Robby

I've got a prob w/one from an Iceshark headlight harness- was working on it right before he died & have had it rigged up for the last year, but it's about time to get it fixed correctly... What happened was, a fuse holder melted- the one controlling the low beams- I have an identical, new fuse holder- need to solder one end, but the end that that leads to the relay needs to be connected inside the relay- I have a new terminal to go inside the relay, like the one that I will pull out (I assume I have to pull the old one out?) but need to know exactly what to do, before starting, or else I might be w/out headlights for a few days.

Anyway, the relays have the terminals down in them, very tightly & aligned perfectly, so that the other side of the relay, the prongs, plug into them & lock-in just right & this is just one terminal I'm dealing with, so it should be fairly simple(?)... I'm assuming there is some sort of trick to all this & if anyone here can help, I'd really appreciate it- I can e-mail all kinds of pics & would be glad to call & discuss over phone if that would help... I'm an electrical idiot & just about every time I try to do something simple like this, I end up costing myself a ton of time & usually a good bit of money & I'd really like to avoid all of that this time, so any help would be greatly appreciated...

thanks a lot,
Robby

quinnfiske

Not sure exactly what you are trying to say but all relay connections can be done without taking it apart. A relay is merely a switch. There is a coil that is energized by the circuit. When the coil is energized, it operates the contacts which turns on the lights in this case. These contacts can be Normally Open or Normally Closed depending on the type of device. There is often a schematic printed on the side of the unit or on the face with the terminals. You should be able to apply voltage from a 9 volt battery to the coil and hear a slight click when the contacts operate.

badcoupe

the pin that locks that terminal into the plug will have a small tang that holds it in the plug. A very small pick or flat screwdriver will help you get it out. I have pin extractors here at the shop that do this for me.you can replacement electrical connector pins at some parts stores, carquest sells them for sure, I keep common GM ones on hand here for such replacement in a variety of electrical connections. The relay is basicallt a switch, it has 2 power inputs usually switched by ignition etc. a ground and then one or two outputs. It basically tales the load off a switch by only requiring it turn the relay which in turn handles the big load. without them many headlight switches etc. would get cooked in a short pewriod of time as the small contacts won't handle a 20 or 30 amp load.

Robby

Thanks for the response guys- I did not get any e-mail notification of these- as just coming back to bump the thread...

badcoupe- it sounds like you understand what I'm saying- the thing is, the terminal that I have does not fit into any of the empty slots in the relay- it's as if it will need to be crimped down some before sliding in...? I can get pics of all of this easily, but not sure what to post...

Basically, I have a fuse holder wire that needs to be crimped/soldered into a terminal & then the terminal has to be placed into the relay so that I can plug the other relay half (w/the plugs) into it... It's just this one terminal that the low beam fuse goes into... really should be simple, but it seems that I would have to put the blue rubber boot from the backside of the relay onto the fuse holder wire & slide out of the way. THEN, I would crimp/solder the fuse holder wire end into the terminal- THEN, I would press the terminal into the backside of the half of the relay & would press the blue boot down onto the back & would be done, except for plugging the relay halves together... is this correct...?

The thing is, the hoels that the terminal goes into are loose, but there are little plastic tabs (tiny ones) that I guess will guide the terminal into the slots, correctly...? Well, when I try to press the terminal down into the slot, it will not go- I'm wondering what I need to use to give it enough pressure, AND, IF the wire is already soldered into the terminal, how would I do it then...?

thanks again...

badcoupe

yeah the little tab will help hold the teminal in. Sometimes depending on the plug the terminal comesin the front sometimes the rear. If it comes in from the front then you'll have to run the wire through it solder your terminal on then pull it into the plug. If it comes from the rear then you'll just slide it in. There are specific teminals for each type of plug and a regular spade wont work because nothing hold it in the plug. Where did you get the terminal you're planning on using? Did dan send it to you or is one you sourced yourself? If nothing else I guess I could dig one of my drum full of harnesses and do a pictoral of removal and installation. You should be able to buy a terminal removal tool or extractor as they're called at a good parts store.

Robby

This is one of Dan's... I bought some extra relays, etc, but this is the orignal relay I'm using- it's attached to the rest of the wiring kit, etc, in the car. I do have a brand new terminal that I got from him as well- I'll probably need to replace this one b/c he had sent me some to wire up my Euro fog/drivers... I can send pics of all of this easily, though... are you familiar w/his relays, etc? I can send a pic of the relay & the terminal. Do I need some sort of extractor for this, or can I press it in by hand or something? Will this be easy after soldering the fuse holder wire into it, b/c I'm pretty sure these go in from the back & I don't know if I could press on the back of the wire to push it through...?

thanks a lot for the input...

Robby

BTW- the terminal has an open end (like speaker terminal) that the prong from the other side plugs into- the back side of it, where the wire solders into it, is rounded- it is double walled- not sure why, but the outer wall will slide off & then back on... do I crimp the inside one & then slide the outer one on or what...? What is this for? I was planning to solder & then crimp to make sure it was on good, but then the outer layer, well, I'm just not sure...?