Cruise/Turn signal/Headlight dimmer switch replacemet

Moo Car

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 29, 2001
Location
Joliet, Il
2000 Jetta

I was having trouble with cruise control last week. Every time I would use my turn signal or headlight dimmer my cruise control would shut off. Found the answer to my problem thanks to members Wingnut and Trouble.

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=88148

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=46426


Trouble posted:

1. Disconnect the Battery. Airbags are not fun to play with while they are "live"..
2. Insert a flat blade short (less than 6" ) screwdriver into the slots located on the back of the steering wheel ( ~ 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock, you'll have to do one side, turn the wheel and then the other). Pry from the outside to the inside to release the airbag clips. Remove the airbag.
3. Use a 12mm triple square internal socket to remove the steering wheel. Important: Mark where the wheel is centered.
4. Undo screws on the lower and upper covers. Move out of way. (4 small Phillips and one Torx)
5. Remove clips on centering ring. Remove.
6. Loosen bolt behind switch cluster (5mm Allen, on top). Remove connector (4), and remove switch assembly.

Now the tricky part. Look the switch assembly over, it's in 2 halves and a bear to get apart.. Until you undo the center clip ( ~ 3 o'clock) and it slides right apart. DO NOT PRY ON THE EARS UNDERNEATH THE SWITCHES.... don't do it.. Trust me..

Installation is reverse of dis-assembly. Make sure the centering clip rotates freely, mine clicked while turning after re-installing it. Had to remove it a and re-install it again.

So since I had my camera I though I would post this:

1. Disconnect Battery




2. Insert screwdriver in opening in back of wheel (See instructions above). This is the hardest part of the job. I didn't need to put the screwdriver in all the way. Lift the screwdriver handle up.




3. Remove airbag










4. Remove center wheel bolt (I used a 3/8" Hex)





5. Make sure you mark the shaft and wheel so you know where to put it back on.



 
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Moo Car

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 29, 2001
Location
Joliet, Il
6. Remove wheel.

7. Remove screws to slide back plastic covers.











8. Unclip and remove the center circle thing? (three clips and wire connector plug)





 
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Moo Car

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 29, 2001
Location
Joliet, Il
9. Loosen the clamp that holds the cruise switch.




10. Unclip the two cables that go to the switch.






11. Undo the clip that keeps the cruise switch and window wiper switch together.




12. Slide the wiper switch out of the way.




13. Slip off the cruise switch.









14. Install new switch.




About 1.5 hours or less to do the job. IMPEX Part # 6792 $50.00
 
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gstone

Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2011
Location
pa
TDI
99 jettasdn,03 jetta wgn
Thanks moo car.I just fixed my "no low beam" problem on my 03 wagon.took less than an hour.I left the switch on the column.A little tricky unclipping the switchcover with a pick.I cleaned and greased the contacts.Works good again.
 

audiA3TD

Member
Joined
May 14, 2006
Location
Brisbane, Australia
TDI
Audi A3 2L TDi
Stalk removal - Polo 9N

Hi Guys - thanks for the posts & the write up.

I did a switch replacement on my daughters 2006 9N polo yesterday - a couple of notes which might help....

In getting the airbag off - it helps to push it in a little whilst releasing the clip with the screw driver.

Tip 2 - the polo had a single combined blinker and wiper switch that slid over the steering column - the electrical connector to that is a large L shaped connector with upteen wires. This is held in under tension by a white plastic slide that runs in the plane from the floor to roof - grab the end and slide it up - as you do so it releases the connector - very clever - but hard to fathom!!

Thanks for all the great posts!

Cheers,
Paul
 

snakeye

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 13, 2009
Location
Montreal, Canada
TDI
2003 Jetta and Wagon, GLS 5sp
If there's a break in the connection in the stalk, it's easily fixable using a tiny brush and the conductive compound from a rear defroster repair kit, as long as you can find the break.
 

daman

New member
Joined
Dec 5, 2011
Location
Boston
TDI
Jetta wagon
If there's a break in the connection in the stalk, it's easily fixable using a tiny brush and the conductive compound from a rear defroster repair kit, as long as you can find the break.
Yeah thats the main problem is finding the Land Insurance, because i've tried to find a break but had real problems and of course without that i cant fix it :(
 
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Seatman

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 23, 2010
Location
Scotland
TDI
2014 Skoda rapid elegance 1.6 cr tdi
Thanks for that how to OP, I'll be needing that info in the very near future, bookmarked
 

cantstopfishing

New member
Joined
Sep 23, 2013
Location
Wisconsin
TDI
Wannabe
Hello Moo Car. First I want to thank you very much for posting such a good tutorial about how to replace the cruise stalk. I would not have attempted this repair if not for this post. My question is how did you get the clicking noise from the centering ring to stop. I frustratingly removed the airbag and steering wheel several times to make sure the centering ring was reinstalled properly, but still have the slight clicking when I crank the wheel either way. It is not horrible, but it makes me crazy that I can't figure out why it is doing this.

Thanks again.

Cantstopfishing
 

tdwesty

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 9, 2009
Location
Vancouver Island, BC, Canada
TDI
'04 Jetta TDI GLS Spice Red, 1.6TD Westy
Signal switch for '04 TDI with MF steering wheel?

Hi,
Great detailed post. I am looking for a replacement switch stalk for my '04 which has the MF steering wheel. The cruise buttons are on the wheel, so the turn signal stalk only has an on/off for cruise. This version seems to be harder to find, and the only one I have see is 4x the price! Hoping there is another source at a more reasonable cost.

http://www.autopartsway.ca/partlist...ody/switches/turn-signal-switch/pagenum1/tabs
 

tdwesty

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 9, 2009
Location
Vancouver Island, BC, Canada
TDI
'04 Jetta TDI GLS Spice Red, 1.6TD Westy
tdwesty, I do see you're in BC.

1st VW Parts in Auburn WA has that part #8L0953513S01C, for $115 US, online pricing only, and shipping required, no local pickup.

http://www.1stvwparts.com/item.php?...556205&dm_id=659&ic_id=100296&act=item_detail

.
Thanks, Phaser. After doing the exchange and shipping, Autopartsway was only about $10 more, so I went that route. Part arrived next day, and is a VW original part in VW box. Dealer also had the part for $220 in Victoria.
Now I just need to find time to do the job when it cools off a bit.
After a week of driving 1000km, the car failed to start again, so I also need to tackle the grounds *again*. Symptom is the clock and trip counter resets, then goes dark when key turned. Usually letting the car sit for a few minutes resolves it. Engine will also stumble sometimes when windows activated, but this usually occurs after a heavy rain.
A bit disappointing to have this happen after a great run on the highway to Kelowna and back - with new shocks and tires, this car drives very well and feels solid at 140km/h. But we may be looking at a newer Jetta if I can't get to the bottom of this issue as my wife is not keen on driving a car with electrical issues much longer.
We test drove the 1.4 and 1.8TSI Jettas recently, and while they have little bottom end compared to the TDI, I could probably get used to them, and the price is certainly aggressive.
 

tdwesty

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 9, 2009
Location
Vancouver Island, BC, Canada
TDI
'04 Jetta TDI GLS Spice Red, 1.6TD Westy
Got it!

Got it!
I had to pry the airbag off while pressing the lever. Unlike all accounts I've seen and read, it does NOT pop off! Required a significant amount of prying to get it off, perhaps because of the type of wheel I have - '04 TDI GLS with leather / multi function wheel.
 

tdwesty

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 9, 2009
Location
Vancouver Island, BC, Canada
TDI
'04 Jetta TDI GLS Spice Red, 1.6TD Westy
Now I need to reset my airbag light... :(

Got it all back together, and now have an airbag light, and the horn beeps at startup very briefly, but does not work otherwise. I made the mistake of applying power before putting the wheel on to test the signal stalk.
Fortunately, a friend has the VCDS tool and software, so I should be ok. I assume the horn not working is a symptom of the airbag warning light. Yes, I did re-connect the airbag...

At least I now know how to remove the airbag - just pry it off (while holding lever down) if it does not "pop" off like so many descriptions suggest.
 

2002allstock

Member
Joined
Nov 24, 2009
Location
BALDWIN, WI
TDI
2002 JETTA
Cantstopfishing: I have to do the Low beam fix as described in this thread, but the annoying clicking from the turn indicator was fixed on my car (2002 VW Jetta TDI) when I upgraded the stereo to a 114.00 Kenwood using the wiring adapter. My stereo came alive, the Monsoon system has incredible bass USB, Bluetooth etc. and it all works. Next thing I noticed was when using my turn indicators or whatever the trigger was that caused the click, has been gone ever since. 'A fellow cheesehead fisherman'
 
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