"TESTING" a relay?

bowtieman55

bowtieman55

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 25, 2006
Location
Edenton, NC
When pushing the defrost button, I can hear the relay give a single "click", but the light doesn't come on and the defrost doesn't work. Is that the relay or something else?
 
The contacts in the relay could be bad. Easiest way to find out for sure would be to swap in a relay from a different circuit, see if anything changes.
 
'99 Dodge Stratus w/ A/C. According to the fuse panel, it's the defrost relay. I'm gonna look into it more this afternoon.
 
It's actually the relay for the REAR window defrost.
 
To test the relay it's self. Pull relay, jumper the ground, jumper the power source, then when it clicks(activates) take a meter and see if it's completing the circuit
 
if you're hearing the relay, either the power feed to the window grid is DOA ( possibly blown fuse or broken wire at grid ) or the relay itself won't carry the load, have you replaced the relay or is there on similar close by you can swap ? ( pay attention which one you swap, don't cause yourself more issues )

many defroster grids have a timer ( or even a thermal magnetic switch ) that shut the defrost grid off after X amount of time, this could be part of the switch, it could be somewhere else.
 
I'm hoping I've got a blown fuse somewhere. The weather kept me from looking at it yesterday. The switch (button) has been working, so it's a little odd that it would just stop.
 
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