I replaced my fan relay, and noticed that there was some arcing taking place. the plastic around the recepticle was melted. The fan works now, but I am concerned the relay will get fried again. Any input would be appreciated.

 

You may have had a bad relay to cause it to arc or a very loose connection which would cause arcing.
Did you take the old relay apart just for fun to see if there was an internal problem which would have caused the plastic to melt

 

They are available at the dealer - not cheap, and all the wires are grey, but available.

 

I'll take it apart and check it out. Did you say; a bad relay could have been causing the arcing? Or did you mean a loose connection caused the relay to burn out? The melting was on the plug where the red wire goes.

 

check some parts places they carry the plug ends now like advanced auto and such

 

sometimes relays do go internally thats why I said for you to open it up and see if there was any internal damage to it ex. worn out contacts.
As well a loose connection will definitley cause arcing and melting of the plastic plug. Depending on the damage on the plug you may want to replace it as previously mentioned by camaronewbie

 

mine is like this as well, swapped relays and have had no problems since. These things get warm, especially if the car is running hot and the fans are on constantly. I like to check these relays periodically because mine decided to go south one day and at freeway speeds I was fine, but as soon as I got off the freeway, it got hot, real hot.

 

I got one from www.tpiparts.net