Turn signal problem

btc231

Well-known member
Joined
May 31, 2002
2001 Golf GL TDI - 5 speed
This just started yesterday and is very annoying.
Every time I use my turn signals the relay/stwitch keeps clicking about 10-15 times after the turn signal is off. It seems to click more times when I use the left signal, I can also hear it clicking when I first start the car.
Checked all lights - they look OK, couple months ago I replaced the glove box cover my self - I wonder if that may be the problem.
I will hate to bring the car to the dealer and spend 150+ for something that may be as simple as light bulb or relay.

Thanks
 

GeWilli

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 6, 1999
Location
lost to new england
TDI
none in the fleet (99.5 Golf RIP, 96 B4V sold)
are the turnsignals going on and off with the clicking? or is it just clicking with no lights?
 

weedeater

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 17, 2001
Location
Reston, VA
TDI
Jetta, 2001, Baltic Green
Probably the switch. You might find a used one around here if you ask around.

The relay is behind the hazard switch and is user-replacable.
 

jaydhall

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 2, 1999
Location
Aurora Colorado
TDI
2012 Passat SE, 1999 NB, 1999.5 Jetta GLS, 2004 Jetta
Oooohm oooooh! FINALLY! Someone ELSE has this problem! /images/graemlins/smile.gif

Ok, I THINK I know how it happens. Have you ever used armor all or similar product on your instrument panel clear cover? (Bezel?)

If so, that is what I believe happened to mine. I also have some ideas on a fix. It DOES go away after a while. Then I went to a carwash where they did the armor all on the instrument panel. Yep, after about 3 weeks or so it started happening. We need to talk about this! /images/graemlins/smile.gif
 

btc231

Well-known member
Joined
May 31, 2002
I had the car washed couple of days ago at full service car wash. But I asked for the basic wash - vacuum the inside and dry out side. I noticed the guys made an attempt to wipe the dash - pretty sorry job as I can see large spots of dust. So it is possible for them to have sprayed something on the instrument panel, I couldn't smell
anything and the interior is pretty dusty I doubt they used armor all.

I take it you are suggesting I do nothing for couple of weeks and see if the clicking goes away.
Thanks
 

jaydhall

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 2, 1999
Location
Aurora Colorado
TDI
2012 Passat SE, 1999 NB, 1999.5 Jetta GLS, 2004 Jetta
The first time mine clicked for MONTHS! So far this time it has been clicking for weeks... /images/graemlins/frown.gif
 

Pawel23

Member
Joined
Jan 12, 2004
TDI
Jetta 2001 Silver
I have a 2001 Jetta TDI, I have the same problem with the turn signals. It goes on anf off it's been like this for about 2 months!! Gets annoying. I did use armo all while cleaning the car could that be the problem?
 

Wingnut

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 10, 2002
Location
Toronto & Whitby
TDI
Silver 2003 Jetta Wagon
[ QUOTE ]
I have a 2001 Jetta TDI, I have the same problem with the turn signals. It goes on anf off it's been like this for about 2 months!! Gets annoying. I did use armo all while cleaning the car could that be the problem?

[/ QUOTE ]

Could be, or could just be a coincidence? The hazard switch is a known problem. I bet if you change it, all will be good.

Edit: I was wrong! Mine is now doing the same thing. I tried changing the relay with 2 new ones and it still makes the noise.
 

jaydhall

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 2, 1999
Location
Aurora Colorado
TDI
2012 Passat SE, 1999 NB, 1999.5 Jetta GLS, 2004 Jetta
I can only go with what happened with me. I changed hazard switch/ turn signal relay because it died. About a year later I armor alled my dash glass. The funny noises started soon after. A LONG time later they stopped. Fine for over six months. (I have a bad memory but this is what I remember!) Then armor all again and funny noise again. Too much of a coincidence. My vote is the armor all causing the problem. The cure is patience.
 

btc231

Well-known member
Joined
May 31, 2002
Can you post instructions on how to replace the switch?
Is this the same as the turn signal relay?
Thanks
 

l_c

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 4, 2003
Location
San Jose, CA USA
TDI
Wrecked and gone: VW Jetta wagon 2002 silver TDI
I have this annoying problem in my 2002 Jetta TDI Wagon.
I'm a bit confused -- should I go after the switch itself, or the relay first? Larry.
 

l_c

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 4, 2003
Location
San Jose, CA USA
TDI
Wrecked and gone: VW Jetta wagon 2002 silver TDI
I'm guessing it's the relay contacts (mechanism) ... I just went
and bought a new relay for 31 USD from VW. (Will append here
in case that doesn't resolve the problem); Larry.
 

l_c

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 4, 2003
Location
San Jose, CA USA
TDI
Wrecked and gone: VW Jetta wagon 2002 silver TDI
Yeah I believe my problem is resolved. I also noticed a few related
posts (relay issues, removing cup holder, etc.) on vwvortex.

Cup holder removal (for those who have the in-dash model which is
immediately below the hazard/relay component) is optional, but I
think it helps so that you can use one hand to guide/align the relay
module on disconnect or installation. There's not really enough room
in that slot for the average adult hand to go in, but enough to get
some fingers onto the relay.

All I needed for removing the cup holder was a slot screwdriver, to
pull the metal spring clips inward (while nudging the opened cup holder).
Took that opportunity to clean it (coffee, mocha, etc.) and lubed the
little plastic gear prior to finally putting everything back in.

I had some trouble in disengaging the side spring clips of the hazard/
flasher relay module -- I could release one side, but trouble on the left
side. Finally I realized (duh!) that to make it easy, I could pop out the
black switch cover (the unused position) on the dash, just to the left
of the hazard/flasher switch. That one came out really easy, it just has
a couple of shallow clips that can be easily prodded using a little slot
screwdriver, small paper clip, etc. Once that hole was open, I just stuck
some fingers in there and released the left side of the hazard/flasher
module without any trouble.

Gently pulled the module and its wire harness forward until I could get
both hands on the connector. Used a larger slot screwdriver to persuade
the connector gently away from the relay module. Reassembled everything
and now my Jetta signals without any problems. Hope this info helps someone; Larry.
 

l_c

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 4, 2003
Location
San Jose, CA USA
TDI
Wrecked and gone: VW Jetta wagon 2002 silver TDI
Unfortunately I don't know whether my crazy clicking problem has totally vanished yet;
Tonight when I was driving around (with the new relay), it emitted a couple of rogue extra
clicks (I didn't expect that to happen). If it still does it a lot, I'll have to dig into a possible
problem in the stalk/wheel area. Will append here if anything develops; p.s. the replacement
relay from my local dealer had all the same numbers/revs as the original ... just mfr'ed in
2003 instead of in 2001. Larry.
 

l_c

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 4, 2003
Location
San Jose, CA USA
TDI
Wrecked and gone: VW Jetta wagon 2002 silver TDI
Yeah, the problem is definitely still there and wasn't affected by relay replacement.
Our weather (SF Bay Area, CA) has really dried out and been very warm the past week
and I believe that made the erroneous behavior decrease. Still, definitely when my turn
signal cancels (either from a lane change or a 90 degree turn), there is a bit of run-on (rapid clicking).

I checked on line and the first source I noticed (drivewire.com) sells the switch assembly for
about 70 USD. (The P3060-130129 is for a Jetta with "multifunction" steering wheel, which I have, I
believe that means the one having radio and cruise switches, versus the P3060-130128 for a Jetta
having the simpler control set on the wheel) I didn't see the part listed at Impex;

I just ordered the stalk from my local VW dealer, total is about 72 USD. Looks like I'll need to pull the
wheel when installing it ... I noticed a couple of helpful web pages (I don't have wintel eBahn i.e. Bentley) --
wheel off/on
Foxy's cruise stalk page
Larry
 

jaydhall

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 2, 1999
Location
Aurora Colorado
TDI
2012 Passat SE, 1999 NB, 1999.5 Jetta GLS, 2004 Jetta
Well, I do like to be right sometimes! I am an engineer and have sort of troubleshot this problem on my car. To the point that I really THINK I know the problem. I also believe I have a fix. Now I have a larger problem. I am too darned lazy! /images/graemlins/eek.gif I just tell my family it gives my car character. Seeing as how it does not flash the lights, I figured it was not a hazard. My hearing is going anyway! It happens more in the cold and wet times. Let us know if this fixes it! And if it does, let us know if you see any difference in the amount of gunge on the old switch as compared to the new one. Do you use armor all? Like I used to?
 

jasonTDI

TDI GURU Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Apr 26, 2001
Location
Oregon, WI
TDI
20' RAM 3500 CCLB dually HO/Aisan. 2019 Cherokee 2.0T
l_c,

Try banging the steering colum up and down and in and out a few times with the lock off. Out of sheer madness I did that and the noise has been gone for 2 weeks now. I think I dislodged some crud or something.
 

Wingnut

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 10, 2002
Location
Toronto & Whitby
TDI
Silver 2003 Jetta Wagon
My car makes the same noises. The relay clicks by itself. Sometimes after using the turn signals, sometimes all on its own. I tried two new hazard switches and the noise did not go away. I can recreate the noise myself by applying light pressure to the signal stalk (halfway between neutral & engaged). This leads me to beleive that it may be a problem with the signal stalk? I will take my wheel off & try to clean the contacts in the signal stalk and see if it cures anything?
 

jaydhall

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 2, 1999
Location
Aurora Colorado
TDI
2012 Passat SE, 1999 NB, 1999.5 Jetta GLS, 2004 Jetta
My feeling is there is crud on the contacts. I think that the inputs to the sensor are a bit sensitive and this crud is conducting 'almost' enough to make the relay pull in but then when it DOES pull in there is not enough current flowing to keep it in and flash the lights. Just my thoughts on this problem. I think cleaning the contacts WILL fix the problem. I just hate thinking about taking off the steering whell with the airbag! /images/graemlins/eek.gif
 

l_c

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 4, 2003
Location
San Jose, CA USA
TDI
Wrecked and gone: VW Jetta wagon 2002 silver TDI
I suspected a contact/continuity issue in the switch assembly (I happen to be an electrical/materials engineer too)
but I could afford to pay for these expensive spare parts (which may come in handy some day). I didn't want to plan
on dissasembly (of the wheel/airbag) more than one time at this point. When the old part comes out, I'll try to
check it out. (I've never sprayed anything around the console but I've gotten plenty of dust and perhaps a bit of grit
in there). Sometimes momentary action (for a quick lane change I don't always click the stalk all the way) may do it
but usually it repeats after a full switch cycle. Larry.
 

turbonem

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 30, 2004
Location
southpark,CO (fairplay)
TDI
'02jetta wagon red
where does the click/relay sound come from? the hazard switch? if so your hazard switch may be sticking.iirc pete the pilot had the same problem and fixed it with avaition contact cleaner. LOL!
 

Wingnut

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 10, 2002
Location
Toronto & Whitby
TDI
Silver 2003 Jetta Wagon
ITS FIXED!!!

I took off my steering wheel & took out the signal stalk assembly. After disassembling the assembly, I didn't find anything too unusual. I thought I would find some spilled coffee or something sticking some contacts or something. But I did notice a groove worn into one of the spring loaded contacts. Anyway, I went ahead & cleaned it anyway and put it all back together. The signals work fine and the anoying phantom clicking is gone.

I took the whole assembly apart because I was interested to see how it worked, but for anyone else who has this problem, you MAY just be able to spray some good contact cleaner in behind the stalk to clean it out. just pull on the stalk as if your flashing your high beams & spray in behind with a straw attachment on the can of contact cleaner.

Here are pics for reference:

This is the assembly before cleaning:


These are the grooves I was refering to:


I don't think the grooves have any effect on the operation, but I thought i would point it out since it was the only thing I could see that looked out of the ordinary. But whatever caused the problem has been remedied by cleaning the contacts, so I hope it will stay that way. I will report back if it comes back.

Here is where to spray:

Don't forget to pull the lever to create a gap to allow the spray to penetrate the assembly.

DISCLAIMER: Do this at your own risk. I can't imagine contact cleaner can do any harm, but I can't gaurantee that it won't. Maybe some electrical experts can offer more insight? But if you want to try it, it may save you the hassle & time of removing the steering wheel & taking apart the signal stalk assembly. It took me about 1 1/2 hours to remove, disassemble, clean & replace all the parts.
 

jaydhall

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 2, 1999
Location
Aurora Colorado
TDI
2012 Passat SE, 1999 NB, 1999.5 Jetta GLS, 2004 Jetta
Super! Keep us posted! I would like to know if it is a long term fix like I THINK it would be. Any after cleaning pictures? /images/graemlins/smile.gif
 

Wingnut

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 10, 2002
Location
Toronto & Whitby
TDI
Silver 2003 Jetta Wagon
Sorry, I didn't take any after pics. But it really wasn't that dirty. I just removed the grease that was there. What I think it might be was small metal particles from the worn contact was suspended in the grease used to lubricate the contacts. And maybe this mixture of metal particles & grease was semi conductive causing the intermitant shorts that caused the relay to get a low voltage signal. Thats why it only clicked, but did not illuminate the lights? Just a guess, but seems to be logical.
 

l_c

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 4, 2003
Location
San Jose, CA USA
TDI
Wrecked and gone: VW Jetta wagon 2002 silver TDI
I finally finally spent some time yesterday to swap in a new turn signal stalk
on my 2002 Jetta. Yay! The crazy clicking is really gone (it had been getting
worse recently;)
When I get some more time I'll open up the old part to trace the low resistance
across those contacts ... I plan to post pictures of the offender. I think my
problem started after about 56k miles (I'm at 59k now). BTW I picked up a set
of four splined 1/2-inch drivers (including the M12) for about 8 USD at a local PartsPlus
store (Winchester Auto Parts in San Jose, CA), to do the wheel bolt right; Larry.
 

draksia

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 7, 2002
Location
Lake Mary, FL
I just opened mine up today to clean it and it was covered with some type of grease. I put it all back together except now it does not seem to want to move into the high beam flasher position. it goes into the high beam on posisiton just fine though.

You will need a torx t8 to open the unit up to clean inside.
 

lonnyda

Active member
Joined
Jul 21, 2002
Location
North Vancouver
TDI
2003 Jetta TDi GLS, Silver
This is a thread that makes you fellow VWers special. I have been working on this problem now for almost a month. It's driving my wife crazy. Spent $30.00 plus on a new flasher with no change. The flasher still goes and goes after taking a corner, but with no light flashing. After reading your posts, I took my signal arm out and sure enough, there is a little grease in there that is conducting a tiny bit of voltage to the flasher. Not enought to light any bulbs but enough to get the annoying click, click, click. A quick spray with a little WD40 and presto - all gone!
Thanks to all of you who spent hours to solve this problem. We should get together and charge VW for this as they would have charged us heavily plus parts to solve it!
You guys are the best!! /images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
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