No Crank 2008 Chevrolet Trailblazer Initial Triage using the AESwave uActivate

In this video we demonstrate how to perform some quick initial triage on a vehicle that was towed in as a no crank / no start on July 2, 2024. After verifying Open Circuit Voltage (OCV) at the battery (12.4V) we moved on to performing a quick assessment of the starter circuit at the under-hood power distribution center (PDC). For this vehicle, relay #41 is labeled as the starter relay. Upon removing the relay an inserting the proper uActivate connector we can quickly learn about the starter circuits. Initially we can see that the starter solenoid circuit is complete based upon the LED indicator. Next, we used the built in rocker switch to activate the starter solenoid to see if the starter would work, and it did. Next, we moved on to observe the led indicator for the starter relay control signal on the uActivate. Once we moved the key to the crank position, the LED lit up but I would see that it wasn't full bright. So next we we used a voltmeter to analyze further. So with these few simple tests we were able to collect a ton of information and establish where we need to focus our analysis by using the uActivate from AESwave.com. The ECM controls the starter relay so we'll need to understand how this works and go from there. But for now we're able to take a non-mobile vehicle and make it so we don't have to push it around the shop.