70sgeek

Anyone using a relay upgrade/conversion for their power ragtop that takes the load off the switch (and/or the 30amp fusebox relay)?

For the first time ever since I've owned my '72 Cutlass, the 30 amp top switch relay tripped while I was bumping the top forward to latch it closed. It was fine later in the day and all is currently well, but got me thinking about ways to lower the drain.

Switch and its wiring harness are newer, as is the dash harness. I haven't yet replaced the intermediate or rear harnesses though. top pump also new.

This topic may have been covered within the forum before but I couldn't find anything specific on it.

thanks

scott

joe_padavano

I assume you mean that the circuit breaker tripped, not the relay. This can be caused by numerous problems, many unrelated to the switch or wiring. For example, do the pivots need to be lubricated? Was the temp cold and the top stiff? Is the fluid level correct? Is the motor in good shape?

People always want to add relays. The reality is that the switch and wiring is sized for the load. The 30A breaker is there to protect the wiring and motor. Even if you add a relay, you can't increase the amperage of the breaker unless you completely change the wiring and pump motor. Another relay just adds a failure mode. Figure out why you have a problem, don't band aid it.

Dave26

It seems that you also found out that the 30 amp breaker takes a while to "reset". I keep a spare in my glove box just in case I get caught in the rain. My vert is a power window car, this is also the breaker for the windows.

70sgeek

I definitely agree with the 'less is more' approach as to not wanting to add more potential points of failure - top pivots are all in smooth working order and I do grease them periodically. I think in this case I just laid on the button a bit too much in the FL heat yesterday and tripped the breaker.

I still have the original GM breaker in my glove box which was also working when I recently replaced the dash harness - in keeping with the other new fuses I installed, I simply chose to add a new one as well - I'll leave all as is for now barring any further issue

thanks for the good advice!