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Replacing problematic relays

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127K views 215 replies 72 participants last post by  chris.t  
#1 · (Edited)
There are several threads about various issues caused by relays so will try to put helpful info here.

What I have gathered (please point out any errors):
Some problematic relays are located on a mounted wire harness containing 3 banks behind the passenger headlight:


passenger wheel well ------- |(10a)[R1C][R2C]| ------- |(20a)[R1B][R2B]| -------- |(20a)[R1A][R2A]| -------- radiator

R1C - Horn (not urgent to replace unless horn is broken)
R2C- ASD - Auto ShutDown relay (may cause stalling and non-start conditions?) (will crank but not start without it)

R1B - Water Pump (might be responsible for sluggish acceleration from high post intercooler temps)
R2B - Blow by Control

R1A - A/C clutch (may replace if noticing A/C not performing properly?)
R2A - starter relay (infamous for start/stop and non-start issues) (will not crank without it)

*note (some report the two 20a fuse banks are switched in some cars. The pump relay is on the bank with white/violet cables?)
number designations R1A, R2A...etc are taken from beta romeo's diagram below

R1A and R2A are reachable from the top. The others may require access through the removable panel in the wheel well or removing part of the wheel well if you don't have the access panel.

The original relay is part 06106093AA and costs around $8.
That was later replaced by 06106094AA that costs around $40.
But as of 2023, it seems the official part that is being supplied is 06106093AA again.

I believe the heated seats and defrosters use the same relays, but located in the trunk. Have we seen a lot of those fail, or are the starter and pump relays just being stressed more? I don't see any harm in letting the heated seats and defroster relays fail before replacing.

thanks to @Beta Romeo and others in threads like this one for enlightening us:

update 12/24:
diagram found by alfan with cord colors:
 
#43 · (Edited)
I decided to take some physical measurements of the relay contacts...

Examples of measurements. I did not take terminal height measurements.
Image
Image


Original OEM (OE 1, from car):
Coil terminals: 4.79mm x .80mm
Switched terminal: 6.32mm x .80mm

Updated OEM (OE 2):
Coil terminals: 4.79mm x .76mm
Switched terminal: 6.30mm x .75mm

GM:
Coil terminals: 4.73mm x .79mm
Switched terminal: 6.31mm x .79mm

Panasonic:
Coil terminals: 4.79mm x .81mm
Switched terminal: 6.28mm x .81mm

Image


Image


Image


*updated with pics
 
#44 ·
@JeFizz, perhaps you could remove the covers and compare, and post images, of the innards.
 
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#45 ·
Yep, when I get some time, I'll pull apart the passenger front wheel well and yank that harness and all of that out so I can get to the wiring. In my car, the closest one to the engine is the starter relay, I believe. I pulled it, and the car would not crank over. Pulling the second one had no effect on starting the engine. Due to space constraints pulling them from the top, I could only get to those two relays. I'll dig in more and get some wire colors and whatnot.
 
owns 2018 Alfa Romeo Giulia Ti Sport Q4
#46 ·
@JeFizz , I mean pull the plastic caps off the relays themselves to see what the inside of the relays (the contact points) look like.
 
#47 ·
oh, well, the OEM has already been seen, but I can yank all apart except for the Panasonic one due to its potting.
 
owns 2018 Alfa Romeo Giulia Ti Sport Q4
#48 ·
oh, well, the OEM has already been seen, but I can yank all apart except for the Panasonic one due to its potting.
Post #43 updated with pics.
 
owns 2018 Alfa Romeo Giulia Ti Sport Q4
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#49 ·
Not sure if my turbo O ring going bad has anything to do with any of these relays but I just now swapped out the R1B

Noticed a different part number on my OEM one
 

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#50 ·
My testimony:

After a lot of searching here, I bought the GM relay because it was the fastest delivery.

I installed it on the 24th of September, without major problems because the information here on the forum is very accurate.

All good.

Today I have the error code P-2510 which, apparently, has a connection with the starter relay.

My question is: if this could have been caused by a different amperage because the original relay is 30amp and the GM 35?
 
#51 ·
No, that rating is the amperage that the relay can handle.
 
owns 2018 Alfa Romeo Giulia Ti Sport Q4
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#52 ·
To add some more confusion, I placed an order from the mopar estore for an updated 06106094AA relay and a few of the 06106093AA since they were 1/6th the price to have a few spares ($6 vs $35). The dealer contacted me and told me the opposite that 094AA was superseded by 093AA and I could only order 093AA so I did. I received them and they are the same omron ones that came with the car, each in a "genuine part" box with the official italy label, but with a date code of 2019. I saw a pic above of the 06106094AA made in 2018, so they must have made both for a while. I wonder if the "superseded" status varies by vehicle and both are still being supplied. I was expecting to hear the opposite that 093AA wasn't available anymore and could only get 094AA.
 
#53 ·
Just had the dying starter relay issue happen on a long distance trip in my wife's Giulia (~67000 miles). I was prepared for this and had bought a replacement relay from Alfissimo over a year ago to keep on hand... but that doesn't do you any good when you keep it in your nice warm well equiped home workshop 3 states away from where you currently are.

So I tracked down the NAPA AR6034 at a NAPA store in the eastern shore of Maryland on Sunday. I installed the NAPA relay on Monday morning. If you are willing to sacrifice comfort, skin and blood, then you can manage to get to the relay cover and relay through the narrow triangular opening in the engine bay. I'm a pretty decent sized guy, and I had 1/4" deep impressions, in addition to missing skin and blood, left in my forearms from squeezing both of my arms into that opening a good hour after I had completed the relay swap. I did end up having to pull the passenger wheel and partially undoing the inner fender liner, just enough to reach my hand in and pick up both the relay cover and relay that I dropped during my first attempt at cover removal and relay insertion.

So NAPA AR6034 works fine, although I was a bit skeptical because no one has mentioned the amp rating on this relay and the box/relay also doesn't have it printed anywhere either. Two of the terminals on the NAPA unit were copper plated, so that's at least a good sign they didn't skimp on quality.

OE Alfa spare going into the glove box now, so it rides around with the car.
 
#83 ·
Just had the dying starter relay issue happen on a long distance trip in my wife's Giulia (~67000 miles). I was prepared for this and had bought a replacement relay from Alfissimo over a year ago to keep on hand... but that doesn't do you any good when you keep it in your nice warm well equiped home workshop 3 states away from where you currently are.

So I tracked down the NAPA AR6034 at a NAPA store in the eastern shore of Maryland on Sunday. I installed the NAPA relay on Monday morning. If you are willing to sacrifice comfort, skin and blood, then you can manage to get to the relay cover and relay through the narrow triangular opening in the engine bay. I'm a pretty decent sized guy, and I had 1/4" deep impressions, in addition to missing skin and blood, left in my forearms from squeezing both of my arms into that opening a good hour after I had completed the relay swap. I did end up having to pull the passenger wheel and partially undoing the inner fender liner, just enough to reach my hand in and pick up both the relay cover and relay that I dropped during my first attempt at cover removal and relay insertion.

So NAPA AR6034 works fine, although I was a bit skeptical because no one has mentioned the amp rating on this relay and the box/relay also doesn't have it printed anywhere either. Two of the terminals on the NAPA unit were copper plated, so that's at least a good sign they didn't skimp on quality.

OE Alfa spare going into the glove box now, so it rides around with the car.
Has the NAPA AR6034 held up well?

Thanks!
 
#56 ·
Sometimes you just need to remove and reseat the starter relay to allow it to start again if you are stranded without a spare. Be sure to disable start/stop though.
It is possible to unclick and remove the cover with 1 hand (after practice :LOL: ), but yes need to be careful with the cap or relay on the way up. Easy to bump and drop.
 
#57 ·
Just wanted to say thank you to all those who posted info on this thread about the relays, how to change them and alternative part numbers. I replaced all 5 of mine with the sealed Panasonic ones and they work well. It didn't resolve my error codes but I can confirm that the ones listed above work and the price is right from Mouser $4.78 each. I do wonder whether the fact that they are shorter means the outer water resistant cap won't hold them down but they seem to be held securely by their connectors.
 
#58 ·
1st post here, but been lurking for a while. After seeing the posts here, I’ve had the intercooler water pump fault code come up twice in about 2 weeks - clearing these with MES. Am I correct in thinking that if my water pump wasn’t working this would be an issue that would happen all the time and not just sporadically?
I’ve just replaced all (5) relays within the wheel arch mentioned here, so hoping this will sort it?
I’m also having the heated rear window relay fault code come up too on a few occasions, which I have the relay for, just got to get round to it.
What are the other relays in the wheel arch that I have replaced by the way?
The ones in place were the old mopar type and I’ve replaced with the new mopar type.
Car is a 2017 Veloce 280 U.K. right hand drive car.
Thanks for all who have posted here, helped me enormously - well, hopefully!
 
#59 ·
Been lurking here too for some time.
Think we are all got the same issue's sooner or later.

Replaced all the 10 relays in my Giulia today.
Mine is 2.0t 200hp 2017-02

Was a bit confusing, didnt have the relay "tree" as posted here, but a relay box.
What i can find online is that the factory put a Stelvio relay box in my car 😁.

Not surprised, been doing Alfa's since the 75's i owned.

But it can be helpfull. Dont think im the only one.
 

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#63 ·
Hello,
Did anyone get some info about blow by control relay?
I am wondering what that is, because if all other relays are failing occasionally, this one is probably also affected, but what does it control?

For other relays we get real problems:
ASD - no power to ECU, car shutdowns
Starter relay - no crank
Intercooler water pump - fault code in ecu memory or high intake air temperature if pump not running for longer time
Horn - probably never fails :D
AC clutch relay - problems with air conditioning or noises from AC clutch after powering engine off
 
#64 ·
So after some more searching I found that this relay is controling the blow by heater. This is a heater that should prevent oil vapors from freezing when outside temperature is very low. It is probably very rarely activated. There is also control wire going back to engine ECU so if this relay ever failed there would probably be fault code stored.

Based on this, blow by heater control relay is really not so important and probably also never fails.
 
#69 ·
I added another thread to this discussion where I posted the wiring diagram for the "coolant pump - charge air cooler" relay.
 
#70 ·
I added another thread to this discussion where I posted the wiring diagram for the "coolant pump - charge air cooler" relay.
I believe this is one of the four I replaced. I’ve seen many posts saying the purple and white wire one was a top change.
 
#71 ·
I just ordered a set of the Panasonic relays from Digikey. $4.06 each, versus GM for $7.53 and Mopar for $41 (!). Hopefully not a mistake going with the cheapest part.

I wonder if these relays will fit my Case backhoe as well. It has an incredible number of electrical gremlins and is essentially stuck in 1st with no ability to use the manual (electrically operated) clutch.
 
#79 ·
Original GM 96484304 on rockauto for $7.27 each have been working great for me.