What is a relay in an 1995 Ford Escort?

Answer 1

I hope I am understanding your question correctly, but it sounds as though you are asking for a general explanation for what a relay is. All cars, not just an Escort, use relays. Relays are even found in your house. Your refrierator, washing machine, probably your television, and more have relays in them. In a nut shell, a relay is an electrically operated switch. It is a means to use low voltage or low amperage to control high voltage or high amperage. A relay has an electromagnet in it, that when it is energized, moves a contact inside to either make or break an electrical connection. One senerio in a car where this is needed is for the computer(low amperage componet) to operate a radiator cooling fan(high amperage componet). Let's say in our senerio, the engine is hot, and the computer decides to turn on the radiator fan. It supplies low ampere current to the coil windings in the cooling fan relay through two small pins on the relay. This moves the contact inside the relay which completes a circuit across two large pins at the relay to complete a high amperage circuit to the fan and switch the fan on. There are many other relays that perform a host of functions, like turning on the AC compressor, fuel pump, and even operate the starter.