[Mgrace]

I am currently in need of help! I have a cooling fan relay going bad on my 1990 Alfa Spider. It works sometimes and doesn't others. It has stuck in the on position and in the off position. Currently a quick tap on the fuse panel takes care of the problem but we all know that this fix is probably short lived.

The real problem is that the relay is no longer available and I have had no luck getting a replacement. Does anyone know of one of these out there or if not, a good replacement for it.

Thanks!

Mark

 

[86spider]

who made your relay?

does the relay have a number on it?

 

[Tifosi]

That relay is all over the place in the car and at the stores.
Swap in the horn relay if you need one rhettnow as its the same thing, then take the whipped one to a parts counter and have them cross reference the # on the relay body to something they have on the shelf.

You'll want Tyco or Bosch ideally. Sepia you won't find, and many of the off brands are just cheap crap that may not last a day.

Whatever you get in your hand, double check that the terminal designations are identical between the old and its replacement as while a lot of relays all look alike, they most definitely are not when it comes to how they work.

As to tapping the fuse panel, are you positive its the relay and not just a loose relay service wire on the fusebox?

 

[Saar]

You may want to check the fuse panel too.
Maybe you have some weak connections there.
Saar.

 

[papajam]

Although the horn, power windows and rear window demister relays will work for testing purposes, I would not use them any longer than it takes to conduct the test. The simple reason is that unlike the original cooling fan relay, they do not have a built in fuse.

The correct relay would be a 30 amp rated Bosch style relay with 2 #87 outputs and a built in 30A fuse.

 

[Tifosi]

That fuse is replaceable isn't it, or rather it can be changed out when its gone poof, right?
Micro blade fuse type?

Heck, it could even be the fuse is intermittant and the relay is fine if so.

Thinking back into the wayback machine, didn't msiert need, and find, one of the specific relays a while back? (like a couple years or so)
Or mabe I'm thinking he needed one, but couldn't find it and ended up with one that had a resetable breaker in it instead.
I dunno, it's early and I'm pre~coffee/poop/cigarette startup cycle fopr the day.

***

For the sake of argument, presuming the fuse on relay type cannot be found for whatever reason.
Would it be plausible to fit a properly amped in~line fuse to the #30 terminal service wire to the fusebox?
I mean it would be the same thing, only different, wouldn't it? (barring the obvious regarding modification to the wiring, which could be done in a neat and non~permanant/reversable way)

 

[papajam]

Would it be plausible to fit a properly amped in~line fuse to the #30 terminal service wire to the fusebox?

In theory, yes.
It would appear from the diagrams though that the I1 cooling fan relay is mounted in the fusebox (top row, 2nd from left). This should mean that relay terminal 30 is hardwired in the box.
A thought might be to in-line fuse the two #87 outputs just after they leave the box.