The ignition and starter relays behind the battery appear to be identical but are they?

 

my recollection is yes they are the same. can't remember though if they are 87 or 87a relays. the difference being 87 is 4 prong, the 87a is 5 prong. now with that said, I'm almost positive they're wired differently. so if your question is "i'm having a problem and want to swap relays to see if that will resolve the problem" then yes you should be able to do that....

 

Thanks for the reply. What made me wonder about this is the starter relay i pulled has a small white dot on the front of it and the ign. relay has a small white dot on the back of it. When a purchased a starter relay from the dealer the one i got has the small white dot on the back. Didnt know if this was any indication or not to a difference.

 

as long as they both have either 4 or 5 pins on it, they'll be the same. don't substitute a 5 pin for a 4 pin and vice versa. actually unless the pin configuration is different and proprietary you could get a bosch relay from AutoZone that will last longer. that's what I had to do with the fog-light kit I bought from HD. 2 relays failed in less than 2 months. Finally said screw it after spending $20 per relay to replace it, and just went to AutoZone and got one I knew wouldn't fail. Bosch is by far the leader in relay technology for automotive use.