Need to find a power relay replacement

Hi and thanks for using 2CarPros.

The part is no longer available (discontinued). I believe Wells 20449 is a replacement for it, but you must confirm it.

Let me know if this helps.

Joe

The first problem is the part number is that assigned by the manufacturer of the relay. That is not an Acura part number. Here is what I found for the "head light" relay:

Alternate/OEM Part Number(s): 0567006480, 0567007141, 0587000931, 0587001730, 3962021620, 3962021630, 39792SE0001, 39792SE0003, 39792SE0004, 39792SL4003, 39792SM1A01, 39792SM1A04, 39792SM4003, 39792SM4004, 39792SM4013, 39792SP0004, 39792SP0014, 39795SE0003, 39795SE0004, 88053GA030, 9523033001, G4R1A21T9H, G4R1A21TH22, G4RH49, H38061690A, MB543175, MB627029, MB629285, MD113633, RY235

If your relay looks like the one in these photos, you will find it on the Rock Auto web site. If this is another wrong part, there is another solution. This is listed as the "head light relay", which your car does use, not the "low-beam cutout relay", which it also uses. In well over 99 percent of applications, a relay's switching contacts turn on when the coil is energized. Yours is one of the very few that turn off when the coil is energized. As far as electrical operation, this relay is nothing special. The manufacturer just decided to use an unusual relay. Any generic relay with a high enough current rating can do the job. A good choice is the 1"-cube relay found in just about every Chrysler product for the past twenty years. They are easy to find in any salvage yard. I can help you improvise four short jumper wires to connect four of the relay's five terminals to the four terminals in the socket. You will still have to figure out where there is room for it, or you can mount it outside the relay box. This relay uses the two terminals for the contacts in the normal manner, but that fifth terminal is the one you would use to allow it to work like your original one does.

The biggest problem is the original relay is very likely not the cause of this problem. A relay cannot cause itself to buzz or vibrate. That is caused by the switch or computer module that is running that relay. A relay's contacts can become arced and pitted, or corroded, but that would cause what it controls to turn on and off randomly. Those contacts themselves stay turned on steady, and do not vibrate. The electromagnetic coil that pulls the contacts on can have a broken wire. That renders the relay totally dead, and that is almost always a permanent failure. It is very rare for that relay to work intermittently. If the relay is not a sealed unit, the cover can be popped off, then the contacts are usually accessible so they can be cleaned with fine sandpaper.

The head light switch seems to not be a good suspect for this problem because you would observe the head lights switching intermittently from "on" to daytime running lights. Since the lights go off completely, it sounds like the computer is turning the low beam relay off. A better way to say it is the computer is failing to turn that relay on when it is supposed to. When intending to turn the low-beam relay on, it deactivates the daytime feature. It should not turn both circuits off at the same time. Since that is what is happening, my suspicion is there is a bad solder connection inside the computer, or a switching transistor is failing intermittently. Start by inspecting the connector terminals for signs of corrosion, or if any are darkened from overheating.

Also, there is one ground wire shown for the computer. The computer is listed as being "behind the left side of the rear seat", so salt and corrosion really should not be a problem, but check that ground wire anyway. It is a black wire, shown as # 7 in the plug. It is attached to the body "below the left rear side trim". Loose, rusty, and corroded ground terminals cause a lot of problems in all kinds of circuits, so be sure to check or tighten that.

Hi JACOBANDNICKOLAS. Happy Thanksgiving to you!