doghead relay surprise...

[DIESELGREEN]

Well, here's another little surprise from the ol' oh8. I was getting underway with my Doghead relay mod, when I found this. I got the diagnostic port out of the way and dropped the relay plate, and what I found was 2 smaller relays on the plate. The starter relay, however, was a big hefty relay mounted to the inside of the dash just above the plate. I was a little concerned to proceed, as the top of the relay is stamped with 12v, AND, on top of that, the black ground wire was taped off and left loose. This relay was abviously installed by the military years ago, as the relay was covered in years of dust and the electrical tape on the ground wire was so old that it was crunchy and not even sticky anymore. So... should I continue? why would the ground wire have been left off? the glow plugs are functioning just fine, I was expecting to find that crappy old GM relay that was prone to hanging up and burning up starters. as you can see in the pic, it's a pretty hefty relay, bigger than the NAPA 7-01860-1. Post back if anyone's run across this.

 

[edpdx]

With no issues right now on the vehicle. I think it is the right time to try the Doghead mod. take a pic, in case you have to replace the current relay. Install all four wires per the Mod. Fire it up. If it runs as expected, then you are back in business with piece of mind that the new relay will hold for a good while. Place the old relay in a ziplock with a drawing of how it came out and stuff it in your toolbox as a spare.

 

[DIESELGREEN]

Thanks for the reply. I was most concerned as to why the ground would have been left loose. maybe the relay grounds thru its metal base? who knows. I'm just gonna go ahead and do the new one as planned.

 

[mistaken1]

Thanks for the reply. I was most concerned as to why the ground would have been left loose. maybe the relay grounds thru its metal base? who knows. I'm just gonna go ahead and do the new one as planned.

My bet is on the fact that this relay grounds through the base.

Remove the one lone coil lead and test continuity to ground with a meter to know for sure.

 

[rickf]

On most of the Ford style relays like that if they have two small posts then one is the feed for the relay and the other is an output to feed 12 volts to the coil for starting or in some cases to bypass an oil safety switch. The relay does ground through the base but it has to be bolted to the chassis or a ground wire has to be soldered to the base.

Rick

 

[raiburn]

Looks to me like they used a glow plug relay!

 

[coecamo]

Start Relay

I installed a large relay like yours on my M1008 as soon as I got it home. 1 Learn from other . To me this could be a conventional 12 volt Ford style starter relay. If only one small terminal is used the other most probably is ignition. To me this relay is doing the job and is heavy enough to last only differance the coil is grounded thru the mount base. So IF IT AINT BROKE DONT FIX IT Gary

 

[Mohawk Dave]

The relay that you found may or may not be a continuous duty cycle. If it is not, it is asking for failure. Do the Doghead mod, keep that for a temp spare.

Best wishes,

Dave

 

[doghead]

It does not need to be rated for continuous duty. 10-20 seconds on is all your starter should ever be subjected to, ever.

In this case, I would just leave what you have there. It was working and that relay is designed the same as the type I suggested in the DHRM. It is very unlikely to fail in the "on" position.

If you already bought the DHRM, then install it , and you will know you have a new relay that should serve you well, for many many years.

 

[WARWAG]

That looks like a field expedient repair when the OEM Relay stuck and most likely burned up the starter ect. They used what was at hand to fix it. I personally would go ahead and do the Dog Head Relay. That way you know its done right and wont have to worry about it ever again.

 

[DIESELGREEN]

Thanks for all the feedback guys. Sorry i didnt reply sooner, been working on her all weekend. I went ahead and finished up the Doghead mod.....along with rebuilding the steering column, motor mounts, fuel pump, door locks, and flushing the brake system back out to dot 5. All is well! the list will continue next weekend....

 

[WARWAG]

That reminds me. I need to flush my brake fluid as well. Glad to see you've been busy getting her in top shape. Post pics when you can. We are after all a bunch of CUCV porn addics.

 

[antennaclimber]

I found the same thing today in my M1009.

Replaced it with a relay that has no exposed terminals.
Karl