When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Hi all: I am trying to identify a relay (?) which is located under the hood on the drivers side. I have a 1971 cutlass supreme convertible.
it is halfway between the batter and the firewall and is bolted to the upper fender, has a number of wires going to it.
I think it has something to do with ignition but I am not sure.
Any help would be appreciated.
Hi all: I am trying to identify a relay (?) which is located under the hood on the drivers side. I have a 1971 cutlass supreme convertible.
it is halfway between the batter and the firewall and is bolted to the upper fender, has a number of wires going to it.
I think it has something to do with ignition but I am not sure.
Any help would be appreciated.
If that's the one on your car that you're asking about, it's the horn relay and main power junction block.
A lead runs from battery (+) terminal to the junction block post and is the main power feed to the car. If you don't have the 1971 factory Olds Chassis Service Manual get one as well as 1971 Fisher Body Manual. CSM has color wiring diagrams and details how the wires go on the j/b post. The FBM has convertible top service info. Money well spent.
Should probably add that, in that picture, there's a whole lot of added wiring. Don't use it as a model for how yours should look. Looks scary to me, but my wiring repair standards are higher than most peoples'.
Last edited by rocketraider; Jun 21, 2021 at 11:21 AM.
That is the horn relay. The terminal with all the wires going to it, having that black plastic disk cover, is also a power distribution block. It receives power from the battery via a fusible link wire. That's the wire with a splice inside that molded cylinder, evident in the photo.
If you can find an American-made NOS or NORS part, go that way. GM Delco-Remy, Standard Motor Parts, NAPA Echlin, Niehoff, Filko are all good parts and likely to work and last better than new production from anywhere.
If you can find an American-made NOS or NORS part, go that way. GM Delco-Remy, Standard Motor Parts, NAPA Echlin, Niehoff, Filko are all good parts and likely to work and last better than new production from anywhere.
Delco parts are not US-made any longer. Most of the others you mentioned are also imported now. Craig at Mobileparts may have NORS versions.
As has already been mentioned regarding the purchase of a CSM manual (at a minimum), which will contain a colored wiring diagram, here are several images of my 1971 CS convertible (Power) Distribution Junction Block & Horn Relay. You need to identify all those wires in your labyrinth (crow's nest wiring), trace them, identify them & remove obsolete wires (they're a fire hazard and electrical nuisance).
