Electric fan relay

[Paul_NJ]

I just (finally) finished changing the timing belt on my 87 MKIII turbo, and it ran fine for 50 miles or so.

Couple days ago, I switched on the A/C for the first time during a really hot day, and (perhaps coincidently) a mile or two later the engine suddenly lost all power and would barely run. I had to have it towed to a garage.

Next morning, the mechanic called to say it started right up and runs fine!

After poking around, he discovered the electric fan relay is dead. And that Toyota no longer carries a replacement relay.

Questions:

1. Does all of this make any sense? Has anyone experienced this? Could overheating due to a non-functioning electric fan have caused my breakdown?

2. Any ideas on what a substitute fan relay might be?

This is a strange one, at least to me!

Paul