Contactor and relay

Main contactor of vehicles before serial number 3006

Vehicles with serial number 2000 were smaller with two contactors,

Vehicles between 2000 and 3006 with 4 contactors executed.

The contactors are to be seen here at the left upper contour at the engine compartment wall.

Error

Errors occurred, if the protective contacts became hot. The plastic cap became " rotten " cracked, and the contactor fell apart mechanically -

At work on these contactors one must watch out much and absolutely operate with two wrenches, so that no torque come on the contactor.

Main contactor of vehicles after serial number 3006

After serial number 3006 a double contactor combination was used. One contactor for forward and backwards. Each contactor has two normally open contacts available.

Error

Errors occur, if the protective contacts become hot. The contacts then do not close.

Causes for the heating up of the protective contacts can be:

• Nuts at the connections not correctly tightened! Fix them!
• The forward/reverse microswitch is defective, so that the contactor coil doesn't get full voltage.
• High current load of the contacts by uphill drives

The typical error is that el only drives backwards, since the forward contactor hangs. If you're not at the shop, try this trick -

• (disconnect battery)
• Connections A1 + a2 at the engine exchange
• the back-up light disconnect, by taking the links off at the micro switch at the advance switch
• Place the forward/reverse in reverse - and so forward drive!

By exchange of the links at the motoris reversed, thus drives one with the still functioning contactor.

I executed this repair on a friend's vehicle 8 minutes before a City-El rally (route de Ruhr) - he started on time, and so did I.

Repair

An exchange of the contactor is not necessarily needed here. As a dealer I would insert in any case new contactor to the customer, when working on your own vehicle there is a fix that is labor intensive, but cheap - the contactor can be repaired sometimes.

The following work is necessary for it.

• Batteries disconnect
• Batteries remove
• Control disk remove (socket-head cap screws from the trunk access) disk in such a way develop as in the picture evident above.
• Contactors do not remove - beforehand note carefully the connection - in such a way one a repair manual have (I.E. make yourself a little diagram -RRY). Also with work on these contactors one must watch out much and operate with two wrenches, so that you don't stress the contactor connections.
• Only the forward contactor (yellow-brown) cable is probably defective.
• The contactor from its brother (backwards) loosen.
• The cap of the contactor remove by unscrewing the fasteners.

• At the pull magnet, the white plastic post has made itself " thick " (red arrow).
• This plastic part can be made again slimmer, carefully measuring as you go, so that the mechanics are again usual. Compare possibly with the reverse contactor.
• Put everything together again together and go.

As a dealer, the danger exists that the contactor hangs times again and the customer expresses then appropriate displeasure. Unfortunately the contactor combination is supplied only as complete part (Clarification: you can only buy both contactors together as one assembly - RRY). The contactors are also not identical (mounting holes), so that one must somewhat cheat in order to insert a reverse contactor as a forward contactor.

Precaution measures

It is advisable on all vehicles after 3006 to drill the holes in the black plastic cover over the contactor to increase the heat dissipation (before drilling remove the cover) to diminish or remove the cover completely.