this morning i was trying to work out why my side lights are perminantly on, i concluded its the relay that is perminantly closed (switched on). Even when i completely unplugged it, the needle on the multi meter swung to no resistance, over the switched side. this is obviously not how its meant to be. So have i buggered it in some way, or is it just a dodgy relay? The fog relay seems to be doing the same thing now...

anyone know whats up?

if its a changover relay, then it will have a common contact and a normall open and normally closed.

you might be connected to the normally closed pin.

whats the numbers on the terminals, and which ones are you connected to?

btw - the coloured case of the relay also denotes the type of contact configuration


atb

steve

[Edited on 26/5/04 by stephen_gusterson]

the terminals are numbered 30, 85, 86 and 87, and it has a black case. according to the little diagram on top of it, 85 and 86 control the switch, and 30 and 87 are the ones that take the main current.

does it matter which way i send the currents thru either side?!

[Edited on 26/5/04 by JoelP]

hey up mate,

im no electrician, i also had the same problem with my air horn! tested it with the meter all seamed fine so i tried a different relay fron the lights, the horn then worked fine, the strangest bit is that the `knackered` realy from the horn which was for the bin works fine when i put it into the lighting relay holder!! dont have a clue why but its only a 30sec job to try....

hope it helps

bob

god damn these bloody electric contrivances...

cheers for the contributions so far bob and steve, i will head back out in a min to have a fiddle (with the mallet...!)

whats the contact seperation meant to be when its not switched on? having performed some delicate surgery, it seems as if there isnt enough gap between the two sides of the switch, less than a hairs width. surely it should be more than this? the bit that moves in the magnetic field can go almost a mm before it hits the coil.

BTW, all three of these relays are now buggered, so its either me doing it wrong or one of the online parts company is supplying duff parts... the two i got from maplin are still ok.

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-KxN2bfg0mL6/tech/kb326.html

might help

but you seem to have used the correct terminals........


atb

steve

good link steve, they imply that polarity matters. is this true? i've been connecting them at random so far!

quote:

---

Originally posted by stephen_gusterson
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-KxN2bfg0mL6/tech/kb326.html


steve

---

mechnical relays are generally not polarity sensitive.

Certainly not the contacts anyway. You should be able to swap coil wires and contact wires direction without problems on a single pole relay.

Some types (which is why I asked the colour) have internal diodes - usually across the coil to supress interference. Connect these thr wrong way and you get a short!


Try testing the relay by connecting live power to the coil only - you should hear it click. Also, look to see if you get high resistance at the contacts with coil off and low resistance with it on.

Or do you have a normally closed (unlikely) relay with reversed operation.

OR - a possibility - have you ever shorted the contacts, which may well have welded them together........

atb

steve

[Edited on 26/5/04 by stephen_gusterson]

looks like a bad design to me, the contacts arent welded but they are so close i sometimes cant see between them. they still show a gap on the multimeter but when i but the cover back on it closes the gap.

i been to maplins to get 3 more, as these ones look much more solid and a bit heavier, plus both work.

inside the old ones it doesnt look too tidy. the contacts arent quite facing eachother like something has bent. sod em...

As long as it's sorted then...

yep, all sorted except the fog lights! in fact, might be time for a new thread on fuses and fog lights! so here goes.

wtf did you buy em from maplins for?

go to any scrappy, get a bag full from a ford for a couple quid!

mr money bags

atb

steve

they're only £1.50 at maplins! at least you know they will work well!