Hearing Brake Light Relay?
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 641
Likes: 114
From: Atlanta GA
Hearing Brake Light Relay?
Is this normal? 2013 coupe. I Can hear the brake light relay click near the right kick panel/right under dash when brakes are applied. I don't care if it normal, but is it? I've never driven any car including C5 where I can hear this when I hit the brakes.
Thanks!! for any info.
Thanks!! for any info.
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 20,352
Likes: 568
From: Ventura County, Calif
Yup. Interestingly, not all relays make the same amount of noise and of course not all people react the same to noise.
If it bothers you, you can get a new relay and hope that it will be quieter. Or, a member here went to the effort of adapting a solid state relay (silent). If you want to read about it here's the thread:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-c...-solution.html
And just FYI so you know you aren't alone in not liking that noise, here's a TSB from 2011 where GM came out with a new part number relay, which "should be" on your 2013 already.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/1581463666-post5.html
If it bothers you, you can get a new relay and hope that it will be quieter. Or, a member here went to the effort of adapting a solid state relay (silent). If you want to read about it here's the thread:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-c...-solution.html
And just FYI so you know you aren't alone in not liking that noise, here's a TSB from 2011 where GM came out with a new part number relay, which "should be" on your 2013 already.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/1581463666-post5.html
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 641
Likes: 114
From: Atlanta GA
Yup. Interestingly, not all relays make the same amount of noise and of course not all people react the same to noise.
If it bothers you, you can get a new relay and hope that it will be quieter. Or, a member here went to the effort of adapting a solid state relay (silent). If you want to read about it here's the thread:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-c...-solution.html
And just FYI so you know you aren't alone in not liking that noise, here's a TSB from 2011 where GM came out with a new part number relay, which "should be" on your 2013 already.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/1581463666-post5.html
If it bothers you, you can get a new relay and hope that it will be quieter. Or, a member here went to the effort of adapting a solid state relay (silent). If you want to read about it here's the thread:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-c...-solution.html
And just FYI so you know you aren't alone in not liking that noise, here's a TSB from 2011 where GM came out with a new part number relay, which "should be" on your 2013 already.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/1581463666-post5.html
Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 2,694
Likes: 106
As you heard already, perfectly normal. But hard to believe in a $70K+ car, huh? 
My car is a 2012 GS, so it supposedly has the new relay too. Can't imagine a noisier one 
. Oh, and how about the reverse relay? It's just as noisy as the brake one 
.
Saw that SSR fix, but the noise doesn't annoy me that much to make such a wiring mess. What I plan to do is look for a piece of rubberized insulation foam like the one under valve covers (it's heavy), and make 2 'caps' for both the brake and reverse relays. With that, it should be almost silent IMO. MUCH easier solution for me. Maybe in a junk yard. It has to be that heavy stuff, or it wouldn't work.
My car is a 2012 GS, so it supposedly has the new relay too. Can't imagine a noisier one . Oh, and how about the reverse relay? It's just as noisy as the brake one . Saw that SSR fix, but the noise doesn't annoy me that much to make such a wiring mess. What I plan to do is look for a piece of rubberized insulation foam like the one under valve covers (it's heavy), and make 2 'caps' for both the brake and reverse relays. With that, it should be almost silent IMO. MUCH easier solution for me. Maybe in a junk yard. It has to be that heavy stuff, or it wouldn't work.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 5,492
Likes: 808
From: West coast CA
As others have pointed out, it is normal.
If the sound was intermittent or grating or evidence of some malfunction, it would be annoying to me. But it's none of those things. It's just another sound that the car makes when I operate a control.
The door window motor whirrs when I open the door, the windshield wipers swish when I turn them on, the parking brake ratchet clicks when I pull up the lever... and the brake light relay clicks when I press the brake pedal. I have no problem with any of those things, whether the car cost $70K or $7K.
If the sound was intermittent or grating or evidence of some malfunction, it would be annoying to me. But it's none of those things. It's just another sound that the car makes when I operate a control.
The door window motor whirrs when I open the door, the windshield wipers swish when I turn them on, the parking brake ratchet clicks when I pull up the lever... and the brake light relay clicks when I press the brake pedal. I have no problem with any of those things, whether the car cost $70K or $7K.
