Relays stuck in older Nissan receptacle trays under hood
Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2023 10:57 am
1998 Pathfinder
All because my gf likes to honk at fast drivers
:
Horn stopped working. Isolated to the horn relay and/or relay receptacle wiring. Relay would not come out due to defective receptacle design. If one was to cut the white plastic where you see I deformed it, relay would probably pull out with a little force, but otherwise ya have to disassemble the tray a little and release clip from the underside with a small flathead screwdriver or pick. People were thinking it was corroded or designed to not come out, but I think it's just a defective design.
Once out the relay actuated fine so I took it apart to look inside. There are two plastic tabs on the longer sides of relay that keep the black top on. So just break those two sides not all the way around like I did.
This is a handy short video I found on testing 5, 4 and 3 blade relays.
https://youtu.be/IpRWcNoLdwQ?si=ol9Pk72l7-sb39Eh
I think my issue may be the ground wire to the control circuit of the horn relay. When the horn steering wheel cover switch is pressed I do not obtain a ground connection when I ohm the relay end of the wire. The relay doesn't energize when plugged into the tray, but will when I test it out of the tray. When I jumper the 12v relay receptacle wire to the receptacle horn wire it blows loud and clear. Gonna try to replace the relay first but if that doesn't work I'm going to wire a separate ground connection button into the cab, if I don't see a broken horn ground wire under the dash.
All because my gf likes to honk at fast drivers
:Horn stopped working. Isolated to the horn relay and/or relay receptacle wiring. Relay would not come out due to defective receptacle design. If one was to cut the white plastic where you see I deformed it, relay would probably pull out with a little force, but otherwise ya have to disassemble the tray a little and release clip from the underside with a small flathead screwdriver or pick. People were thinking it was corroded or designed to not come out, but I think it's just a defective design.
Once out the relay actuated fine so I took it apart to look inside. There are two plastic tabs on the longer sides of relay that keep the black top on. So just break those two sides not all the way around like I did.
This is a handy short video I found on testing 5, 4 and 3 blade relays.
https://youtu.be/IpRWcNoLdwQ?si=ol9Pk72l7-sb39Eh
I think my issue may be the ground wire to the control circuit of the horn relay. When the horn steering wheel cover switch is pressed I do not obtain a ground connection when I ohm the relay end of the wire. The relay doesn't energize when plugged into the tray, but will when I test it out of the tray. When I jumper the 12v relay receptacle wire to the receptacle horn wire it blows loud and clear. Gonna try to replace the relay first but if that doesn't work I'm going to wire a separate ground connection button into the cab, if I don't see a broken horn ground wire under the dash.