87 golf no start

[cmann1290]

im looking for someone to help me, im not aware of where the starter relay is located, well more or less which relay it is, the car will crank but not turn over...

[WaterWheels]

There is no starter relay. As for the engine not starting, it could be a ton of things. Nobody is going to be able to just pull the answer out of the blue and hand it to you. Yeah someone could get lucky. You need to post things like what you have checked/tested to kind of narrow things down a little. Are you working out of a manual? Do you have at least a good basic set of tools? This might wind around through the fuel injection, ignition system and wiring of the car, is you knowledge up to it? Plenty of people willing to lend a hand but you just have to provide more than "My car will not start".

[Fat Rabbit]

Well, it seems that your starter will spin it just won't turn the engine over to start the car. Is that correct?

Your car likely does not have a starter relay per-se but it does have a starter solenoid -- which is a form of relay. The starter solenoid is basically an electrically operated switch which enables 12V DC to be supplied to the starter motor through larger wires from the battery to the starter motor. The starter solenoid also has a mechanical drive mechanism (pinion) that engages the flywheel of the engine on demand and causes the engine to turn over and (hopefully) start. If that mechanism fails to engage the flywheel the engine will not "turn over" but the starter will spin. The repair would involve removing the starter and repairing or replacing the starter with a new or rebuilt one. That being said, some VW's with Automatic Transmissions did in fact have a Starter Interlock Relay but IIRC don't think that applies to your '87 VW.

The flywheel could also be damaged. Causing the starter not to have teeth to engage. Its been years since I gave seen that condition.

As WaterWheels said you will need a good basic set of tools and I would recommend a multimeter. You also need a good manual for the car. The Bentley Manual is generally acknowledged as the best -- but other available manuals can also be very helpful. If you don't have the cash to buy a manual you might be able to borrow one from a local library. Maybe through inter-library loan if they don't have one on the shelf. FR