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  View original topic: Power Locks and Fuses
mrbawkbachgawk Mon Mar 01, 2021 9:26 am

I washed my van yesterday and then noticed my power locks no longer working. I usually hear the motor unlock all doors when I use the key but nothing now. I've done some research and it could be the actuator, however, I would also like to note that when I was driving it I smelt something odd. I feel like it might have been a fuse as it smelt similar to when I burnt one before. I opened up the fuse box and noticed that the 24 cover was loose and fell out. I also noticed that the wiring looks to have melted which doesn't seem normal? I've included a photo of the copper wiring with what looks to be melted wiring but I'm not sure. Any advice is much appreciated. Thank you.



DuncanS Mon Mar 01, 2021 9:42 am

Pretty sure that's the power window relay. There is no relay for the locking system. The red fuse to the right of the coverless window relay is the door locking fuse.

What year is your van?

mrbawkbachgawk Mon Mar 01, 2021 9:48 am

DuncanS wrote: Pretty sure that's the power window relay. There is no relay for the locking system. The red fuse to the right of the coverless window relay is the door locking fuse.

What year is your van?

The van is a 1989 Westy GL. I believe I checked that red fuse you are referring to and it looked good. Perhaps I should check it again. Thank you for the response.

Ronzo_volvo_guy Mon Mar 01, 2021 11:05 am

Mr.B;

Bentley says on 97.163, for '89, Relay 23 /Fuse S52 20A are for Central Locking...if you see burned wires, that is always a good place to start...see if you can determine what current path is from color codes and wiring diagram...

Relay 24 is for elec windows, and if the can is plastic and it popped off the relay, there is little to worry about...I'd pull relay, to inspect, and if nothing unusual is found, simply pop the cover back on (it disassembling itself sounds absolutely Lucas!...if you confirm it is a Lucas relay, I highly recommend you remove it, after telling the van you're sorry for having it be in there, and replace with a Bosch relay as soon as possible!)

Good Hunting!

mrbawkbachgawk Mon Mar 01, 2021 12:00 pm

Ronzo_volvo_guy wrote: Mr.B;

Bentley says on 97.163, for '89, Relay 23 /Fuse S52 20A are for Central Locking...if you see burned wires, that is always a good place to start...see if you can determine what current path is from color codes and wiring diagram...

Relay 24 is for elec windows, and if the can is plastic and it popped off the relay, there is little to worry about...I'd pull relay, to inspect, and if nothing unusual is found, simply pop the cover back on (it disassembling itself sounds absolutely Lucas!...if you confirm it is a Lucas relay, I highly recommend you remove it, after telling the van you're sorry for having it be in there, and replace with a Bosch relay as soon as possible!)

Good Hunting!

Thank you. I don't see a 23 on my fusebox which seems odd to me, I've been searching around the Bentley to see if there is a different fuse layout for a syncro but no luck. I also have no idea why I have numbers like "53" and "43" in the place where there should be single digit numbers. Thanks for the advice on the relay, I will check the manufacturer and tell the van I am truly sorry. Thanks!

mrbawkbachgawk Sat Mar 06, 2021 9:31 am

I was reading another thread and someone mentioned that Relay 24 is for the power locks, they also could not find this layout in the Bentley which is weird. Anyways, I still find it odd that I smelt something similar to burnt fuse while driving last and that the cover of relay 24 came off. I can't find an image of a similar relay under the cover to see if this bulge in the wire is normal but it looks out of place. I'm wondering if that bulge happened as it got to hot and burnt the wire. Please see image for a up close view. Thanks.


Ronzo_volvo_guy Sun Mar 07, 2021 8:15 am

Mr. B;

In studying the Bentley book for my son's '87 Westfalia, I've also noticed that it is arranged not strictly by year or model as much as it is (sub)arranged by subsystem or accessory, so finding a particular section for your own vehicle's configuration can take some looking...I suggest you look some more...and not just under your vehicle's year... We just restored operation of Power Windows...Owner's Man said Fuse 12, but some fuse at the top of fuse panel was blown and when replaced they started working again...and the wiring diagram had some other number given...??

On your Relay, it looks like that bulge is from the insulative wire lacquer...they might have applied additional lacquer after the coil was wound to lock it in place (although I'm not sure why they would do that on a DC relay...its just not necessary...on a relay destined for AC service, they might do that to prevent buzzing).

That Relay does not look overheated which melted the lacquer and caused it to puddle...that would take serious heating end result in discoloration, which is not evident...but I do suggest you do a smell test to confirm (there's no mistaking burnt electronics smell!). ...so it does not look like the relay is compromised, but I'd also inspect working contact for erosion/carbonation. If it doesn't smell burnt, and contacts look reasonable, I see no reason not to reinstall it for service. You could even check it for operation by connecting 12V to coil...there's very little rocket since (if any) at work...

Cheers



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