Testing the original AC headlight relay valves on my 78 PC found both were bad. Helps explain the odd behavior I always had. Shut the car off and a headlight would raise up, etc. Cruising through forums here found a member that rebuilds these. Contacted Dave J and sent to him. Thinking he rebuilt them the same day he recieved them. No sooner he got the package I recieved an email about incoming package. They both test good now. Price fair also.
Were in nasty shape. Plugged all the ports and bead blasted. Then used the best gold plating alternative I have found so far with spray paint. Not going to fool anybody but these are tucked under the nose and don't see but a portion of them. I am always open to others' efforts at recreating gold cad plating. There is dark gray foam used on the bottom as a filter I haven't put in yet but Dave included.

As pulled out and neither test good


Bead blast the crud off


Removed mount brackets and gave gold cad recreation.


We are done here. Close as I can get it.

 

He's doing a pair for me right now. My home brew repair netted less than spectacular results.
He machines up new inside dogbones.
it's what's on the inside that truly matters to me. No one see's these. And I guess no one see's the vacuum leaks. But vacuum leaks suck. In more ways than one.

 

Thanks for letting everyone know and see the excellent work he does. I saved my old relay units and bought new ones made overseas, ( I am one of those hoarders that you see on tv ). Can anyone advise me how to determine if the removed relay units Are OEM? Thanks.

 

My understanding is aftermarket units say nothing on them. An original will be embossed like mine shown in pics.

 

My aftermarket ones work well , for now, and only have minor leaks, but I went through a few to get some better ones.

I do however think I have a few original ones that may be candidates for this rebuild at some stage.

 

But what's a minor vacuum leak? Isn't a leak, a leak?
I put a vacuum gauge on my vacuum tank with both relays disconnected and capped off. 14.5 inches of vacuum, just as I have at the manifold. Hook one up. Headlights off. Vacuum in tank drops to 8 inches. But holds at 8 inches with engine idling. Switch things around, testing the other relay. Drops to about 9 inches. (Engine still idling) open Headlights. No change. A big drop as the Headlights open. But then returns quickly to 8 or 9 inches.
vacuum leaking out of the bore of the relays.
Shut off engine, vacuum drops away fairly quickly. With both relays capped off. Vacuum in tank holds on shut down.
Only a slight leak?

 

I can open or close my headlights 15 minutes after shutting down the car so not a real issue from an operational point of view.

However when I followed the test process in each relay they did not always hold without some leakage.

 

Most impressive post and now my interest is in how can I make contact with "Dave J"...

JJ78

 

Use an "@" symbol in front of their Forum username, and it will autofill. In this case, @Dave J

 

 

Mounted and ready to install hoses.


But first, AIM for 1978 says actuator hoses have yellow clamps on them so black clamps get painted yellow.



I bake the painted parts to hopefully make them a bit more durable. Back 30-some years ago, my parents would stay busy by going to garage and estate sales. Told them to keep an eye out for a countertop oven. They bought this for 3 bucks and is still working to this day.

 

I use a bench top oven as well, great for baking paint, or at least speeding up the curing process.

 

Hi @JavaJolt78, I used Bob Demmel in New Braunfels, TX (BDemmel34@gmail.com) to restore my three headlight relays and wiper door actuator. Here's before and after pics -

 

Your gold cad recreation with paint looks really good! Can you give us your secret recipe?

 

Looks Great! Was the price reasonable?

 

Yes they do look good on the outside. Not that many will see them where they are mounted.
The big question in my mind. Is what they look like on the inside. It truly is how they work that matters the most.

 

Here's pricing from late 2019. Total with shipping was $345. The headlight relays were $65 each; I can't find the quote for the actuator, but if I guess at $25 shipping, it would have been around $125. All units worked perfectly.

Robert Demmel
From:bdemmel34@gmail.com
To:Lnjmaher@aol.com

Wed, Aug 28, 2019 at 11:53 AM

Larry


Thanks for the inquiry. I charge $65 each for the relays. I take the apart and put new plunger and diaphragm and prep the metal and have it redone in gold dichromate. I also put in a new filter and clean the plastic body. If the body is broken or cracked that could add to the cost, but I would have to see it first.

Bob



Robert Demmel
From:bdemmel34@gmail.com
To:Larry Maher

Thu, Sep 5, 2019 at 8:22 AM

Larry


All my restorations are replated. Only if repaired is the finish not redone.

Bob

On Wed, Sep 4, 2019 at 7:00 PM Larry Maher <lnjmaher@aol.com> wrote:Bob,


Thanks again. After the evaporust and bead blasting it gets replated, correct?

Larry

Sent from my iPhone
On Sep 4, 2019, at 7:26 PM, Robert Demmel <bdemmel34@gmail.com> wrote:Larry


sorry I don't have any pictures to show you, but the bracket does not look that bad. It is the top and the retaining ring that are heavily rusted. My process is to first soak the metal pieces in Evaporust to remove as much rust as possible. Then I would bead blast the metal to remove as much pitting as possible.

Bob
On Wed, Sep 4, 2019 at 5:33 PM <lnjmaher@aol.com> wrote:
Hello Bob,

The attached photo shows the basic condition of the three relays on our car. Based on what you can see in the photo, can you give me an idea of what the condition of the metal brackets would look like after restoration? Maybe an 'after' photo of a similarly corroded relay?

Thanks,
Larry Maher

Robert Demmel
From:bdemmel34@gmail.com
To:Larry Maher

Tue, Dec 10, 2019 at 11:54 AM

Larry

Your relays and actuator are done. Total with shipping is $345. Check or money order works.



Bob

 

Post # 17 includes emails I had with Bob where he details the work he performs when doing his restorations.

 

True! But I'LL know they're there and looking good! Plus, the wiper actuator is out in the open and very visible. See pic...

 

I have been using these 3 paints. Clean really good. Bead blast. Clean again. Then left to right. Spray the silver base. Then light on the gold. Hit it with clear.