'82 244 - relay clicking

[Robmash]

Hi all,

While I have been driving, I have been hearing an intermittent relay
clicking sound - just a single on-off, with no real pattern to it.
Sometimes it happens a couple of times a minute, other times I can go
half an hour without it occuring. From the location of the sound, it
appears to be the turn/seatbelt relay, but from what I can tell,
nothing actually happens. Any ideas?

Does anyone know what else runs off the turning relay? Alternatively,
could anyone think of anything else that this could be (my only other
guess is something related to the altenator when the battery reaches
full charge). The clicking may always have been there, but its sound
may have been masked by the sound of the fan (read on...).

The only other weird thing happening with the car is that the fan
stopped working a couple of months ago (just before we got to the
Australian summer!). I still haven't had a chance to look at it (to
be honest I don't even know where the fan motor is yet - I am guessing
behind the glovebox) but it was initially an intermittent problem that
was fixed by giving the centre console a good hard whack (actually,
that is how it started - I was giving the centre console a whack to
get the radio to work properly and it stopped). If anyone can give me
an idea of which way to follow the wiring through I would be grateful.

Also, is there a trick to pulling the centre console apart? The
plastic is starting to get a bit brittle so I don't want to try and
force things too much.

Thanks in advance,

Robmash

 

[athol]

While I have been driving, I have been hearing an intermittent relay
clicking sound - just a single on-off, with no real pattern to it.
Sometimes it happens a couple of times a minute, other times I can go
half an hour without it occuring. From the location of the sound, it
appears to be the turn/seatbelt relay, but from what I can tell,
nothing actually happens. Any ideas?

In the vicinity of the centre console?

If the car has central locking, I'd suspect the snib rod (the bit
that connects the inside lock knob on the driver's door to the
lock mechanism) may be intermittently trying to unlock the doors
as you drive along. Had that problem myself - it caused the
central locking "unlock" relay behind the console to click in at
random while driving. Unplugging the wiring connector in the
driver's door (or perhaps pulling the central locking fuse?) may
be able to confirm the problem.

If that is the problem, you'll need another snib rod. Doesn't
seem to be an easy way to get it apart. Alternately, cut the
wires from the snib rod off and just use the switch on the lock
barrel to lock and unlock. I've done that, but will (soon?) be
replacing the snib rod with one from another spare car that I've
got since...

 

[Robmash]

Hi,

Thanks, for your input. My vehicle does not have central locking, so
this could not be it (unless of course I <do> have central locking but
don't know it because it isn't working...). However, I might have a
go at pulling some fuses to see if I can narrow down the options.

Thanks,

Robmash

 

[Rod Gray]

The most common problem is the ignition switch. Once you start the car, turn
the switch counter clockwise just a bit.

 

[Ken Phillips \(UK\)]

The most common problem is the ignition switch. Once you start the car, turn
the switch counter clockwise just a bit.

Just my 2 pennies worth, but a 240 I once had, when I bought it, was doing
this annoying clicking, it did turn out to be the indicator (turn signal)
relay, I thought fine, I'll reseat it's connector, all will be well, it
wasn't! It got worse, I replaced the relay, almost any flasher relay will
do; from a scrapper, and it was ok, until the car passed on.
It looks like the relay developed a sensitivity to the slightly varying
voltage from the alternator, and it did seem to be shortly after starting
the car, once the battery recovered a bit, this was causing brief 'latch
ups', but because no turn signals were on, nothing visible in the way of
lights happened.

You shouldn't have stress anything to remove the centre console, but to do
so properly you have to remove the footwell panel on either side of the
console, and some screws at the base of the console, that then releases the
console (loads of wires), which then reveals a steel plate held on with
about 6 or 8 screws. The heater motor housing is usually under that.

What type of heating system is installed?

Bye for now, Ken Phillips

 

[Robmash]

Just my 2 pennies worth, but a 240 I once had, when I bought it, was doing
this annoying clicking, it did turn out to be the indicator (turn signal)
relay, I thought fine, I'll reseat it's connector, all will be well, it
wasn't! It got worse, I replaced the relay, almost any flasher relay will
do; from a scrapper, and it was ok, until the car passed on.
It looks like the relay developed a sensitivity to the slightly varying
voltage from the alternator, and it did seem to be shortly after starting
the car, once the battery recovered a bit, this was causing brief 'latch
ups', but because no turn signals were on, nothing visible in the way of
lights happened.

Thanks, Ken. This sounds quite likely - Now that I think about it I
get the problem mainly at startup, and it happens when I am going up
or down the gears, which would create a variation in the alternator
output due to the change in revs. There are no other relay problems
yet - occasionally when I start the car the seatbelt warning light
does not flash, but the indicators are working perfectly. On this
basis I might just leave it for now and see whether the problem gets
worse.

You shouldn't have stress anything to remove the centre console, but to do
so properly you have to remove the footwell panel on either side of the
console, and some screws at the base of the console, that then releases the
console (loads of wires), which then reveals a steel plate held on with
about 6 or 8 screws. The heater motor housing is usually under that.

Thanks, I will give that a go.

What type of heating system is installed?

Is there more than one type? I thought they were all just fed from the
radiator. I also have air conditioning, but it does not work as there
is a hold in the condenser. I have not yet done anything about that
as I need to decide whether it is worth spending money on the vehicle
- I am up to 300k & rust is starting to appear (most noticably on the
rims on the side of the roof). Given that the car hasn't been garaged
for the last 15 years I can't really complain though...

Thanks,

Robmash