g1teggy

ive noticed alot of price diffrences in main relays for honda? acuras , is there a better or best brand of relays out there? i notice some of the relays for sale look really cheap as far as design and soldering.

Muckman

iTrader: (2)

As with everything Im sure there is a quality difference however I dont have experience with different brands. I can assure you that OEM will likely offer the best quality part.

g1teggy

ive found that pulling used mitsuba relays from the salvage yard is better than the malaysain and taiwain based imports so far, they get super hot and just about catch on fire on the dash! if i buy a duralast from autozone there pretty pricey and they look good but im not sure if its worth it to pony up 45$ for an autozone unit or get a better part from carquest thats even more expensive . i see youtube vids of guys even resoldering the relay boards and using those oem mistubas resoldered !

here in so cal its hot and dry, its the usuall start problem for hondas out here . i know this isnt a million dollar build up thread but its good to maybe get some feedback on what the good better best options are on main relays., im in a hot arid climate with bumpy roads so the relays on these cars suffer and have to be constantly monitored, I see crap now that literally looks like a 5cent sweatshop relay all the way to relays that are crazy expensive.

I wanted to see if others who deal with alot of older cars on a regular basis have any feedback

OptimisticWay

Back in the summer of 2006 aftermarket main relays were not available for my 88 HF. I had to resolder the terminals myself. Someone else on a forum posted how he fixed his and what the symptoms were. Over time the constant heating and cooling creates cold solder joints that break contact with the circuit and when the main relay heats up, the car will die. The main relay controls the fuel injectors, among other things, and that's what caused my car to die.

I had to buy a desoldering tool from Radio Shack for less than $20, I think, and then test for continuity from terminal to terminal. The Haynes manual will tell you step by step instructions for the 88-91 CRX and likely Civic. I remember not all of these were the same. I had MPFI and the only other car with MPFI was the CRX Si, good luck trying to find one in a bone yard.

It is $15
Model: 64-2060 *|*Catalog #: 64-2060
http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...ductId=2062731

The first attempt was a failure at fixing the relay. I kept my cool and desoldered it again and the resoldered it a 2nd time. To my surprise it worked. I fixed it. I still own the 88 HF and have over 250,000 miles on her. That was 8 years ago that I resoldered the main relay and it has not given me any issues yet.


If you take the one out of your car and resolder it you should be fine. I had never soldered anything before this project and I was successful. That being said, it pays to have one ready on stand by so if you do find an exact match in a salvage yard, I would grab it.

g1teggy

ah thats cool yeah i might try to work on a broke one i have for my 90 dx hatch to see if i can get it working good. i try to keep a few relays now that i know are good on hand, ive cross refenced what will fit what and its the same relay for my hatch as for the 90-93 integra and 87-89 integra.

my 87 tegg had intermittent starting problems until i pulled a used main relay out of a boneyard 89 tegg. paid 4$ for it and car starts right up everytime and runs better than it ever did lol, well my hatch had starting problems from day 1 , i looked up the reference chart and took the relay out of my twin cam 87 tegg and plugged the main relay into my 90 dx hatch and its never had a problem since!@ so i went to the bone yard. and bought another main relay i found in a 92 integra and it works great, put that in the 87 and ive never had any issues since.

from time to time when im at the salvage yard i see if the main relay is there and ive found alot of designs and started to look up the diffrent availability from local suppliers and the internet and like i say ,not long ago i spotted an extra relay for my cars so i bought this main relay that looked small and real cheap compared to most from the salvage yard yet brand new inside and out, i plugged it into one of my cars to see how it works and it got super hot in about 10 seconds and the car wasnt really idling right so i took it out and returned it to the yard for an exchange , even though that relay was brand new looking , the board , plastics everything, it was garbage! i found another mitsuba oem and took that one, its my spare now, it works good!. i may try to rebuild the mitsuba that i have that works intermittentlanty using the method you descibe testing each terminal ! this will be a neat project ..

i dont really see a RACING application main relay out there anywhere>?

HondaPartsHero

ditto that just resolder it and see how it holds up after that.

http://techauto.awardspace.com/mainrelay.html

OptimisticWay

I received my Wells Main relay today for my EJ1. It seems light but I did not have the metal hanger attached. The metal hanger was still in the shipping box and is not in the video;however, it did come with a metal strap. I bought it online through Advance Auto Parts with a code for $50 off $125 or more and you get free shipping on these orders because the subtotal is $75 or more. That's 40% off before taxes. Can't beat that.

Just found out that the Wells is made in the USA. Gotta love that. Only thing better than made in the USA is made in Japan. Unfortunately nowadays Japanese companies utilize China's cheap labor to stay competitive globally therefore you not find many things branded made in Japan from well established Japanese Corporations.

mikekh10a

iTrader: (2)

i bought my last main relay from napa, no problems as of yet