Relay module positioning

[bytes311]

Hi Folks,

New to the forum, and proud new owner of vin 2181. :)

My question is concerning the relay modules behind the passenger seat. As you can see from the photos, the green relay is in the second to last position. In all of the photos/schematics I came across, the green relay is shown to be the last (furthest to the right). So I'm not sure why the yellow seat is in that position, or why it was configured in this fashion. Perhaps somebody could shed some light on the subject?

Much appreciated!

- Dan

[Bitsyncmaster]

Each relay socket has "dovetail" slides. You can move the positions if the wires are long enough. My headlight relay sockets were swapped in my car so I just swapped them back.

[AugustneverEnds]

Looks like the fan relay is missing and a jumper for the fan fail module (the blue socket).

[bytes311]

Thanks for your responses. The blue has a wire connected to it underneath the socket, so I'm not exactly sure what's going on there there. Some kind of bypass perhaps?

[AugustneverEnds]

That's probably a bypass then. The blue fan fail was good idea, warn the driver if one or both of the cooling fans was inoperative, but was a disaster in execution which lead to, ironically, the cooling fans not working! There are modern solutions to replace the fan fail module which restores the warning light function and switches the fans on one at a time to reduce the demands on the electrical system. Bitsyncmaster makes and sells such a unit. However a bypass is fine too.

Welcome to the forum and the DeLorean community BTW! Good to have a new member :smile:

[Rich]

Hi Dan and welcome to DeLorean ownership in Northern California.

Good advice above so far.

Additionally, some of those relays look pretty crusty. Although that's just the metal housing you may, as a new owner, want to look at installing a full relay kit at some point as well as performing at least a fuse blade cleanup session and a bulkhead connector inspection. Inexpensive and quick peace of mind.

Have a great time with 2181.

[bytes311]

Thank you for your kind welcome and advice! I can't wait to get my hands dirty. :)

[andy blackmon]

i just got Dave's hot start relay, I had to ask Dave where it goes. He sent me a pm and told me. I have had my car for over 33 years and it hhas never had a relay in this socket. Why not? I am sure it does something or a man as smart as Dave would not have engineered one. Why did the factory wire for a relay but not install one? Andy B

[Bitsyncmaster]

i just got Dave's hot start relay, I had to ask Dave where it goes. He sent me a pm and told me. I have had my car for over 33 years and it hhas never had a relay in this socket. Why not? I am sure it does something or a man as smart as Dave would not have engineered one. Why did the factory wire for a relay but not install one? Andy B

My guess is they found some occasional hot start issues early on in the development of the car. So they planned a fix via the socket they wired into the harness. But that fix never came about.

[David T]

Way back they thought they might have problems with cars used at high altitudes running hot and not restarting. It is similar to the diagnostic plug they used for the motor, a vestige that was never used. If you keep looking you will find other plugs that are not used, like if you have a 5-speed some plugs are not used and if you have an automatic others are not used. If you are having a problem restarting when hot you are better served by fixing the problem than trying to "fix" it with the relay.