Glossary / General

relays

9 Episode Mentions

Too Afraid to Ask

A relay is like an electrical switch that controls power to another component. If it’s going bad, the car may act up intermittently. That’s why it comes up in starting problems.

Technical Definition

Relays are electrically operated switches that route power to specific circuits, such as parts of the starting system. If a relay is failing, you can see intermittent symptoms—like starting working for a while, then stopping. The speaker suggests relays could be related to the “weird” behavior they’re seeing.

Hear It Discussed

"There must be some relays that have to be replaced. I don't know what the final result was."
#2629: The Babysitter Tells All The Best of Car Talk 09:43

"Now we could spend all day and check every wire and pull the relays out and see if we find something."
Under The Hood - LIVE Show Automotive Experts Giving You Advice Under The Hood show 17:41

"it's more like leaks or like sensor failures or like relays and shit like that. And so it's not like super catastrophic."
Tread Patterns - DWA! Podcast Ep. #935 Driving While Awesome 17:22