Mighty Shilling

the night BEFORE payday, and my damn cooling fan relay goes out... I think, "Hey, this'll be cheap..." Hop online to paragon...

see the price...

I mean, seriously. does a flipping relay REALLY need to be $180.00 shipped?

Oh, and cheers to Paragon, for being $20.00 cheaper than the competition!

billthe3

Just look at the diagram of the relay in the wiring schematic. That thing is crazy complex for a relay.

nkgosselin

If you are not concerned about originality you can go with something designed for hot rods, several options here at around $30-$40.

http://www.texasindustrialelectric.com/relaykits.asp

KuHL 951

I feel your pain. I'm looking for a window lock-out/circuit breaker switch for the BMW ($180) and a K5 load reduction relay in the fuse box. Unfortunately I can't read the part number on it so no sources know what I'm talking about. What is it with these freaking German relays?

billthe3

They're the best and are preferred for aftermarket stuff?

Mighty Shilling

I did one better, cracked it open... it smelled like... burning... didn't see any evidence of burning.

my question, why the hell is it so damn complex to cover cooling fans? is it another of those "over-engineered Porsche moments"?

sorry for the crappy cell phone pic.

billthe3

Its cause there are two fans. If there was only one fan, it would have been simple. They could have used simple relays to run two fans, but then there would have had to have been two seperate engine temp sending units on the engine that activate the fans at different temps, unless they made the computer fancy enough to activate them sequentially as the temps rise. Not to mention that the fans turn on when the a/c is activated, potentially even when the car is moving and they would otherwise be turned off.

How do you know that it is bad/what stopped working correctly? If you wanted to save money you could start doing voltage drops on it when its installed in the car (with the cover off) until you find the part that isn't working and then replace that part.

944Ross

Virtually every other carmaker on earth uses the 'puter to do this, in conjunction with a pair of $20 relays that seem to last for 100's of thousands of miles...unlike Bosch relays.

I have a Harley and it's been starting hard. Cranks fine been just didn't seem to be getting power to the ignition. Checked thru the manual, and what do I see?! Harley uses a Bosch DME relay to send power to the ignition while cranking!! Guess what's wrong...

billthe3

Yeah, every other car maker on earth uses the computer to do that on newer cars, but they didn't back in the early 80s when this was designed. Everything that is run by a modern computer on newer cars has to have direct wiring connections between components and all these fancy relays and whatnot because the computers weren't advanced enough back then to control all these accessory functions.

Mighty Shilling

well, I came out to the car after work, and the power locks didn't work... so I open it up, try to crank it, and nothing. Battery dead. put on the jumper cables, and the cooling fans instantly rise to life. car starts just fine.

same thing happened in the 924... same problem. same symptoms. I just put 2 and 2 together. as far as replacing an individual part in that relay, naw. I hate working with electronics, and I have no effing clue where I'd start.

billthe3

Is there any chance the temp sender is bad? If its like the one on the turbo water pump circuit the sender grounds out and completes the circuit once it is hot enough - if the one in the engine was stuck open it would cause the fans to stick on. Is the relay in the 924 the same as the 944 one?

xsboost90

i prob have a few of those laying around.

Mighty Shilling

I was under the impression from a thread I read back when the 924 had this issue that the relays fail before the switch does... I'd go so far as to say the burning smell I got when I popped the cover makes me beleive it's the relay...

I didn't see the 924 listed in applicable vehicles for the relay, but I also didn't see one for the 924 at all... so hmmmmmm...

Mighty Shilling

Much appreciated, but i've already got the new one on the way... and I'd prefer new on electrical bits... But thanks anyway Dan!