Headlamp Delay Relay

[schardein]

Just an observation on the headlamp delay relay, part #56000636.

Early ones were made in the USA.  Later ones were made in Mexico.  I've never bothered to narrow down when the changeover happened.

I've also seen some that are not marked with a location of manufacture.

I can't recall ever finding one that didn't work, regardless of where it was made.

[MiNi Beast]

ummm 

[eaglescout526]

AMC loved to source their parts to U.S. and Canadian manufacturers. Despite AMC having VAM down in Mexico, you won't find  a lot of the parts on any AMC vehicle have something made in Mexico. 

 

Chrysler on the other hand sourced to both countries for parts. Which is why that module was made down in Mexico. Also the 89 in front of the 5600 denotes an AMC part number.

 

As for the last one, there may not be a country of origin but simply a 5 digit manufacturer code on there. You can not look up those codes, they are a very internal thing with Chrysler and are only referenced when returning damaged, improper manufactured or defective parts. 

 

As for the change over, that happened in 1988. But Chrysler had all of AMC's parts inventory to liquidate before sending out Mopar packaged Jeep parts. But as soon as the buyout was done and set, Chrysler went to AMC's part manufactures and said we would like our labels on these parts. But youll still find a lot of the interior or even some engine parts will have an AMC number on them probably due to that it was cheaper to leave the number on the part and in the mold than make a new mold with Chryslers new part number. 

[schardein]

1 hour ago, eaglescout526 said:

 

Thanks for that reply, good info.  Especially the part about the 89 prefix.  All the times I've looked at these and never noticed the USA ones had that prefix.

[87MJTIM]

3 hours ago, eaglescout526 said:

As for the change over, that happened in 1988. But Chrysler had all of AMC's parts inventory to liquidate before sending out Mopar packaged Jeep parts. But as soon as the buyout was done and set, Chrysler went to AMC's part manufactures and said we would like our labels on these parts. But youll still find a lot of the interior or even some engine parts will have an AMC number on them probably due to that it was cheaper to leave the number on the part and in the mold than make a new mold with Chryslers new part number. 

My FIL bought an 88 that had both AMC labels and Chrysler labels.  I always laugh at that.

[eaglescout526]

Mine was made in 87 and has a Chrysler pentastar on the passenger window

[87MJTIM]

9 hours ago, eaglescout526 said:

Mine was made in 87 and has a Chrysler pentastar on the passenger window

 

I suspect your glass was replaced.  My truck rolled of the line in May 87, toward the end of the model year.  There are no Chrysler emblems in/on it.

[Manche757]

US Customs laws require that the country of origin be marked on the item unless it is made in the USA. That is a very big deal. Competitors are who usually report a failure to indicate the country of origin.

[eaglescout526]

1 hour ago, 87MJTIM said:

 

I suspect your glass was replaced.

Maybe but mine rolled off the line in November sometime after the buy out, but as far as I know the history, nothin bad happened.

[schardein]

13 hours ago, Manche757 said:

US Customs laws require that the country of origin be marked on the item unless it is made in the USA. That is a very big deal. Competitors are who usually report a failure to indicate the country of origin.

Given this, is it reasonable to assume the unmarked relay (lower picture) is "made in USA"?

[MiNi Beast]

yes

[Manche757]

10 hours ago, schardein said:

Given this, is it reasonable to assume the unmarked relay (lower picture) is "made in USA"?

Generally yes under the US Customs Act of 1930 with subsequent amendments. There are allowed exceptions. A relevant one is if the purchaser-end user (AMC or Jeep) imports a whole container and the container is marked with the country of origin, then each part does not have to be marked. Most automotive parts are purchased through separate companies. Betsy Devos, Secretary of Education, inherited her wealth from her father who supplied parts to automobile manufacturers. Her brother, who also inherited wealth, started Blackewater Enterprises if you remember about that.

[Manche757]

NAFTA, which came about in 1994, allowed exceptions for some electronic parts. Because of that date, it is probably not relevant to your part.

[Manche757]

Customs laws are strict. Some years ago, I was subpoenaed by Customs to testify in a case because I as a landlord had rented office space to a Chinese national. He was exporting parts of night vision scopes to mainland China. The FBI knew of it and visited often. They were interested in learning what they could about inner workings of the Chinese communist party. They warned him of potential Customs trouble. One day Customs raided his office. FBI agents happened to be stopping by but left with the raid in process. The guy went to prison for 10 years for exporting technology to a US adversary.