How to test a relay ?

Gecko · May 29, 2005

My Hella FF50's died again yesterday. On the way back from lands end they died in the heavy rain but I put that down to the water getting into the quick connectors. I replaced them after Lands End with some really good ones but yesterday , in bright sunshine on a lovely warm dry day they died again :confused:

The fuse is fine and as far as I can see the wiring is all in order . There is no 'click' coming from the relay when I turn them on and off so I assume it's died.
I've got a multimeter but don't know how to test a relay - any technicians out there can point me in the right direction ?
Cheers
Gecko

Gas'd Off · May 29, 2005

You`ll be wanting your circuit diagram relating to the relay. A multimeter set to continuity/ohms and a 12v power source. Connect Actually forget that! if it`s still on the bike....................set multimeter to 12v-dc and check there is voltage coming from the switch control side of things and if there is stick the meter across the terminals going to the lights to see if theres any voltage there(when set to ON). The wires to check should be obvious?
Relays are generally very reliable, it is usually bad connections that cause failures. If the control wiring is iffy then the relay will not get a high enough voltage to power up the switch mechanism.....no lights.

Hope that is of some assistance. :beer:

Fanum · May 29, 2005

Assuming it's a standard ISO relay Marc, this is the configuration;

Deleted account 220427002 · May 29, 2005

bad earth?

are you using a lightswitch?

might be it

Gecko · May 29, 2005

Fanum said:
Assuming it's a standard ISO relay Marc, this is the configuration;

Yup looks like that Bill.

I'll go and try Luke idea and see if I have got some power but unless the fuse has popped there must be power to the relay but not onwards to the lights.

Gary
The switch could be the culprit , probably because someone asked about using the Hella supplied switch on their GS in a recent thread and I chirped up that I had been using it for a couple of years with no problems......

....hmmm maybe I should check that first

Gecko · May 29, 2005

Ok some testing done:

Ignition and lights off : I have good solid 12+ volts between 86+87, 87+30, 87+65 and 0 volts 85+30 , 86+85 and 86+30

With ignition power on and light switch to ON: Identical except a very low reading of 0.03v between 86+85 and 0.05v between 86+30. otherwise all the same as with ignition off.

The fact that there is a distorted very weak reading across the relay 86/85 and 86/30 suggests that Tuned In's theory of a switch is a likely source of my problem so wish me luck - I'm going in

....did I mention I hate messing with electrics :yikes

Gecko · May 29, 2005

All the connections at the switch look nice and clean and I have 12volts coming up to the switch so either it the switch itself or the circuit is broken somewhere further up the loom.....onwards

HALF a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
‘Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns!’ he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

Deleted account 220427002 · May 29, 2005

Marc... meter between 86 and frame or any other earth point on the bike or negative on the battery…it should be 13.8v give or take when you have activated your light switch

Once you have activated your light switch meter between85 and the lead you pulled off it should be 13.8 again so you know the voltage is passing through the relay

Meter between 30 and frame or a good earth or negative on the battery... it too should be 13.8 or there abouts... if not it’s the fuse

30 is your main power that will go to the lights once the relay is triggered

87 is a lead that goes to the lights and is waiting for a voltage to go up it

So if you take 30 and 87 out of the relay and join them with a bit of wire the lights should come on
You will now know if it's your lights themselves

I think that’s right I was doing it quick

Gecko · May 29, 2005

I wiggled and tweeked and prodded and poked and after rewiring the torque thruster and bypassing the flux capacitor I linked up the fusion cell to the warp drive and they work again. :confused:

confused - yeah so am I because I have no idea what I did but after removing a few zip-ties and jiggling the wires the damn things work again. Well, at least that means the switch and the relay are working but I can't for the life of me figure out where the problem was......main thing is they work and the wiring loom didn't get melted in the process. Must just be a bad connection somewhere but I cleaned them all with a wire brush and that did nothing but they started working more or less as I had given up and was putting everything back together. I was getting sunburned out the back so I had to stop anyway

Cheers for the help and patience with the electro numpty questions

Aidan1150 · May 29, 2005

Now that you have the lights working again Gecko, would it not be better to solder any joints in the wiring rather than use connectors? The joints could be covered by those sheaths that shrink when a little heat is applied, which should prevent any further annoyance.

Gecko · May 29, 2005

Strangely enough that what I had before but when I go off road I take the light bar and auxilliary lights off because a tumble with them on would be .....err.....expensive/serious/terminal. They are quite vulnerable and probably the most solid part of the front of the bike - the rest is all plastic which is why I tried the quick connectors. The ones I first use I can concede were a big 'blue peter' but then I bought some 'Wurth' waterproof connectors and I have used them before without a problem . I think I may re-do the whole auxilliary lighting wiring loom some time and hopefully that will sort it out . The joys of owing and fiddling with a GS are endless...

How to test a relay ?

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