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Old Oct 13, 2014 | 07:54 AM
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Default Omron Relays

Hi All

I have a '01 WS-6 with about 13K miles. I've had a starting problem twice in the past year. The first time it was the Starter relay - yesterday it was the Ignition relay.

Also, I had an overheating problem this Summer where the fans were not turning on. Replaced all three fan relays and sure enough - no issues since them.

I've also had to replace my horn relay because the horn wasn't blowing when locking the doors with the key fob. Solved that problem as well with a new relay.

What gives? Do any of you guys have similar "relay problems". I'm just wondering if this might be a common problem with these cars.

All the relays I replaced were the original Omron relays which were still in the fuse box from the factory.

Thanks!
Dan

Last edited by ds2011; Oct 13, 2014 at 08:00 AM.
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Old Oct 13, 2014 | 01:33 PM
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From: Schiller Park, ILL Member: #317
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This is very odd. I have a similarly low mileage '98 Z28, and it's never needed a single relay to be replaced.

To have one or a couple of those relays fail on higher mileage examples isn't uncommon, but to have ALL of those go bad with such minimal wear is definitely strange and not at all typical.

What are the storage conditions for this car? Inside/outside/high humidity/etc?
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Old Oct 14, 2014 | 09:34 AM
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Are you the original owner? I'd tear one of the relays apart and see what they look like inside...
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Old Oct 16, 2014 | 05:47 PM
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Its common enough, My low mileage WS6 has relay trouble too. The problem is the relays are not sealed so moisture slowly gets in then the contacts corrode over time from not being used. Electrical contacts clean themselves when they make and break the circuit. The electrical current moving across the contact burns the corrosion off.

My fog lamp stop working from time to time, all I do is turn the switch on and off a few times to clean the relay then they work for a few months again. I usually pop the cover off the relay and manually clean the contacts BUT if they are not used they will just corrode again over time.
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Old Oct 16, 2014 | 11:31 PM
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From: Schiller Park, ILL Member: #317
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Originally Posted by RockinWs6
Its common enough, My low mileage WS6 has relay trouble too. The problem is the relays are not sealed so moisture slowly gets in then the contacts corrode over time from not being used. Electrical contacts clean themselves when they make and break the circuit. The electrical current moving across the contact burns the corrosion off.

My fog lamp stop working from time to time, all I do is turn the switch on and off a few times to clean the relay then they work for a few months again. I usually pop the cover off the relay and manually clean the contacts BUT if they are not used they will just corrode again over time.
You must live in a pretty humid climate. In 16 years of garage storage and only 17k miles of driving I've never had a single corroded rely on my '98.

A friend recently moved to FL (originally from IL like me), and within 6 months had all kinds of rust/corrosion build-up on distributor related parts on his old SBC Nova. That same car and setup went for 12+ years without having any issues here in IL....but 6 months of sitting in a FL garage is all it took. Simply being garage kept doesn't seem to be enough if you're in a super humid climate....some sort of fan or dehumidifier seems to be necessary.
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Old Oct 17, 2014 | 12:32 AM
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Yep its humid here in PA, I never had any relay trouble with my other 4 gens. This WS6 had only 36k in 12 years. From the looks of it may have been stored in a barn for a few years. I pulled relay and removed the cover and inspected it. It was very lightly oxidized, I cleaned it with light sandpaper<not the proper way> next time I'm going to use a burnishing tool. That should properly clean into the silver contact but who knows how pure the contact is? Might be low quality. Actually it should be self cleaning like I mentioned above, Also the relays should be vacuum sealed for long life. But that doesn't sell parts.......................
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Old Oct 21, 2014 | 04:17 AM
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I was in heavy traffic over the weekend and the engine started pinging LOUD as I drove, low speed fan relay wasn't turning the fans on. I swapped it with the high speed and they came on. I need to order all new relays.
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