'96 TDI Passat Wagon, 109 relay pins arcing

Rapidrob

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 20, 2004
Location
Edgewood,New Mexico
TDI
96' Passat Wagon
I drove to vote today and after parking back at home,the engine would not start.

Having this happen several times over the last couple decades I homed in on the 109 relay. I pulled the replacement "heavy duty " relay and found the main current spade connector has signs of arcing.
Have you owners ever figured out how to stop this from happening?
The contacts of the relay itself were fine. It is where the relay spade pins slide into the fuse/relay panel that there seems to be a problem with the female connector arcing to the spade pins of the relay.
Any ideas?
 

Mongler98

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Location
COLORADO (SE of Denver)
TDI
98 Jetta TDI AHU 1.9L (944 TDI swap in progress) I moved so now i got nothing but an AHU in a garage on a pallet.
Same exact issue on my 98. Solution. Nice amount of Dielectric grease on each pin.
 

Rapidrob

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 20, 2004
Location
Edgewood,New Mexico
TDI
96' Passat Wagon
I had thought about using a dielectric grease but was taught not to use it in a high current contact as it will melt from the heat and can cause some worse problems.
I was hoping for a better mechanical connection idea other than soldering the spade pins.
 

Mongler98

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Location
COLORADO (SE of Denver)
TDI
98 Jetta TDI AHU 1.9L (944 TDI swap in progress) I moved so now i got nothing but an AHU in a garage on a pallet.
I had thought about using a dielectric grease but was taught not to use it in a high current contact as it will melt from the heat and can cause some worse problems.
I was hoping for a better mechanical connection idea other than soldering the spade pins.
100% false
use proper stuff
if your electronics are getting that hot, you have bigger issues to worry about.
supper high volt to micro volt, stuff works flawlessly and only people who have no understanding of what its for and the differences in NoOx and DiElectric grease are where this bad info comes from. this stuff is used from the factory on most spark plug wires, the hottest part of an engine your going to see electrics pluged into other than an o2 bung.
dont worry about bad info, just use it. you dont need much, use sparingly. i would however spray some electrical connector etching cleaner 2 part spray in there to clean up the mess from the arching.
 

ToddA1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2011
Location
NJ 08002
TDI
'96 B4V, '97 B4 (sold), '97 Jetta (scrapped)
How does dielectric grease prevent arcing/pitting? By definition, it’s “insulating”; in this case, insulating from air or anything else that would cause corrosion/oxidation.

I’d see if the contacts at the relay panel can be squeezed together more, then use dielectric grease to protect the terminals.

-Todd
 

Mongler98

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Location
COLORADO (SE of Denver)
TDI
98 Jetta TDI AHU 1.9L (944 TDI swap in progress) I moved so now i got nothing but an AHU in a garage on a pallet.
Because if the thing works right now. It will prevent more from happening. It's not a permanent fix nor will it guarantee a solution but of it does work, it's easy and the only option other than replacing or repairing the existing pins and or assembly.
Start here and see what happens. It solved my issue. New 109 was damage free for years.
 
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