I have a relay that I am working with, the relay is activated by a power source connecting to the positive and negative of the relay. however, the source that i am trying to use to activate the relay changes polarity. I only want the relay to activate if polarity is certain way. can anyone tell me if the polarity is reversed on the relay activation, will the relay still work or will it blow?

 

What are you using to activate the relay? If hooked up properly, it would only activate when seeing the correct signal, but it would be a DC signal, not AC if it's for your car. A 12VDC relay should not be used in an AC circuit. Are you using an AC relay in a different application?

Big Mack

 

It is a 12V DC relay. the relay has a red and black cable to activate it, if i put positive on the red and negative on the black, then it activates. what will happen if i put it the reverse way, positive on black and negative on red? will it blow the relay or will it simply just not function?

 

it should still work. you wanna make sure you are using poles 85 and 86. make sure the wires do not t off or loop to 30 87 or 87a. it should work if you reverse polarity of 85 and 86, will still activate.

but of course there is only one way to find out....

make sure you use a fuse!

 

Correct on both counts. Use the smallest (ratings wise, not physically) that will handle your current demands. And it will still work if hooked up in reverse polarity. All it's looking for is the circuit to be completed in order to turn on the switch.

Big Mack