P0617
Starter Relay Circuit High
- Severity
- Medium
- Driving
- Drivable — book it in
The starter relay circuit is reading high - typically shorted to voltage, or a relay that will not release. The module cannot control the starter relay properly, so the engine may not crank, or the starter may be engaged when it should not be.
Possible causes
- CommonWiring shorted to voltage, or a relay that will not release between the module and the relay
- CommonFailed relay
- CommonCorroded relay socket
- PossibleWater ingress into the fuse box
- RareFailed control module driver
What you might notice
- Engine will not crank
- Starter engaging on its own or continuing to crank
- Grinding noise from the starter
- Check engine light on
What to check, in order
- If the starter engages on its own or keeps cranking, disconnect the battery immediately. A starter driven against a running engine destroys itself and the flywheel ring gear within seconds.
- Check whether the high reading persists with the relay removed. That separates the relay from the wiring.
- Swap the relay with an identical one and see whether the fault follows.
- Inspect the socket for corrosion and heat damage.
- Check the fuse box for water ingress.
Read this code from your own car
Plug an ELM327 adapter into the OBD-II port under the dashboard. Pin16 reads every stored, pending and permanent code, explains each one like this page does — offline, with no account — and shows what the car recorded when the fault was set.
Where this code sits
P00xxP01xxP02xxP03xxP04xxP05xxP06xxP07xxP08xxP09xxP0AxxP0BxxP0CxxP0DxxP0ExxP0FxxP10xxP11xxP12xxP13xxP14xxP15xxP16xxP17xxP18xxP19xxP1AxxP1BxxP1CxxP1DxxP1ExxP1FxxP20xxP21xxP22xxP23xxP24xxP25xxP26xxP27xxP28xxP29xxP2AxxP2BxxP2CxxP2DxxP2ExxP2FxxP30xxP31xxP32xxP33xxP34xxP35xxP36xxP37xxP38xxP39xxP3AxxP3BxxP3CxxP3DxxP3ExxP3Fxx
Computer output circuits and control module
P0600P0601P0602P0603P0604P0605P0606P0607P0608P0609P0610P0611P0612P0613P0614P0615P0616P0617P0618P0619P0620P0621P0622P0623P0624P0625P0626P0627P0628P0629P0630P0631P0632P0633P0634P0635P0636P0637P0638P0639P0640P0641P0642P0643P0644P0645P0646P0647P0648P0649P0650P0651P0652P0653P0654P0655P0656P0657P0658P0659P0660P0661P0662P0663P0664P0665P0666P0667P0668P0669P0670P0671P0672P0673P0674P0675P0676P0677P0678P0679P0680P0681P0682P0683P0684P0685P0686P0687P0688P0689P0690P0691P0692P0693P0694P0695P0696P0697P0698P0699