Relays, Relays

Ok, now im really testing you.

Im pretty sure my headlight relay is shot on my 72 Lincoln, or we can call it a ford wagon if that makes everyone better at ease!

Anyway, i cant find one. So im checking to see if anyone has a good source for old styel Relays, or a really good NOS parts source?

 

any good parts place should have something...they used basically the same ones for years

 

well, i thought the same thing. but no one seems to have it. If i cant find one, i have an out. While searching i dialed a number to company thats no longer in business, no one answered, but a guy called me back. Happens he is in a similar business to relays, but with circuit boards. We talked about 20 mins, he must have been bored yesterday... anyway he said if i didnt have any luck finding a relay to mail it to him and he would clean it and send it back... he said thats what they do when they repair circuit boards and cant obtain new relays for them, they just clean them.....how 'bout that?

id rather have a new one though... None of the Ford dealers can get it, and its got a little mounting bracket on it, which im sure is the deal breaker. im thinking about taking it around to some of the local parts houses to see if they have a similar one, then use my housing on the new relay. but if anyone knows where i can find the right relay... let us know

 

Andy and I found a bunch around a junked Ford Van (like a Dodge Caravan body) like new, Bosch type relays, by Ford. Same wiring configuration. They seem to come with about 9 of them, under a dash-mounterd panel, near the console. Different amperages too (20, 30 and 40 amps).

Make sure you've got good grounds. I did mine (4 places) and my halogens run BRIGHT, with no relays. Even on lowbeam, guys are flashing me to dim down. The relay is better because it takes the strain off the Light Switch.

 

Wow they used headlight relays back in '72?

 

Didn't they have the power doors on them or were they vacuum headlight covers? Probably vacuum...

 

Well. You see, when you have dumbasses (being me) in charge of these threads you have wrong information.

I was just informed that this is called an " Auto-Dim Relay"

Just GREAT. That will make it even HARDER to find.

 

You got a part number?

Try this NOS site. The guy has the list in PDF files, so right click and Save Target As... , then open them. It could be in the Lighting catalog, or the 14000-14999 relays catalog:

http://www.spacecoastshelby.com/nos.html

 

Ooo! Expensive little puppies:
http://www.classiquecars.com/thunderbirdelectrical.htm

 

Hell.

This is the most aggravating car. Its beautiful, but a real pain in the rump. If my Grandmother hadnt loved this car soooo much, it would have gone the way of the little 90 Riviera.

 

Double ooops! This is the Lincoln page, and its in the Costa-lotta range:
http://www.classiquecars.com/lincolnelectrical.htm

It looks like 1970 to 1972 are the same too.

What's not clear on their site is whether the Auto dim relays work across more years or models. If you can find the central 5-digit part number (Shop manual or Dealer) then we can drill down and find out if they were used for more than 3 years and on what over luxury models. Ford was known for interchangeability back then. TBirds, Cougars, Colony Parks, Country Sedans. They all came with hideaway headlights and bigger electrical demands.

Yours is a 1972, but the relay might come from a 1969, and be similar (technically) to up to 1984. The core number after the year chunk D2AB or C9ZZ, is probably a 13000 number. Could be a 14000 number, but Lighting was a 13000-13999 range.


Ok, In my shop manual the core number is 13A025. Its a metal case with 4 prongs - 2 are farther apart on a long side, and the other 2 are closer on the other side. That relay is mounted on the LH side of the steering column.

This is for a 1969 Mercury, and sends you to Dennis Carpenter:
http://www.parts123.com/index/google/0000024o/moreinfo-0000024o-AAVCI-C8VY-13A025-A.htm

Its a 17 MB PDF and lists it for a 1969 Mercury - No picture though.
http://www.dennis-carpenter.com/

From page 56. 68-69 Mercury C8VY-13A025-A Auto Headlight Dimmer Relay $35.00 ea.

So your number would be something like D0VY-13A025-??.

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According to my 1979 Shop manual, these parts work indefinitely (Solid state circuitry) According to my car, all my relays are original and still work, even the door and belt buzzers.

Here's how it looks in a 1979 Lincoln or Mark V:

 

its the same relay i have. but mine has 5 prongs, if you look close on that picture youll see the 5th, it blends in with the support that its screwed to. Ill check out those sites for sure, esp the one that says $35

Dayum Norm. THATS the one i need C8vy-13a025-a I just read that in an email from a guy at a Little Ford Place near me. He cant get the part though
Im going to call them soon as the sun comes up here in SC to make sure its the same one used in 72.

You amaze me Norm with the speed in which you find these links. Maybe I just dont know how to search the web, but i never come up with the goodies you seem to find. And to think, it took you all the way in Canada to find Dennis Carpenter Ford who is 2 hours up the road from me......

and i think the first 4 digits are the level, meaning some tiny little change was made to the part, not really the date. where i work we store some Econoline floor pans, and the first 4 digits havent changed in almost 4 years. 9c24-

i cant wait to call them........

 

There's nothing unusual about a 5-prong relay.
Perhaps any old generic will work, as long as it's the right specs.

 

Jase, there's a few needles in my own haystack that I can't find either. Hope it works out.