HELP Fog Light Relay Buzzing
 

hey guys,

tonite on my way home i heard a buzzing noise coming from around the glovebox area... I also noticed at the same time that my fog lights weren't working. When i got home, i pulled out the MAG lite and popped the hood, turn on the fogs only to hear the relay rattling like a mofo on the shock tower mount where its located.... does anyone have any idea as to what could be the cause of this? and why it keeps my fog lights from working? I checked the fuses and they seem to be fine... is the relay blown? i hope to god not... or might there be something else wrong with the set up?

They're OEM fogs btw...

sounds like a bad relay... it makes like a sizzling noise when it has a bad contact. You can prolly take it apart and fix it if you know what you're doing.

..... and if i don't? lol what might be the bad contact?? hahah i'm cluesless right now... is it showing? :)

like the buzzing is so loud i can hear it inside the car like through the firewall and everything, and it's just rattling around....

no, it would prolly be internal, and because of the current involved, it's a very real fire hazzard. bad connections create a lot of heat and it could burn down your car.

so i should take apart the relay and see if anything is loose?

you'll see an area that will clearly be charred. that's the problem contact... so bend the contacts a little to make sure it's not creating an arc (like a sparkplug almost). that's just by best guess for now.

Alex - bite the bullet - replace it. You can pull it from a wrecker for little coin.

ok, well here's an update here... it was working fine for the last few days, and then today when it started raining it went back to buzzing and shyt.... wtf?? i'm totally lost now... obviously it has something to do with the moisture, or water, but i don't think that the way it's mounted (on the shock tower) causes it to get extreemly wet...

moisture in the air lowers the resistance of the alternative path, so current is more likely to arc through the air than take the intended path (if the intended path has a bad connection or high resistance connection). this arcing creates a lot of heat!! beware

ok, so i have to watch out for it, and then do what to fix the problem maybe use some electrical tape to seal up the relay?

seems really weird, i'll check it out today to see if it's working again, but everytime it rains... argh! :mad:

if the buzzing is internal to the relay take it apart and make the right adjustments. if you don't know what adjustments to make, it's prolly better to just grab a new relay, they're cheap enough.

ok so... i know i'm bringing this thread back from the dead, but this beats reposting all the info i had before..


neways today i was washing the car, and was like hm... i think i'll troubleshoot the fog lights today, i haven't had much time latley, so now i'm gonna sit down and figure it out... i pop the hood, put the key in the car, turn the fogs on... and guess what..

THEY TURN ON! i was like wtf? ok sweet... I try it a bunch of different times, with engine on/off, key in/out etc... it works, so i'm like sweet... go inside get changed head out, drive around get where i'm going fogs are working the whole time..

i chill for a few hours, get back out to go to home, get in the car, turn the fogs on, they don't work and the buzzings back...

WTF???

why is life so cruel!!! :mad: i have no clue as to what to do now... yet again

like that VW video :haha:

again points to loose wiring

just rechecked all the connections, they're all tight... boourns!

I blame the operator :D haha

Sorry, I can't help you from here, maybe ask gatherer to get together during a meet with a multimeter?

Relay is shot. Wires arching...here's an idea...take the relay out...where the leads are on the relay, blow out any moisture. Form a cup around the edge of the relay around the relay contacts with electrical tape. Make sure the contacts are not touching the electrical tape. Connect all necessary leads. Then apply clear silicone to surrounding area making sure all areas around contacts are covered. Make sure you envelope all contacts and bare wire areas until cup is full. Let set over night and you'll have an air tight moisture free environment free or archs. Final touch, tape up with electrical tape and zip tie relay securely.

If you need help with it, gimme a call.

Cheers,
Buddah.