Shorting Power Connector to 850 blower

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Hi --

I recently replaced my blower and resistor on my '94 Volvo 850. Everything was running fine until one evening when I smelled burning / overheating plastic and the blower quit. I assumed the blower had seized or brushes had failed, though the blower fuse was fine. It was after ordering replacement parts, and beginning to remove the current blower, that it started working again. But, I noticed how hot the power wires were getting and the how hot the power connector to the blower was when running. In fact, the heat made the connector stick in the blower socket, and it took a good yank with a pliers to remove the connector. After doing that, I cleaned the contacts with a little emory paper and thoroughly blew out any debris with my compressor, reconnected the blower, and all was fine again for a month. Now, I'm starting to smell the overheated plastic of the connector again, and the motor waivers as if it is getting inconsistant power, and there seems to be a short there. Can anyone tell me what connector I need to order to replace the existing one, and how I should proceed?

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

Jim

[vjaneczko]

Did you replace the blower and resistor with new parts or stuff pulled from a junkyard?

Do you have a filter installed above the blower?

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I renewed my filter after I started experiencing issues with the blower. The blower itself is a new aftermarket blower. Thanks for taking an interest. I unplugged and again cleaned and blew out any dust from the connector today, and again it seems to be working fine. The metal on the connector appears tarnished, and I wonder if it just isn't making good contact. I haven't been able to pull the wires out of the connector housing (and wonder if they haven't fused with the plastic). It really strikes me as a localized short around the connector. One of the blades coming out of the blower that goes into the power comnector seems a little loose (a millimeter of give). When, the blower starts to loose a little power and go intermittent, that is when the wires and the connector get hot and start smelling of burning plastic. When it is running well, the wires are not hot. I would like to identify the connector part number, since the only way that I will be able to remove the wires is to break the plastic or cut the wires. Not sure what to do. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks, Jim

[Pauloil]

i would clean the male part with steel wool, if you can reach it. consider replacing the wires that got hot as may have increased resistance. could put some dielectric grease in the female part to ensure good connection on each side.

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Thanks all. I'm heading on vacation and won't get to the dialectric grease until I'm back. But that sounds like a good approach. I'll post when I see the results.

Jim