P38A Anyone know what this does?

Salisbury Nick · Feb 24, 2020

Hi All,

I traced the cable supplying the fan on the gearbox radiator back form the fan towards the battery, and found this on the way - see photo's below.

Does anyone know what it is? What is it meant to do? This one looks knackered to me, do you think this is likely to still be working?

Thanks for your help, Nick.

brianp38dse · Feb 24, 2020

Looks like a knackerd relay with the top missing to me

marjon · Feb 24, 2020

Looks like a relay that has lost its cap.
What it does I don’t know, but it sure looks like it’s not going to do what it was designed for.

J

Rubberknees · Feb 24, 2020

Its a mucky watchma call it, thingy mabob type thing

romanrob · Feb 24, 2020

It looks like a relay with the top come off, and with that mud on there i'd say it would be a miracle if it was physically working, and electrically you'll need the ground back in the relay base. It's a while since I played with that section of wiring, but presumably it's part of the circuitry to run the electric fans as the condenser needs additional cooling. ETM is your friend (K4) Although I thought all those relays were in the fuse box. Does this look like it's an after-market addition ? (that someone has hooked up to a switch somewhere...)

RangeRoller dt · Feb 24, 2020

Looks like a mod to me.

Salisbury Nick · Feb 24, 2020

romanrob said:
It looks like a relay with the top come off, and with that mud on there i'd say it would be a miracle if it was physically working, and electrically you'll need the ground back in the relay base. It's a while since I played with that section of wiring, but presumably it's part of the circuitry to run the electric fans as the condenser needs additional cooling. ETM is your friend (K4) Although I thought all those relays were in the fuse box. Does this look like it's an after-market addition ? (that someone has hooked up to a switch somewhere...)

Hi Roman, hard to tell, it does look like an aftermarket as it does not look like it is meant to be just lying around in the engine bay - but I don't know that - and there is no evidence of a switch inside the car that it might relate to.
There are two sensors on the oil radiator, so I presume it could be connected to one of those via this relay.
I think the red and loose black wires come directly from the fan, so the black must be ground and the red the switched live?
If I want to replace it - any one got any ideas what I buy?

marjon · Feb 24, 2020

Salisbury Nick said:
Hi Roman, hard to tell, it does look like an aftermarket as it does not look like it is meant to be just lying around in the engine bay - but I don't know that - and there is no evidence of a switch inside the car that it might relate to.
There are two sensors on the oil radiator, so I presume it could be connected to one of those via this relay.
I think the red and loose black wires come directly from the fan, so the black must be ground and the red the switched live?
If I want to replace it - any one got any ideas what I buy?

you first need to find what it does (or supposed to).
If it’s not standard, why is it there?
fan on gearbox rad?

is it possibly the extra cooling mod ?
Is thisLPG stuff?

J

Salisbury Nick · Feb 24, 2020

marjon said:
you first need to find what it does (or supposed to).
If it’s not standard, why is it there?
fan on gearbox rad?

is it possibly the extra cooling mod ?
Is thisLPG stuff?

J

LOL - "What does it do?" Is the question I started with!
The fan on the oil cooler rad is standard, I should have said its a 2.5D - 2000 model. definitely no LPG funny stuff, and not the extra cooling mod - although I am planning on dong that next.
Although it looks shonky, I think it might be original - so I'm wondering if anyone else with a 2.5D and has the same relay?

RangeRoller dt · Feb 24, 2020

Sorry no idea I have R380.

My experience is found a dodgy relay, tried taking it out, engine wouldn’t run - was hotstart despite it looks was working. Put it back in.

Salisbury Nick · Feb 24, 2020

RangeRoller dt said:
Sorry no idea I have R380.

My experience is found a dodgy relay, tried taking it out, engine wouldn’t run - was hotstart despite it looks was working. Put it back in.
View attachment 201479

Thats my problem - what I think it might do, and what it does could be two completely different things!

RangeRoller dt · Feb 24, 2020

Could be fooked doing nothing.

You said one end is rads or whatever, where does other end go?

RangeRoller dt · Feb 24, 2020

Only found out what mine was by taking it out and seeing what’s different. Was anyone’s guess before then

Salisbury Nick · Feb 24, 2020

RangeRoller dt said:
Could be fooked doing nothing.

You said one end is rads or whatever, where does other end go?

I thin it is doing nothing, but should be turning the rad fan on.

Good question about where the other end goes - I have not put enough effort into that yet!

RangeRoller dt · Feb 24, 2020

Loom usually goes from battery across front of engine to the sensors on the head so I guess mod.

If it goes to fuse box - fuse for what?

Salisbury Nick · Feb 24, 2020

Those are really good questions - next time I'm looking at her I'll try and follow that back and see where it goes.

Thing is, if its a mod - why would you put a mod on a standard fan set up?

RangeRoller dt · Feb 24, 2020

Drop viscous, extra cooling due to problem, some put a switch in to wade deep. Who knows when it comes to PO’s decisions.

A - you know how to get it to run OE

B - you know how to mod it Data’s way

Therefore you Shouldn’t need whatever it is/isn’t doing now

Mark Piercy · Feb 25, 2020

Do you have two plug sockets with a towbar?
Mine does and it has a relay triggered from the alternator B+ that allows a charge for a caravan battery when the engine is started.

Datatek · Feb 25, 2020

Looks like the remains of a hot start mod to me.

wammers · Feb 25, 2020

Study the diagrams in RAVE and see what it is connected to. Wire colours it's attached to should indicate that.

P38A Anyone know what this does?

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