Mystery relay falls out while driving; car and occupants OK

[Huw Powell]

> 1987 Audi Coupe GT.
> 
> Well, the little Audi served up another surprise for me tonight.
> 
> I was driving home (about a 100 mile trip) from my parents' house
> tonight, and as I was driving I heard something fall behind the
> dashboard in front of me. Nothing stopped working, and everything
> seemed normal.
> 
> 
> At the next town (with only one stoplight), I felt something fall out
> onto my feet and roll onto the floor. I reached down and picked up...
> 
> 
> a relay...
> 
> 
> It's rectangular, says 236 on the top

> 443 955 532A

> What exactly is this?

Radiator after run relay.

> Is it important?

Marginally.  It probably wasn't even installed, to fall out like that. 
Might have been a spare, or dead (always ran?) and removed.

> Where does it go? What does it do?

There's a little sensor at the rear of your car's head that feeds that 
relay, it runs the fan when the key is off if the sender tells it to.

Again, I'd wager the relay or sender is bad and the PO removed it.

I goes somewhere in the aux relay panel behind the driver's knee panel, 
I believe.  If you live in the northern hemisphere you have a few months 
to figure it out before it could even matter at all.  Except a few 
places, like Death Valley, I suppose.

-- 
Huw Powell

http://www.humanspeakers.com/audi

http://www.humanthoughts.org/