Just called Napa Auto Parts in Langley - Main Relay $104 Canadian

Discussion in 'General Motoring' started by Rick, Aug 18, 2005.

  1. Rick

    Rick Guest

    Does this sound right? He seems familiar with it and said he does get
    a lot of requests for them. I've concluded that my main relay has a
    dried out solder as it wont start if interior it hot until it cools
    down. I had read that these things only cost $5 or $10!

    something wrong here?

    thanks
     
    Rick, Aug 18, 2005
    #1
  2. You've read wrong before.
    They're easy enough to fix if you can solder.
     
    Steve Bigelow, Aug 18, 2005
    #2
  3. Rick

    Rick Guest

    thanks for the reply. I will get my dad's old soldering iron out.
    thanks for your help.
     
    Rick, Aug 18, 2005
    #3
  4. Rick

    Elle Guest

    It's about $44 + maybe $10 s/h at Majestic online for a 91 Civic (under
    "Fuse Box-Relay-Horn"). I guess that's around $60 Canadian.

    I would not have confidence whatever NAPA is selling is OEM.

    You can google this group, and there are many reports about the ease and
    success of soldering it yourself. Plenty of other reports of people just
    buying the replacement and installing it...
     
    Elle, Aug 18, 2005
    #4
  5. Rick

    Elle Guest

    Your link is to a non-OEM parts dealer. He says at Ebay that the parts he
    sells are AutoZone or PepBoys quality. Fuggetabouthim for a main relay.

    Check it out: At the moment Ebay has no, new OEM relays for a 1991 Civic. I
    see one used one, but I wouldn't waste money on a used one.
     
    Elle, Aug 19, 2005
    #5
  6. Rick

    TeGGeR® Guest

    NO WAY, Rick. This is NOT a simple generic Bosch relay


    That's about right. And that price is available at ANY Canadian Honda
    dealer.

    There may be exceptions, though. I've seen reports that relays for older
    Legends are more than that.


    HIGHLY unlikely. However, if the relay says "Mitsuba" on it, it's almost
    certainly OEM.
     
    TeGGeR®, Aug 19, 2005
    #6
  7. Rick

    John Guest

    Main Relay for a 91 Civic: $26.79USD... Convert that to Canadian and there
    you have it.

    Check out:
    http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1,1&item=7993027
    926&sspagename=STRK%3AMESE%3AIT
     
    John, Aug 19, 2005
    #7
  8. Rick

    John Guest

    Some of the parts are OEM. There are a few companies for each part and some
    have HONDA OEM part in the company name. For the main relay it doesn't say
    so though. That doesn't mean that the OEM part that Honda uses wasn't made
    by the company that sells the main relay for $26.79.

    It's a main relay for 91 civic non the less. OEM doesn't mean that it's the
    best for the job. It simply means that it's the original part that Honda
    used.

    If I were you, I would try and fix the main relay first. If that doesn't
    work, try the website I provided (you can get other parts with great
    discounts as well). Or try this:
    http://search.ebay.com/civic-main-relay_W0QQfkrZ1QQfromZR8

    My 2 cents.

    Good luck!
     
    John, Aug 19, 2005
    #8
  9. Rick

    Elle Guest

    For the main relay, it happens to be easy to check.
    I'd say at least nine times out of ten it does. In some cases, the
    difference is significant.

    Whether the cost justifies the OEM part is another story.
     
    Elle, Aug 19, 2005
    #9
  10. Rick

    Rick Guest


    Ok, due to cost I did this myself. It was hard to get at. There was
    a plastic tie holding the wires to part of the inside of the dash. I
    broke the tie and was able to maneuver the box out from behind the
    dash. I unplugged it and inspected the solders. They all looked fine
    even under a magnifying glass. I have spoken to many people and done
    thorough research so I'm 99% sure this was the problem. I decided to
    simply reheat all the solders. This may cause problems in the future
    but it seems to have fixed the immediate problem. I left my car in
    the sun with windows up till this afternoon when I just went out to
    try it. It was very hot inside and normally wouldn't have started but
    it started no problem. I'll be more certain it's 100% after some more
    use.

    Thanks to everyone here and this website,
    http://techauto.tripod.com/mainrelay.htm
     
    Rick, Aug 20, 2005
    #10
  11. Rick

    John Guest

    I would resolder all the solder points anyway. I did this on mine even
    though it "looked" good and there are no more starting problems. Before it
    would have trouble starting 50% of the time when the car dies while in
    movement. Not anymore.

    Good luck!
     
    John, Aug 21, 2005
    #11
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