camaronewbie

I'm trying to avoid tearing out more than I have to. I'm looking for the hatch release relay - the one in the front of the car, not the one in the rear (the one in the front is the hatch release relay, the one in the rear is the hatch extend relay). I've seen posts that stated it was under center console, but I'm not finding it there. Is it way up under the front, like behind the radio area? Or is it under the driver dash, like fuse panel/hood release area?

JamesC

iTrader: (5)

IIRC, it's in the center console in the area behind the parking brake handle.

JamesC

camaronewbie

OK, I finally found that sucka! For anyone else hunting it down, I found mine under the carpet, on the driver side of the tranny tunnel, under the center console - GM had used foam tape to stick it on the side of the tranny tunnel - practically had to remove the driver seat, and the console top, and the console itself, just to get to this dam thing!

It has 3 prongs (thought all relays had at least 4), and mine is white colored relay, with black, orange, and brown wires. Orange is hot always, I assume when activated it switches 12v+ from orange to brown. But I'm not sure, since it only has 3 wires I'm confused. Anyway, off to find another!

JamesC

iTrader: (5)

I wonder if the early models were different? No foam tape on my 85. And locating it was a matter of removing the shifter plate and fishing around for a moment or two. Anyway, good to know.

JamesC

Mark_Hardware

Yeah, I have the same relay in the center console. Mine is for the tonneau release though.
Yeah, I so don't get the three wire relay either.. ??

camaronewbie

Well, if anyone needs to know also ... auto parts places don't list it.

BUT - it's the same relay as the horn relay, so if ever in need, search horn relay. Advance Auto carries it, part number D1776 for $12.93. But it didn't solve my issue.

The "other" relay, the one the schematics calls a "hatch extend relay", which is the smaller one in the rear by the hatch, is also carried by Advance Auto, part # D1703A, $7.93. That one is a standard SPDT relay with 5 connectors (87A not used), only small. It didn't help me either.

So I give up for now.

camaronewbie

I also figured out the 3 wire relay. There's a diode inside, and only one power in source. Thus it uses the power that activates the little coil inside to also feed the power out terminal when energized. I guess the diode restricts so that a small amperage amount of 12v+ is put through the diode to provide 12v+ to the coil, and the higher amperage 12v+ from the same source is put through to the output. I'm guessing the coil is activated by the ground (since the 12v+ is always present on the one single wire).

camaronewbie

SCRATCH all that, I'm wrong I think. I was looking at the wiring diags for the hatch release and the horn - neither relay has a ground, so now I'm really lost here. What I thought was a ground on the hatch relay, turns out to be a 12v+ ... when I gounded it, it blew the LID fuse.

So now I'm really confused, as I don't understand how any relay can operate with no ground - but the wiring diags for both the horn relay and the hatch release relay have no grounds.

Mark_Hardware

Yeah, while doing my own research on the relay in question, I put an indicator probe, hooked to a grounding point, to the black wire on the relay. When I did so, it made the relay click and then the indicator lamp came on.