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Foreword:
Initially, relays are confusing to those new to electronics. Looking at
them from the outside, they are little sealed boxes with multiple
terminals. Since you generally can't see what's going on inside the relay,
it can be difficult to understand how they operate. For those of you who
are just starting out, just remember that, generally, they allow a very
small current to control a high current circuit. It's sort of like when you
start a car engine. The mechanical effort it takes to turn the ignition
key is nothing compared to the effort it would take to start it with a pull
rope. Essentially, the relay allows one device to effortlessly control a
much larger device.
The Contacts:
As you already know, if you touch two pieces of wire together and if the
terminals of a power source are connected to the wires, current would
flow from one wire to the other. A relay does essentially the same thing.
It touches two conductors together to allow current to flow from one to
the other. In the following graphic, you can see a relay with three
contacts (labelled A, B and C). A and C are stationary contacts. Contact
B is also a contact but it differs from the others because it moves.
The Electromagnet:
In most relays, an electromagnet is used as the actuator (there are also relays that operate on air pressure or a
vacuum). When the electromagnet has power connected to it, it pulls the movable contact away from contact A
(where it stays when no power is applied to the electromagnet) and and down to contact B. Contact A is the Normally
Closed contact. Contact B is the Normally Open contact. As you can see, all the way to the right, there is a spring.
The spring returns the movable contact to the Normally Closed contact when power is removed from the relay coil
(the electromagnet). In the following demo, you can see all of the components I've mentioned so far. When you press
the button, you will see the magnet engage (the yellow lines are the magnetic field). This is what happens when you
apply power to the relay coil. As you can see, that the movable contact is attracted by the magnet and is pulled down.
For the most part, this is all that there is to the operation of relays. You apply power to the coil. The coil pulls the
armature down and contact is made between 2 of the contacts (and, in this case, contact is broken between 2
contacts). as a side note, the 'armature' is the part that moves. The contact is on, or is part of the armature.
The terms 'normally open' and 'normally closed' refer to a pair of contacts in a relay or switch. For the simplest of
relays (like the one in the photo at the top of the page, see close-up below), there is only one pair of contacts, the
movable contact and a stationary contact. With no voltage applied to the coil of the relay, the contacts are open. If
you used the relay to make/break the connection in a circuit, the connection would be broken with no voltage applied
to the coil. If you had a relay with two pairs of contacts (like the one in the demo above), there would be one pair of
contacts that could pass current (even with no voltage applied to the coil) and one pair of contacts that could not pass
current (until sufficient voltage was applied to the coil). As an example. Let's say that you needed to control two
lights, one red, the other green and the green light was lit most of the time. With a relay with both normally open
contacts and normally closed contacts, you would connect the green light to the normally closed contact and the red
light to the normally open contact. With no power applied to the relay coil, the green light would be lit. The red
would be off. When the lights needed to switch (green off, red on), you would apply voltage to the relay coil and the
relay would engage. This would break the normally closed contacts (breaking the circuit for the green light) and
make the normally open contacts (closing the circuit for the red light).
In the previous example, the green light was connected through the normally closed contacts. Since it was going to be
lit most of the time, it would generally be more efficient not requiring the coil be energized. This doesn't mean that
it's always best to do it this way. If there was in a situation were a loss of power or a failure of the relay would prevent
the red (warning) light from lighting, it may be better to power the red light through the normally closed contacts.
The second reason to use a relay is to isolate two circuits. If you needed to control a very high voltage circuit with a 12
volt controller, you could use a relay. Since a relay coil is 'generally' isolated from the contacts, you typically have
complete isolation between the 'input' and 'output' section of the relay. Of course, the input of the relay is the relay
coil and the output would be the contacts.
The table below shows just a fraction of the available relay configurations. On the relay above, there was only one
movable contact. As you can see below, there are multiple sets of movable contacts on some relays.
This is a Single Pole Single Throw relay. Current will only
flow through the contacts when the relay coil is energized.
This is a Single Pole Double Throw relay. Current will
flow between the movable contact and one fixed contact
when the coil is DEenergized and between the movable
contact and the alternate fixed contact when the relay coil
is energized. The most commonly used relay in car audio,
the Bosch relay, is a SPDT relay.
This is a Double Pole Single Throw relay. When the relay
coil is energized, two separate and electrically isolated sets
of contacts are pulled down to make contact with their
stationary counterparts. There is no complete circuit path
when the relay is DEenergized.
This relay is a Double Pole Double Throw relay. It
operates like the SPDT relay but has twice as many
contacts. There are two completely isolated sets of
contacts.
Yep! You guessed it. This is a 4 Pole Double Throw relay.
It operates like the SPDT relay but it has 4 sets of isolated
contacts.
Relay Specifications:
There are two specifications that you must consider when selecting a relay for use in an automobile, the coil voltage
and the current carrying capacity of contacts. The coil voltage for relays used in automobiles is ~12 volts. This means
that if you apply 12 volts to the coil, it will pull in and stay there until the applied voltage is removed from the coil.
The current rating on relay contacts tells how much current can be passed through the contacts without damage to
the contacts. Some relays have different current ratings for the NC contacts (which are held together by spring
tension) and the NO contacts (which are held together by the electromagnet). If you need to pass significant current
through the NC contacts, you may want to check the manufacturers specifications for the relay.
The Famous Bosch Relay
Bottom View:
The most commonly used relay in car audio and security is the Bosch type relay (AKA: 5-pin relay, AKA: 5-prong
Manufacturer Model Current Draw (mA)
MTX 2300 14
Jensen LXA300 43
Pioneer GMX602 1.5
Autotek 7150 16
Punch 200x2 14-45†
Autotek 200x1 17
Coustic Amp162µ 22
Orion 275SX 28
Crossfire CFA1000D 5
Lanzar Vibe 250 17
Test conditions: 14.3vdc; Fluke model 27 DMM; The meter was inserted in the remote
supply line.
†Punch amplifiers may draw slightly more current when the power supply fuse blows. This generally causes no
problem because the increase in current is still below the current normally drawn by other amplifiers.
Note:
There is at least one very popular brand of amplifier that draws as much as 500ma of current when the amplifier
fails. This is enough to damage the remote output switching transistor in the head unit if the fuse is missing or is of the
wrong value. A relay in the remote circuit will completely eliminate the possibility of damaging the head unit in this
situation.
It's been mentioned quite a few times that the Bosch relay's coil has a fairly low resistance (~75 ohms). It has also
been suggested that you could use a different relay with significantly more coil resistance so that you draw less
current from the remote output of the head unit. The relay below is from Radio Shack. Its stock number is 275-248. It
has a coil resistance of ~400 ohms which means that it will draw ~1/5 the amount of current of the Bosch relay. In the
following image, the red wire is the fused power source (10A max - even less for small wire like I've used). The blue
wire is the remote from the head unit. The black wire goes to ground. The green wire goes to the remote input of the
amplifiers and to fans if you have them.
Online Source for Relays:
Trebao bi imati elektroniku koju nisi vidio na tabli, elektroniku ima cak i ona sa dva konektora, kod te je elektronika u gornjem desnom uglu
obrtomjera ili na gornjem lijevom uglu km sata........raspored releja ti je kao kod pasata 3 i golfa 3 1,9 d, releji koji tu idu su 21 za zmigavce, 19
za brisace, 72 za z brisac, relej grijaca, 53 relej sirene ili moze i bez njega ali kod nekih mora biti onaj kratkospojnik, relej 18 za unutrasni
ventilator........evo sad ce i slika..... Ako ti nije jasno koji relej je za sta pitaj slobodno, znam ih napamet sve, uglavnom na mjesto releja 167 sa
slike ti ide relej grijaca(nadam se da znas koji je), a iznad njega na mjesto releja 191 ide relej za zmigavce, obicno je 21 kod dvice ali i ovaj na
slici je od zmigavaca.....99 ti je za brisace, pa ako nemas 99 onda 19 ima istu funkciju, sto posto su isti, i oznake i funkcija..... 36 ti ne treba, to ti
je zujalica za svjetla sto kod dvice nema, tek trica to ima, mada se moze dodati ako ga imas......30 ti je visak, ne ide na dvicu.....53 je za sirenu,
pa ako ga nemas stavi kratkospojnik koji spaja cini mi se 87 i 85, slican je kao ovaj izmedju 53 i 36, a taj izmedju 53 i 36 cini mi se da sluzi
nesto za zadnju maglenku, pa stavi i njega, nije visak........ na mjesto releja 191 ide relej za zmigavce, obicno je 21 kod dvicepa,/ ako nemas 99
onda 19 ima istu funkciju, sto posto su isti, i oznake i funkcija. nemam sve releje koji su ovdje na slici, ja imam 18, 19, 20, 21, dok recimo 191 i
99 nemam........
sto se elektronike tice, s gornje strane ima hrpa otpornika i dioda, ima taj neki tranzisot/stabilizator punktiranna foliju, ispod nisam vidio
nikakvih drugih pasivnih ili aktivnih elemenata, rastavio sam relej 43 i vidim da ima neki chip unutra i nesto tranzistora i pasive, ali nisam nista
dalje kopao.......
Mesto ugradnje i seme vezivanja releja pronaci u softveru/katalogu. Rele se nalazi na ploci podnozja releja.
Vrednost struje releja odredjuje se prema snazi sijalice (potrosaca) koja se ugraduje.
-Ispitati dovod napajanja na relejnoj ploci – primer: (konsultovati tehnicku dokumentaciju/iako su obicno kontakti obelezeni na podnozju (85-
86)
2)izmeriti otpor na radnom kontaktu kada nema napajanja – otpor treba da je beskonacan(1)
P=U•I
I=60/12=5A
I=55/12=4,58A
layout for later cars and Cabriolet is below . DO NOT fall in to the trap of thinking that the relay is missing ! It may never have one or needed one . Lights for
instance on all MK1 models never had a relay .
1 (free)
2 Inlet manifold heating (Carb) / Fuel pump (Inj) / Glow plugs (Deisel)
3 Seat belt warning system
4 Gear change up display (Formel E, GTi)
5 A/C
6 Twin horn
7 Fog lights
8 X relay
9 (free)
10 Wash-wipe interval
11 Rear windscreen wash/wipe
12 Hazard warning lights
13 Seat belt warning system
14 Seat belt warning system
15 Headlight dim-dip
16 Cold start valve
17 (free)
18 Coolant temp gauge (Inj, Diesel)
List of relay numbers , marked in white on top of the relay [thanks to rubjonny for info] .
A
1 - gry/blu- light switch pin 58b (dash light dimmer)
2 - grn - wiper stalk pin 53
3 - blu/yel- dash plug pin T7b/7 (upshift control light)
4 - blu/blk- dash plug pin T7c/4 (oil pressure control unit, 0.3 bar feed)
5 - grn/yel- wiper stalk pin 53b
6 - grn/blk- wiper stalk pin 53e
7 - blk/grn- hazard switch pin R & indicator switch pin R
8 - blk - ignition switch pin 15
9 - wht/blk- light switch pin 56
10- blk/grn/wht- hazard switch pin 49a & indicator switch pin 49a
11- blue/brn- spare plug behind fusebox? (indicator relay pin 2)
12- brn/blk- wiper stalk pin J
13- blk/blu- hazard switch pin 15
14- grn/wht- wiper stalk pin L
15- grn - fusebox pin B/1
16- blu - dash plug pin T7a/5 (alternator warning light)
17- blu/red- dash plug pin T7/7 (indicator warning light)
18- wht - hazard switch pin 49
19- grn/red- wiper stalk pin T
20- blk/wht- hazard switch pin L & indicator switch pin L
21- yel - indicator stalk pin 56b (headlight flasher/main beam switch)
22- blk/yel- rear window heater switch pin + and heated seat switches pin 15
23- blk/red- glovebox light and fresh air blower switch pin + or A/C switch pin +
24- gry/grn- light switch pin 58 (dash light dimmer)
25- blk/yel- fusebox pin L/1
28- blu/wht- dash plug pin T7/? (high beam warning light)
B
1 - grn - fusebox pin A/15 and dual circuit & handbrake warning light
2 - grn/wht- fog light switch pin 83b (fuse #17)
3 - vio/blk- dash plug pin T7b/6 (fuel gauge)
7 - yel/red- dash plug pin T7a/5 (coolant temp gauge)
8 - red/blk- ignition switch pin 50
9 - blk/gry- wiper stalk pin 53a
10- blk/yel- light switch pin X
11- gry/red- cig lighter
\- red - radio power plug pin 7
12- red - digital clock/MFA
13- red/yel- indicator stalk pin 30 (headlight flasher/main beam switch)
15- yel - dash plug pin T7a/4 (oil pressure control unit, 1.8 bar feed)
16- wht/yel- fog light switch pin 83a
18- blk/grn- upshift/fuel consumpton indicator solonoid shut-off
19- red/blk- dash plug pin T7b/4 (rev counter)
20- grn/yel- fog light switch pin 83
21- wht/grn- rear window heater switch pin 86
22- wht - indicator stalk pin 56a (headlight flasher/main beam switch)
23- red - light switch pin 30
25- brn/blk- fusebox pin L/2
26- gry/red- light switch pin 58R
27- gry/blk- light switch pin 58L
28- red/wht- hazard switch pin 30
C
1 - red/blk- brake light switch
2 - blu - alternator pin D+
3 - red/yel- brake light switch
4 - grn/blk- left parking light bulb
5 - yel/wht- left headlight bulb pin 58b
6 - yel - right headlight bulb pin 58b
7 - red - radiator fan thermal switch & radiator fan after-run relay pin 30
8 - blk/grn- right front indicator & repeater
9 - grn/red- windscreen washer pump pin +
12- blu/brn- brake fluid level warning switch
13- blk/yel- dual tone horns
14- grn/red- right parking light bulb
15- brn/blk- dual tone horns
16- wht - right headlight bulb pin 58a
17- wht/blk- left headlight bulb pin 58a
18- red/blk- thermo switch for cold start valve (K-Jet f/inj) or digifant ECU pin 1
19- blk/wht- left front indicator & repeater
20- blk - radiator fan run-on control unit pin 2/15
\- blk - reverse light switch (MK1 models)
21 - blk/blu - reverse light switch (MK1 models)
22- wht/yel- foglights
D
1 - blu/blk- oil pressure switch (0.3 bar)
2 - blk - thermal switch for inlet manifold heater (carb models) or fusebox pin R/1 (digifant f/inj) or idle & WOT switches
\- blk/wht- idle overrun cut-off valve (carb models)
\- blk - knock sensor control unit pin 5
3 - wht/grn- fuel gauge sender or transmission switch/upshift indicator
7 - blk/yel- low coolant level switch unit pin 6/15, idle boost control unit pin 2/15 (K-Jet f/inj)
8 - wht/red- vacuum switch/upshift indicator
9 - grn/yel- windscreen wiper motor pin 53b
12- grn - windscreen wiper motor pin 53
13- vio/blk- thermal switch for carb heater, inlet manifold heater, auto choke & bypass cut-off valve (carb models)
\- red/yel- electronic ignition control unit pin 10 (16v) or digifant ECU pin 3 (digifant f/inj)
\- red/yel- knock sensor control unit pin 10 (16v)
15- wht/vio- resistance wire -> ignition coil pin 15
16- blk/red- reverse light switch (M/T) or starter/inhibitor & reverse light switch pin 15 (A/T) (MK2 models)
17- grn/blk- windscreen wiper motor pin 53e
19- blu/blk- reverse light switch or starter/inhibitor & reverse light switch pin R & diode (A/T) (MK2 models)
20- blk/gry- windscreen wiper motor pin 53a
21- yel - oil pressure switch (1.8 bar)
22- br - windscreen wiper motor pin 31, and spare connector behind fusebox or to earth 'claw' near fusebox
23- blk - ignition coil pin 15
24- red/blk- starter pin 50 (M/T) or starter/inhibitor & reverse light switch pin 50 (A/T)
26- red/blk- ignition coil pin 1 & idle control unit pin 1 (K-Jet f/inj), overrun cut-off valve (K-Jet f/inj)
29- yel/red- coolant temp sender
\- yel/blk- low coolant level switch unit pin B/G
E
1 - gry/grn- number plate lights
2 - grn/blk- rear wiper motor pin 53
3 - red - interior light & boot light
5 - vio/blk- fuel pump or fuel gauge sender pin G
6 - blk/wht- left rear indicator
7 - grn/red- windscreen washer pump pin 31 (rear pump on earlier models)
\- brn/blu- windscreen washer pump
8 - blk/gry- rear wiper motor pin 53a
9 - grn/blk- left rear light
10- grn/wht- rear foglight
11- blk/grn- rear right indicator
12- blk - reverse lights pin RF
13- grn - handbrake warning switch
14- red/wht- warm up regulator, aux air regulator & control pressure regulator (K-Jet f/inj)
\- red/yel- main & transfer fuel pumps
15- wht-wht/grn- rear window heater and heated mirror glass
16- blk/red- brake lights pin 54
18- grn/red- rear light bulb
G
1 - blk/yel- Electric mirror adjustment switch pin 5 & electric window relay pin 6/86
2 - blk - heated washer jets, spare plug behind fusebox & idle stabilser valve pin 2/15
3 - blk/yel- heated seat control units pin 17/15
9 - gry/grn- headlight washer relay pin 5/56
10- grn/red- headlight washer relay pin 4/5
H
1 - red/wht- radiator fan thermoswitch & A/C refrig. high pressure switch
2 - red/blk- A/C switch
3 - red - Battery +ve
4 - grn/yel- A/C thermostat
5 - yel/red- fresh air fan switch pin 4
6 - blk - fresh air fan
K
5 - brn/red- ignition switch pin S or SU (difficult to make out!)
L
1 - blk/yel- fusebox pin A/25
2 - brn/blk- fusebox pin B/25
3 - brn - earth location 16 or 81
4 - brn/blu- horn switch
P - red - battery +, ignition switch pin 30, electric window relay pin 87, headlight washer relay pin B/30 & f/injection relay pin 30 (K-Jet f/inj)
R
1 - blk - fusebox pin D/2 (digifant f/inj)
2 - blk/yel- digifant ECU pin 14 & fuel injectors (digifant f/inj)
Any more info ? Please post .
C
1 - blu/yel - Coolant temp switch - too cold
5 - brn - Windscreen wiper motor pin 31
6 - grn/blk - Windscreen wiper motor pin 53
7 - gry/red - Right sidelight
8 - yel - Right headlight pin 56b
9 - grn - Windscreen wiper motor pin 53e
11 - wht - Right headlight pin 56a
12 - blu/blk - Oil pressure switch
13 - blk/gry - Windscreen wiper motor pin 53a
15 - wht/lil - Series resistance for coil
16 - grn/yel - Windscreen wiper motor pin 53b
17 - grn/red - Windscreen washer motor
18 - blk/grn - Front right indicator
19 - blk? - Ignition Coil pin 1
D
1 - blu/red - Dash clocks plug T14/2 (Indicator warning light)
2 - blu - Dash clocks plug T14/10 (Battery warning light)
3 - Red - Headlight switch pin 30
5 - blk - Horn relay pin 86
7 - blk/wht - Headlight switch pin X
8 - blu/yel - Dash clocks plug T14/1 (Coolant temp guage - too cold)
9 - red/yel - Headlight flasher switch pin 30
10 - wht - flasher switch pin 56a
11 - brn - Earth
12 - wht - hazard switch pin 49
14 - red/gry - Dash clock, Cigarette lighter
15 - Red - Dash clocks plug T14/4 (Rev counter)
16 - wht/grn - Rear screen heater switch pin 86
17 - wht/blk - Headlight switch pin 56
18 - blu/blk - Dash clocks plug T14/11 (Oil pressure warning lamp)
19 - blk/red - Blower motor switch pin +
20 - blk/blu - Hazard switch pin 15
21 - red/wht - Hazard switch pin 30
22 - blu/wht - Dash clocks plug T14/3 (Main beam warning light)
E
1 - gry/blk - Headlight switch pin 58L
2 - blk - ignition switch pin 15
3 - blk/wht/grn - Hazard switch pin 49a
5 - gry/red - Headlight switch pin 58R
7 - grn/red - Jumpered to pin E20
8 - brn/blk - Wiper stalk pin J
9 - gry/grn - Headlight switch pin 58
10 - yel - Flasher switch pin 56b
11 - brn - Horn relay pin 87
12 - lil/blk - Dash clocks plug T14/8 (Fuel gauge)
13 - blk/yel - Heated rear screen switch pin +
15 - ? - Wiper stalk pin 53a
16 - grn/blk - Wiper stalk pin 53e
18 - grn - Wiper stalk pin 53
19 - blk/wht - Hazard switch pin L
20 - grn/red - Jumpered to pin E7, Wiper stalk pin T
21 - grn/yel - Wiper stalk pin 53b
22 - blk/grn - Hazard switch pin R
F
9 - gry/blk - Left rear light
10 - wht - heated rear screen
12 - lil/blk - Fuel guage sender
13 - gry/grn - Number plate lights
14 - red/grn - Interior light
15 - gry/red - Right rear light
16 - blk/grn - Rear right indicator
18 - blk - Reverse lights
19 - blk/wht - Rear left indicator
20 - blk/red - Brake lights
G
1 - red - jumpered to pin H
6 - red/blk - Radiator fan thermo switch
7 - blk/gry - Rear wiper relay pin 53a, rear wiper motor pin 53a