Some wierd possesed stuff

[Eric1]

ok i have never seen no wierd sh@t like this before.
i finally got to fix my oil pan in my 98 lsc i had a leak in the weld any way fixed that and got my car runnin today 1st time in 4 monthes ( i know i know) any way when i shut my car off and i heard an intermittant hum so as i go closer i come to find it was my fuel pump cycling on and off and all this with the key off mind you
so i traced it back to the relay i pulled it out and of course it stopped. and i rplaced the relay with a new one and no more problem
now my question is this has anyone ever heard of a relay going bad that made something work?
wierd
ERic

 

[driller]

Oh yeah, not on a Mark VIII, but I've seen 'em go bad.

They are simple electro-mechanical devices which can simply mechanically break or electrically malfunction. Usually it will fail open, that is to say it will not energize and close the contacts. Sometimes a problem in the pull in coil will cause it to chatter and fail. On rare occasions I have seen the contacts fuse together, that is what it sounds like happened in your particular case.

Regardless, I would be wary and monitor the fuel pump for proper operation. It could've been pulling high amperage and caused the relay to fail.

 

[Frankie X]

Very, very common!

When I get Rangers, Explorers, Taurus/Sables, LSs, Mark VIIs/2nd Gen VIIIs, or 2nd Gen. Continentals in for intermittent dead batteries, a stuck ON fuel pump relay is one of the first things I check for!
The points inside the relay arc closed. Sometimes the spring tension on the contacts will pop them free, and on the odd occasion I've seen them weld solidly.

Sometimes I can just replace the relay and this will never happen again.

Driller, you're on the right track once again:
Eric, keep in mind, the higher the current going through any given relay, the hotter the arc when its contact points break. When that arc becomes too hot, the chances of those points welding closed are greatly increased.

Driller and I are not conclusively condemning your fuel pump, but if the NEW relay welds closed it might be worth investigating...

 

[Eric1]

prior to this the car had not been started in 4 monthes and it only was doin that for maybe a half hour or so before i noticed it i think maybe it was just the relays time and the surge from staritin the car was all it needed. i am going to watch the pump tho
thank you
Eric