starting problem

hi everybody im rob i have a j plate mk1 rivage convertible basicly i hadnt used it for 3 months so decided to wash it long story cut short water got into the car and it refused to start i checked the wiring and found the alarm full of corrosion so thinking it was this causing the problem i cut it out and re tried still no joy it would turn over but not fire i checked for a spark that was fine but the plugs where dry i then checked the fuel pump and it wasnt operating there was no feed i found the fuel pump relay and it was doing nothing i lifted the relay half out and pushed a piece of wire onto the terminal that went live when the ignition was on then attached that directly to the fuel pump wire and hay presto it fired up. basicly ( i know i have gone on ) do you think the damage is inside the fuse box or is it a faulty relay im getting really frustrated with it wish i hadnt washed it now. any help would me much appreciated kind regards rob

Hi Rob, sounds like you require a replacement relay

Sounds like the relay to me, by conecting the wire to the terminal you have effectively bypassed the relay i think.  All the relay does is switch a high power circuit using a low power switch.  If you remove it and power up the low power side on a 12v battery you should hear it click if it works properly.

thanks guys will try a new relay and ides the best place to get one

You might get away with pulling the cowling off the relay and cleaning the contacts up, tricky job but shouldn't cause too many problems if your careful. I don't think it'll fall apart on you but don't quote me on that

New relays are quite expensive I think and you need the 'timed' one, not the standard one, from what I remember.