Wingnut
Top Post Dawg
This is a common problem on the MKIV cars that came with a Bosch cluster. The vast majority of MKIV cars came with VDO clusters, so this shold not really affect most people. But I know that the 2003 model year TDI wagons came with these Bosch clusters, so there may be others too. I have seen 4 of these broken trip reset buttons locally and all were in 2003 wagons. But there may be more cars running with these clusters elsewhere that can use this information.
Basically, there is a small plastic arm that acts like a cantilever to push down on a microswitch on the circuit board. The end of the plastic arm breaks, leaving nothing for the pushrod to press against.
The tools you will need for this job are:
1) T-20 torx bit to remove cluster from dash
2) T-10 torx bit to separate the cluster housing
3) 1 tube of super glue or epoxy
4) 1 item to be glued to the pushrod. I used a staple as I could bend it around the pushrod for more stability, but anything that will stick will work.
Start by removing the cluster from the car. It has been covered many times before both here and on the Vortex, so I didn't bother to take any pics of that part
Once the cluster is out, separate the 2 halves of the casing by removing 4 screws from the back. They are Torx T-10:
Now, carefully remove the half with the clear plastic lense to expose the reset push rod:
Here is a picture with the rod removed (it just pulls straight out). You can see the micro switch easier now. I have extended where the broken piece should be with an illustration in red. The circled part of the rod pushes down on the plastic arm to push the switch. With the plastic arm missing, you cannot put pressure on the switch.
So instead of trying to fix the broken plastic cantilever arm, I simply attached something to the push rod to make direct contact with the switch. I glued a staple to the pushrod. It just needs to be slightly off center to the right of the pushrod to make contact with the microswitch. here is the bent staple in place:
Its a little difficult to see, so I have taken a few extra shots of it. You can see how the staple extends down the right side of the pushrod about 3mm:
Now here is the pushrod reinserted. You can see how the staple that I glued to the side of the pushrod is now directly above the microswitch and will push on the micro switch once the pushrod is pressed:
I know this won't help too many people as this seems to be isolated to just the wagons, but I have heard from enough people with wagons to go ahead and do this write-up. So hopefully it will help those few & far between with the broken trip reset button problem
Good luck.
DISCLAIMER: Please be careful when working on sensative electronics. Static electricity can damage your components. And the usual disclaimer stuff......do at your own risk
CREDITS: RedlineDave for supplying the broken cluster to fix.
Basically, there is a small plastic arm that acts like a cantilever to push down on a microswitch on the circuit board. The end of the plastic arm breaks, leaving nothing for the pushrod to press against.
The tools you will need for this job are:
1) T-20 torx bit to remove cluster from dash
2) T-10 torx bit to separate the cluster housing
3) 1 tube of super glue or epoxy
4) 1 item to be glued to the pushrod. I used a staple as I could bend it around the pushrod for more stability, but anything that will stick will work.
Start by removing the cluster from the car. It has been covered many times before both here and on the Vortex, so I didn't bother to take any pics of that part
Once the cluster is out, separate the 2 halves of the casing by removing 4 screws from the back. They are Torx T-10:
Now, carefully remove the half with the clear plastic lense to expose the reset push rod:
Here is a picture with the rod removed (it just pulls straight out). You can see the micro switch easier now. I have extended where the broken piece should be with an illustration in red. The circled part of the rod pushes down on the plastic arm to push the switch. With the plastic arm missing, you cannot put pressure on the switch.
So instead of trying to fix the broken plastic cantilever arm, I simply attached something to the push rod to make direct contact with the switch. I glued a staple to the pushrod. It just needs to be slightly off center to the right of the pushrod to make contact with the microswitch. here is the bent staple in place:
Its a little difficult to see, so I have taken a few extra shots of it. You can see how the staple extends down the right side of the pushrod about 3mm:
Now here is the pushrod reinserted. You can see how the staple that I glued to the side of the pushrod is now directly above the microswitch and will push on the micro switch once the pushrod is pressed:
I know this won't help too many people as this seems to be isolated to just the wagons, but I have heard from enough people with wagons to go ahead and do this write-up. So hopefully it will help those few & far between with the broken trip reset button problem
Good luck.
DISCLAIMER: Please be careful when working on sensative electronics. Static electricity can damage your components. And the usual disclaimer stuff......do at your own risk
CREDITS: RedlineDave for supplying the broken cluster to fix.
Last edited:
