Martin, I doesn't short out it by passes. I did the diagram because the relay isn't shown on the original diagram. The diagram shows the blue/ yellow going straight to the resistor on the left side with no relay. The relay was added to me for safety and to make sure the resistor got the appx 10.4 volts if cranking properly for the instance the solenoid was engaged. I think if you got down to 6 to 8 volts you may have a bad battery or a mighty big drain from the starter. I don't think the car would start with voltage that low. The diagram should be correct. My 11004 runs on this for the last year or so with no problems. John Hervey www.specialTauto.com << The ignition coil cannot take 12v, so the feed to the coil passes through those two resistors. However as we all know, cranking causes the voltage on the battery to drop - maybe to as low a 6-8v when not fully charged. And of course when cranking, the one thing you really want is a decent spark! So, the purpose of that relay is to short out one of the two resistors giving the coil more of the available voltage to create a spark. The supply to the relay comes strait from the starter solenoid. John Hervey has a diagram on his website but I think it isn't 100% correct. However, open or closed, that relay should not affect the coil getting a feed.... the only thing I can think of is that there's something seriously terminally wrong with that relay and it's grounding your coil feed! I suggest you cut off and re-crimp all the connectors going to the ballast resistors, and clean up all the contacts. Also replace that relay. I have a nice new sealed plastic one with integral blade fuse at 5A. My car now starts much better, especially on a damp morning. BTW all through your post I was thinking "fuel pump" until you noted that it started and shut down fine. This tells you immediately that the RPM relay is working correctly, which was my first guess based on your symptoms. >>