different things?! For example, here is the same starter: the starter itself is 21213, geared, and the retractor is from 2110. And this is just one example)) Just in case, I compare it with the previous retractor. It seems like this:

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What does a car need a traction relay for?

The starter solenoid (or traction) relay is a fairly important device. At the dawn of the automotive industry, the role of this unit was played by a long handle and the driver himself, who, by inserting it into the hole in the flywheel, accelerated the engine. Later, cars acquired starters with retractor relays, which are designed to provide initial force to the gear that drives the motor shafts.

Starter traction relay

In the designs of most cars (as in “classic” VAZ models), the retractor relay is a small unit mounted directly on the starter housing itself. His tasks are the following:

moving the bendix gear to engage the flywheel teeth and returning it to its original position after the engine starts running;
energy distribution between the starter drive and the electromagnet;
synchronous operation of the starter during engine starting.

The starters installed on the VAZ-2106 and 2107 starters are actually the same. Regarding the solenoid relay, we can say that it has not undergone any significant changes. But there is one more detail with the same name, which is considered the difference between these two models. This is the starter activation relay: on early VAZ models it is not there at all, but in 2107 it appears.

Relay for turning on the VAZ-2107 mechanism

Before this innovation, control from the ignition switch went directly to the solenoid relay.

It is worth saying a few words about this mechanism. The starter activation relay is located some distance from the starting mechanism itself, so you should look for it by wires. Naturally, with each new release of VAZ, its location changed. But when it first appeared in 2107, the starter relay was located on the right mudguard in the engine compartment. It is easy to remove and replace with a 10mm wrench. But the traction relay still does more work and fails much more often, so let’s talk about it in more detail.

Why does the solenoid relay break?

The main parts of the relay: body, contacts, armature, magnet with windings, return spring. When an electric current enters the magnet's retractor winding, an electric field arises. It attracts an anchor, which moves into the core. The latter, using the lever, moves the Bendix gear forward, forcing it to come into contact with the flywheel teeth.

Next, the core, reaching the end, closes the contacts through which current begins to flow to the holding winding of the magnet. The drive is turned on, which spins the starter shaft, transmitting force through the Bendix gear to the flywheel, which spins it. As soon as the engine starts, the current to the relay stops flowing, the magnet turns off, and the return spring returns the shaft and gear to its original position.

bendix gear

What malfunctions can occur during operation of the traction relay on VAZ-2106 and 2107 vehicles?

Knock. It can occur if the battery does not have a charge, the terminals have oxidized, the connection is faulty, or the magnet holding winding is not connected to ground as a result of its damage.
Lack of response from the solenoid relay and the starter as a whole after turning on the ignition. As in the first case, the problem is in the condition of the battery. For example, the connection of the holding winding to ground is lost, the contact between the additional and solenoid relay is broken, or the ignition switch board is burned out.
Incorrect operation of the armature when, after turning on the relay, it does not rotate. And here, most often, the battery is to blame. This can happen if the starter contacts have oxidized or the armature winding has burned out, causing the wire to separate and the armature itself to become jammed.

VAZ-2107 starter relay - why does it break? + Video » AutoNovator

If you think carefully, the starter solenoid relay of such popular models as the VAZ-2107 and 2106 should not differ in function and design, because these are neighbors in the line of the domestic automobile industry. Is this so and what differences may affect the complexity of servicing the starting unit, we will discuss in the article.