Sidemarker lights not Working

I replaced the sidemarker lights by the headlights on the side of my 96 passat. There is no power coming into the wires. The fuse is on #7 and #8 for the sidemarker light and tail light for the right and left side respectively and they are fine. I took a test light to the contacts in the plug connector and neither side is working. I replaced the light switch with a Euro one for the fog lights years ago. I am wondering if anyone knows if this switch may not have an circuit for the sidermarker lights.

I had this issue not too long ago and it was the ignition switch. I spent the day tracing it out, swapping parts, and it turned out to be the switch, and it was cured when I put a new one in.

Thanks abacus. This is likely as my aftermarket switch does not work. I am waiting for another oem one. I put in an aftermarket switch last week and it lasted 1/2 a day. The Chinese have conquered us. I took out the whole steering column last time. This time I am trying to get the collar off that is pressed on and it is not budging. My puller keeps slipping off. Any ideas how to get it off.

Dremel and a cut-off wheel.
I've decided that it is faster and easier to cut it off than to deal with a puller, and a replacement collar is cheap enough that the time saving more than makes up the difference.
It took me under 30 minutes the last B4 switch I replaced. That's 1/2 an hour from the car's owner driving up until he drove off with the new switch installed.

I actually got fairly adept as slicing almost all the way through, splitting the collar, and then being able to re-use it again. The taper of the wheel squeezing the split collar shut is greater than the taper of the column trying to spread it open, and the formed splines aid as well, so there's no opportunity for slippage even when normal wheel nut tightening torque is used.
I replaced it later, but have no concerns about leaving it in indefinitely.

I use a bearing splitter and a piece of Uni-strut. I bought the bearing splitter at a yard sale and the Uni-strut I pulled off the scrap heap. Ignition switches being a pain are a thing of the past with this setup and I always keep it in my tool box.

Nice pics! Abacus. Oh and the pin extractors are awesome!

That is quite a contraption Abacus. Where could I find such a thing on this piddly little island of Kauai? Home Depot? Napa? If I was in the mainland, I would just cut the buzzard off. But ordering a new one and paying for the shipping is astronomical to Hawaii. I have been trying the C-clip idea I read about on another post, but the clips bend and the puller jaws slip off. I went to both Ace and Home depot looking for a round 2 piece 3.75 in. collar with two bolts I could put around the column for leverage, but they don't have anything. There must be some VW tool you need. I will try to find a bearing puller. Is yours a home made contraption with the large flat bar over top of the puller?

Tom, I sent you a PM about it, which I listed here just in case anyone else is in need of the same information.

"The tool I use is actually very simple, all you need is a bearing splitter (some list it as a bearing separator), which you can find at any auto parts store (NAPA, O'Reilly, etc) or have shipped from some place like Harbor Freight, Grainger, McMaster-Carr, or even Amazon. Or if you have a local garage nearby, perhaps you could just borrow one for a few hours. Up here on the mainland most auto parts stores will loan them to you for free with a deposit to make sure you bring it back.

The bearing splitter goes over the shaft, backwards so the flat face is against the flat ridge of the collar, and then the screws tightened, this ensures it won't slip off. Then a flat piece of metal with two holes in it is placed over the end of the steering wheel shaft, and two standard bolts are used to connect the two. I used a piece of uni-strut so I wouldn't have to drill holes as they were already there, but a piece of 1/4" flat stock, some 3/16" (or even 1/8", like bed frame material) angle bar, or pretty much anything like that will work. Drill the holes so they're at the same distance apart as the ones on the bearing splitter/separator. Then you tighten the bolts down and it pulls the collar straight up. I have had some that were very tight come off with a 'bang' and some that slid right off, but it's very easy to use. To put them back on, I clean up the shaft with some scotch-brite or sandpaper and use the steering wheel bolt to tighten it back down.

I hope the instructions make sense, please let me know if they don't. I have three B4's and work on a lot of others locally, so I use mine frequently. If you have just the one car, I'd recommend just borrowing the bearing splitter to save costs, since you shouldn't need it often if you get a quality ignition switch. In your location I would definitely not use cheap parts since they never end up being cheap in the long run.

I have also not had to use the bearing splitter for anything else on the car.

Good luck."

Thanks for all the info. Abacus. I will head to Oreilly's and see if I can rent one. I am thinking a 2 pronged puller would grab the edges of the bearing separator and it would come off that way without having to find a metal bar and drill holes in it.

Side front marker lights- where did you get them?

Recommended source?

Mine are kind of sketchy- who ever took them out last time (previous owner had it painted- kind of an Earl Scheib $99 special ...)

and busted the plastic housing the metal clips, so they sort of rattle about-
they also had some whitish gray stuff inside-cant tell if its paint that made its way in the cracks or old polishing compound...

the back part with lightbulb and the yellow lens/ clear cover came apart pretty easy as the sealing material was old and cruddy
-
looks like someone either tried to polish the silvering with something, or it just started coming apart with age.

I glued them back together with silicon window sealer, but I am sure theres probably a better product someone could point out to me.

Also, is there a way to fix the silvering- maybe just some silver paint?

I epoxied the plastic and duct taped the parts, but they are due to fall out sooner or later as they dont fit snugly and rattle about....

They look ok, but the new german glass shows up the difference that the old yellowed plastic headlight lens did not, by comparison, so I am putting this in my non-essential but nice to fix list if its not too expensive to replace.

thanks in advance for any tips.

torahtom said:

I replaced the sidemarker lights by the headlights on the side of my 96 passat. There is no power coming into the wires. The fuse is on #7 and #8 for the sidemarker light and tail light for the right and left side respectively and they are fine. I took a test light to the contacts in the plug connector and neither side is working. I replaced the light switch with a Euro one for the fog lights years ago. I am wondering if anyone knows if this switch may not have an circuit for the sidermarker lights.

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Cheapest place to find the OEM sidemarker lights I have found is autohausaz.com. I got both lights for $80.00 and free shipping

Check Amazon as well, I've see them there.

side marker lights online

Thanks guys, I got a pair for $80 at autohausAZ.
Hella had one at Amazon for $59.

Abacus said:

Check Amazon as well, I've see them there.

Click to expand...

torahtom said:

I replaced the sidemarker lights by the headlights on the side of my 96 passat. There is no power coming into the wires. The fuse is on #7 and #8 for the sidemarker light and tail light for the right and left side respectively and they are fine. I took a test light to the contacts in the plug connector and neither side is working. I replaced the light switch with a Euro one for the fog lights years ago. I am wondering if anyone knows if this switch may not have an circuit for the sidermarker lights.

Click to expand...

Before ya go tearing apart yer steering column to fix yer lites, look at the wiring splice behind the headlights. If all your other parking lites are working, then this will be the culprit. The sidemarker wires go into the light harness there, and I have fixed several that I found corroded.