Hi all,
I have a 97' Targa with a fuel pump relay problem. The relay began to click after 2 months of not driving the car.
Sometimes it'll be an occasional click every minute or so, or at times when it gets severe it will sound like a type writer right behind the driver seat.
When I removed the rear bulkhead trim, I traced the sound to the fuel pump relay. I can also feel the relay vibrate when it clicks so the sound must be coming from there.
I've noticed there's an identical Denso relay, behind the passenger seat, looking at the service manual it says it is the "Throttle Valve Control Motor Relay" and the part number are identical. So I did an experiment by swapping the two relays and no matter which relay I plug into the wire connector, the relay will start to click when paired with the fuel pump connector.
I then checked my car's battery and it is an Optima Redtop. After charging it for half a day the battery is showing a healthy 12.5V , dipping to 11V when I start the car as my friend checked the voltage.
The last test we've done is to test the voltage coming out from the wire connector, and as predicted it is not giving a stable 12V. It is only giving 3 - 4V and will fluctuate to 0V at times, which I suspect is the cause for the relay to click repeatedly due to insufficient voltage.
However, the car drives fine and there's no drop in power or stalls. I'm just annoyed at the fact that the cabin will have this noise as I drive.
Is there anyway to fix this problem? I've tried to disconnect the relay to see if the car will start and the engine will start briefly and then stall out.
Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated as I am not too good with electrical issues.
Thank you!
I have a 97' Targa with a fuel pump relay problem. The relay began to click after 2 months of not driving the car.
Sometimes it'll be an occasional click every minute or so, or at times when it gets severe it will sound like a type writer right behind the driver seat.
When I removed the rear bulkhead trim, I traced the sound to the fuel pump relay. I can also feel the relay vibrate when it clicks so the sound must be coming from there.
I've noticed there's an identical Denso relay, behind the passenger seat, looking at the service manual it says it is the "Throttle Valve Control Motor Relay" and the part number are identical. So I did an experiment by swapping the two relays and no matter which relay I plug into the wire connector, the relay will start to click when paired with the fuel pump connector.
I then checked my car's battery and it is an Optima Redtop. After charging it for half a day the battery is showing a healthy 12.5V , dipping to 11V when I start the car as my friend checked the voltage.
The last test we've done is to test the voltage coming out from the wire connector, and as predicted it is not giving a stable 12V. It is only giving 3 - 4V and will fluctuate to 0V at times, which I suspect is the cause for the relay to click repeatedly due to insufficient voltage.
However, the car drives fine and there's no drop in power or stalls. I'm just annoyed at the fact that the cabin will have this noise as I drive.
Is there anyway to fix this problem? I've tried to disconnect the relay to see if the car will start and the engine will start briefly and then stall out.
Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated as I am not too good with electrical issues.
Thank you!