A long life reliable relay for applying a voltage to a load in which the voltage is coupled to the load through a first contact assembly preferably comprising a plurality of radially resilient wheels on a common axle and adapted to be moved along a second contact assembly made up of a plurality of spaced contacts adjacent ones of which are connected by resistance elements such as zener diodes stepwise to reduce the resistance between the voltage and the load from an initially high value to a substantially direct connection as the contacts of the second assembly are successively engaged with the potential increment applied to the load from step to step being below that which would result in arcing.