The radiator fan relay and connector on the '86 Camaro melted. It looks like one of the terminals was not making good contact (corroded?) and overheated as a result.

Since I need to get this fixed tomorrow, I'm going to replace the relay and it's connector with a standard 30 amp automotive relay (normally open, SPST) that has 1/4" blade terminals, and I'm going to crimp 1/4" female terminals onto the 4 wires that go to the relay.

I've cracked open the original relay and it is a normal relay with a reverse-biased diode across the coil (the diode is standard for automotive-type relays).

Is there any reason I should not do this and use the OE replacement relay and connector?

Any information is appreciated,

Brian

 

Much to my surprise, Pep Boys carries a replacement socket for the OE relay (even though the guy behind the parts counter said they didn't). It's "Conduct Tite" part number 85162.

Pep Boys did not, however, have a replacement relay in stock. So I went to Trak Auto and found one there.

I then discovered that my 30 watt soldering iron wasn't going to work for soldering 12 gauge wire, so I had to get a 75 watt soldering gun.

Slipped some heat-shrink tubing around the wires and soldered them. The heat-shrink tubing looks a lot better than electrical tape and won't unwrap.

Brian