[s-cars] Battery Drain Found & Fixed

[Theodore Chen]

the J139 module is definitely more than a simple relay.  i've opened it
up already.  it's a circuit board with two relays and various discrete
electronic components on it.

there is an acrid smell coming from it, which i associate with fried
electronic components (i used to be EE in college), so i assumed it
was malfunctioning.  i could smell it even before i opened it up.
i suppose it's possible that they all smell like that even when they're
working fine.  perhaps you could sniff yours and tell me what it smells
like.  :)

anyway, the 443 part was practically free, because the junkyard thought
it was just a funky relay and had no idea that audi charges over $300 for
a new one.  i'm just trying to make sure i won't blow something up by
plugging it in place of the 441.

i'm not sure how a break in the wiring in the door could cause the
module to switch power on and off, but it shouldn't be too hard to check.

auto-closing works fine on my car, or at least it did before this
mess started.  however, express down doesn't work any more, and i
know this functionality comes from the J139 module.

-teddy


--- Fred Munro <munrof at sympatico.ca> wrote:
> Hi Teddy;
> 
> J139 is the main power window control module - my problem was with J261, the
> auto closing relay. You've got a different problem and pulling the "A1"
> breaker wouldn't resolve your issue. Pulling the "A3" breaker would, but
> then your windows wouldn't work :o)
> 
> Before replacing your module you should determine why it is clicking on and
> off. It could be a bad module, but it also could be a caused by a short or a
> bad connection in the window circuitry. Check the wiring in the rubber
> accordion boot in the drivers door - repeated opening and closing of the
> door flexes the wires, causing breaks in the insulation and short circuits.
> 
> I've never taken a look at the J139 module, but the Bentley shows it as more
> than a simple relay set - it appears to be an electronic control module. You
> may want to open it up to see whether it contains control components that
> won't be in simple relays.
> 
> Good luck Teddy!
> 
> Fred
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Theodore Chen [mailto:tedebearp at yahoo.com]
> Sent: April 19, 2004 5:02 AM
> To: Fred Munro; s-car-list at audifans.com
> Subject: Re: [s-cars] Battery Drain Found & Fixed
> 
> 
> 
> --- Fred Munro <munrof at sympatico.ca> wrote:
> >
> > Thanks to Tom, Igor, Teddy, Calvin, and Dave for responding to my current
> > drain question and confirming that the drain was indeed too high.
> >
> > A bit of work with a digital ammeter isolated the problem to the automatic
> > window closure circuit. Pulling the A1 breaker in the under-hood relay box
> > dropped the drain to below 10 mA.
> 
> i didn't do that.  i went straight to the 441 959 257 B relay (marked
> 329 on top, and identified as the J139 relay by SJM's site) under
> the driver's side kickpanel.  it was randomly clicking on and off, which
> energized and de-energized the windows and sunroof.
> 
> i don't think this random switching behavior was being caused by the
> alarm system, because it occurred even with the alarm system circuit
> breaker removed.  i think the relay is shot, and i'm waiting for a
> replacement to arrive.
> 
> it's possible that the alarm system is malfunctioning and damaged
> the relay.  i'll have to check that when i get a working relay.
> 
> i went to the junkyard today, and scrounged a 443 959 257 A relay from
> an audi 90.  anybody know if this relay might be a drop-in replacement
> for the 441 959 257 B?  i visited this website:
> http://www.humanspeakers.com/audi/relays.htm
> 
> it says the second and third groups of numbers identify the function
> of the part, and the first group identifies the era when the part was
> introduced.
> 
> the pin identifications between the 441 and 443 are identical.  the
> question is: dare i plug the 443 into my car?  the 443 is slightly
> different from the 441 externally.  it has a plastic clip to hold it
> in place, presumably because it was mounted in a vertical socket in the
> audi 90.
> 
> -teddy
> 
> >
> > This circuit is designed to close windows or the sunroof if they are open
> > when the car is locked. This feature has never worked on my car. The
> circuit
> > has it's own relay under the driver's side A-pillar kick panel. The power
> > supply side is "fused" with a 30 amp breaker in the A1 position in the
> > underhood relay box. The relay is triggered by a white/yellow wire from
> the
> > power window control module.
> >
> > This is apparently a relatively common source of a battery drain problem -
> > it is written up on Scott Mockry's website and the recommended fix is to
> cut
> > the yellow/white wire.
> >
> > Removing the A1 breaker fixed my problem - this disables the auto close
> > circuit and leaves the power windows operational. From this I assume my
> > relay is either fused closed or is indeed being activated by the control
> > module (via the yellow/white wire) and the power drain is in the circuit
> > itself somewhere.
> >
> > The car now has a 100 mA drain for 30 seconds after the alarm is set, then
> > it drops off to 10 mA with a spike to 20 mA every 5 seconds.
> >
> > A substantial improvement from 280 mA.
> >
> > When I get some time (ha!) I'll pull the relay to check it out.
> >
> > Fred Munro
> > '94 S4
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > S-CAR-List mailing list
> > S-CAR-List at audifans.com
> > http://www.audifans.com/mailman/listinfo/s-car-list
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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