Does anybody know which systems on an 80 camino have relays? I had a bad fire(don't think it was electrical) and don't want another!

Hmmm...the horn has a relay, the blower motor had a high speed relay, the turn signals use a relay, the emergency flashers use a relay. I can't think of any more relays than that in an 80 El Camino.

Hmmmm maybe I better bring a pro in for this. lol Or get a close look at somebodys ride with the same options as mine. Thanx for your reply.

Power door lock relay, power antenna relay...among others. What specifically are you looking for, and how does the relay inquiry figure into a fire?

Ok first things first. The only power I have is flicking the remote on my couch to whatever channel I want. lol I don't have power windows or antenae. I don't know what caused the fire. It was either electrical or fuel line. As you can imagine, everything in the engine bay was wiped out. I don't know what relays I even had, so don't think I'm just some dumbass. What exactly do relays do? Are they the automotive equivelant of a capacitor? To help store a little charge? And as far as relating to the fire, if I need them to control certain circuits, I don't want no more sparks. It was devastating.

Simply put, a relay is only a switch. It's either on, or off.

The easiest solution that I see is to get a harness from a wrecking yard. A COMPLETE harness from a similarly equipped (same motor & accessories) malibu or elky (maybe other GM's) should cost less than $100. Remove it YOURSELF. That way you know what goes where & how it ties together. Take pictures to refresh your memory.

But once you replace it, you have the original problem - WHAT caused the fire? If it was a short circuit in the harness you have replaced it, but it could be something else.

Yea that sounds like the best solution. I already got a harness, but THEY took it off and it's not even the right one. That's my fault for not taking it back. I just get so disgusted dealing with idiots! lol I'm thinking that I had a ruptured fuel line, with how fast the fire went out of control. 2 little hesitations from the engine and I had fire out from under the hood. After the fire, one of the younger fireman says "well, I guess we have more paperwork to do." I WAS FIT TO BE TIED!!! Coulda killed him!

I want to add to the prior definition of a relay...

Yes it is true a relay is only a switch. But this leaves out *why* we might want a switch when we already have a switch.

Think of a relay as a leveraged switch. We can use low power wires (or small) and a low power switch to control a high power device. We can put the switch closer to the device and minimize the length of heavy duty wiring. An example is the starter solenoid. It is the original grand-daddy of relays in your car.

I have been learning a lot about these little relay devices recently as I look at wiring electric cooling fans. The donor car had them on a 40A fused circuit and 3 relays in the control circuit: high, low, and brake. It is also possible with relays to create combination circuits that are turned on for multiple inputs.

BTW one of the enhancements I an planning on as part of my fan installation is a "battery junction box". Which will have a master fuse to reduce the potential for an electrical fire.

Thanx vroom. It helps to get as much info as I can to figure all this out. And I also like the idea of a master fuse to protect my baby. :-P Fire is my enemy! I never did figure out what caused the fire last year, but don't wanna go through that again.