Turn signal problem

That's a very cool find and a great solution that costs literally nothing to implement.

I would like to mention though, most people out here in Twosun, AZ will never have that problem as they never, ever, under any circumstances whatsoever use a turn signal. It is so bad that I actually (only slightly tongue-in-cheek) think it is against the law to use them. Our cops flat refuse at any time to use them, however, they will use the lights and siren to get through an intersection...that's it, just through and on their way. I asked at the local dealer and they have never heard of anyone having turn signal problems, ever.

YMMV, and watch out for people that don't use turn signals.

Mike /images/graemlins/cool.gif

I couldn't get a quick answer from my dealer's service department initially,
but later I heard that the signal issue would be warranty covered. However,
mine went crazy after 50k miles and now (my 2002) is at 60k miles so I've
left my warranty period anyway. LC

in order to take off the steering wheel, do you need a triple square 12mm bit or a specialty tool from VW to remove the center bolt? before i take the airbag off i would like to have all the tools ready. thanks for any help.

I'm just bringing this back to life as I have the problem. The stealer just keeps replacing the relay...and won't listen.

If the spray method does not work, what is the easiest way to get the switch apart?

GREAT THREAD!! My 03 Jetta just started doing this... and I thought it might be the relay... now I know it's not. Sweet.

Now, for the real question: my car is at 42K miles and is still under warranty... so do I a) take it to the dealer and cross my fingers they'll fix it right and not screw up something else, or b) pull the wheel apart myself and fix it?

Thanks, Wingnut. I didn't have the nerve to remove the steering wheel, but I did pick up a can of Contact Cleaner from Pep Boys, and voila...it worked! I sprayed behind the stalk, as your picture showed, I also sprayed in front and any other place I could get it to go in...all the while working it up and down, forward and backward.

Many thanks

macdaddy

Great.... mine is doing it too. No Armorall or anything of the kind.

I'm just bringing this back to life as I have the problem. The stealer just keeps replacing the relay...and won't listen.

If the spray method does not work, what is the easiest way to get the switch apart?

Click to expand...

To update. The cleaner did not help. After a bit of complaining, the dealer replaced the entire signal switch assembly under warranty.

Deoxit worked for me

Hello,

Thanks to everyone for the information in this thread! My car (2003 Jetta) just started with the phantom clicking after the signal was off, on Wednesday night. I came on here and found some of the threads about the hazard switch problem. Even though my car is a 2003 and is supposedly not affected, I decided that I'd make a trip to the dealer and try a new switch. I swapped the switch out while in the dealer's lot, and I decided to test it there too. Still the same problem... I didn't bother going back inside the parts dept though because my wife has a 2000 Jetta that we got the recall notice for, so I figured I could use it on her car. So, I got home and did some more searching and found this thread. After reading it, I got my Deoxit out (which I bought after reading the GP how-to since my wife's car had a GP code and the GPs all tested fine). And what do you know, spraying the Deoxit in the stalk area fixed the second electrical gremlin I've experienced with our cars.

This site is great, it's so nice to have extra money that I don't have to bend over and give to the stealership...Although I did pay $21 for the switch, but I'll try the VW reimbursement thing for the recall and see if they decide to give me my money back.

Damn Clicking!

And I thought I was the only one in the world with this problem.

2003 Jetta TDI

turn signal problem -quick flasher

you guys are great. i took it to the dealer and they wanted 368 to fix it. new turn sugnal and labor. i read the post got my contact cleaner and it works great!!
thanks again
tj
2002 jetta TDI 57k

Sign me up I have an 03 Jetta and it just started this yesterday, Glad to see I'm not the only one with the issue. I'll try the contact cleaner, hope that clears it up. With this may people having the issue, one woud think we could expect a recall, oh well I'll blame the wife she uses the turn signal, I always forget

Seems to have worked, thx all.

man.. sounds like this happens quite a bit! same problem here.... have not used armor-all on the dash but used other stuff ... i think 303 cleaner. still same problem. this is on a 2004 tdi sport. it started doing this under warranty and they replaced the signal relay and it stopped for about 3 months and then started again. very sporatic .. and noticed it under colder weather more than warm weather. any help.. or process on how to change the relay would be great ... warranty is now expired.. so would rather learn on my own!... thanks for the help... love this FORUM!!!!

Blinkers won't blink

I have a 2000 NB TDI manual with 200K miles.

My situation is slightly different. It started a few days ago.

The blinker would stay on without blinking when I activate it. The same applies to the Hazard button. That leads me to guess that the relay might be the issue. I double-check all the lights and they are all good. I am now manually blinking the signals whenever the system fails. My systems fails 75% of the time. But when it works, it works for the whole turning session or only a few seconds. Then the lights remain on.

Could anyone please shed some light on this? Also, when is the relay located?

Thanks.

Well I guess I'm not the only one with this problem as I just started a new thread on this topic. Goes to show you should search before posting a new thread. Odds are someone else has the problem.

I replaced the hazzard/relay unit. Now it is working just fine.

B u m p

I was able to alleviate this problem (so far) by spraying the base of the stalk with some wd40. I didn't even have the little straw... just used some paper towels to prevent overspray and worked the stalk around as I was spraying.

On a hunch I googled for "wd40 electrical contact cleaner" and I found a page that said it would work. I wasn't sure I could get in there adequately without the straw, but it worked... no disassembly required.

used the contact cleaner worked for about 1 month, as day gets warmer, clicking goes on longer,start to wonder about sanity....driving me crazy.... is it morse code? the sheer randomness of clicks makes me wonder... is my car telling me something? 2nd round of contact cleaner no help... new stalk installed today... all is quiet so far.. kinda miss my car not talking to me anymore but wife's happy.

Psychotic Turn Signal

My partners 2002 Jetta is doing this exact same thing. I checked the "Emergency Light Switch (Hazard Flasher)" recall on NHTSA's website http://199.79.180.162/prepos/files/Artemis/Public/Recalls/2004/V/RCRIT-04V584-8467.PDF and found that his VIN is outside the range shown in the recall (3VW_ _ _9M_YM000089 to 3VW_ _ _9M_2M053565)

We're going to file a report with NHTSA http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/ to see if we can force VW to announce another recall to fix this obvious safety issue.

I'd encourage others to do the same since NHTSA won't react until they get a minimum number of similar complaints.

There is strength in numbers!
Dave

P.S. I find it amusing the VW's own letter to their dealers includes a misspelling of their company name: "Volskwgen"

Sparks?

I had the same problem but then i used a tuner cleaner spray by mistake.
TUNER CLEANER SPRAY

After that everything seemed fine, but after a few hours, the signal got stuck on left turn (not regular one, the lights seemed dimmer than a normal blink) and smoke started coming out.

I've tried to use compressed air to clean everything, but it still smokes.
What do you guys think? I can see a small light at the base of the signal lever. Could this be a spark or is it just the reflection of the left turn arrow (it seems to be a reflection since the timing is the same).

I now got the contact and head cleaner from the source (canadian radio shack)



It says that it is flamable. Is this normal? Should i use it, or will i set my car on fire with it?

Let me know because i wanna try it before i take my car to the reaper. 170 for the part + 120$ for labour (Canadian) is a bit much for my budget right now.

Psychotic Turn Signal

In past the turn signal relay had once in a great while did a few extra clicks. Then last week it started going psychotic. No lights flashing, but relay clicking.

Looking into the wiring for my 2004 Golf, I have found that the turn signal flasher unit/relay is the same one used for the E-flashers; and is part of the E-flasher switch block.

For turn signals the relay is powered with the ignition "ON". The relay sits there powered waiting to be connected to a load [ the left or right turn signal bulbs ]. On my car the BLACK w/ white & green stripes wire, goes to the turn signal switch. The switch moved up or down then connects this wire to left or right signal bulbs, part of the relay senses the curent load and cycles the relay.

When E-flasher button pushed, the relay is powered from battery, and the same internal point as the BLACK w/ white & green stripes wire gets connected to both the left & right signal bulbs. Again a part of the relay senses the curent load and cycles the relay.

With the car "OFF" and E-flasher relay unplugged, I checked the resistance from the BLACK w/ white & green stripes wire to ground [ BROWN wire on same connector ] of the E-flasher wiring plug. Should be an open with the turn signal arm centered. Moved the arm up & down many times. Some times when back at center there was a high resistance [ NOT GOOD ].

Used WD-40 as stated above, fixed for now.

Issue comes and goes now. I still try cleaning, and hope it will be gone for good.

Ben


7/10/6
Contact cleaner seems to work better.

Yeah, the best way to do it is to remove the stalk, take it apart, clean it & re lube it with dielectric grease. That will totally eliminate the problem.

The issue with just using a contact cleaner is that it is only a temporary fix. What you are doing is removing some of the grease that was originally there. That helps to cure the problem, but it also removes the lubrication, so the brass terminals wear faster & the buildup of shavings reoccurs.

I may be doing this for a local member in the near future & will take some pics & do a how-to on it. It is quite involved as you have to remove the airbag, steering wheel & take the stalk apart. It took me a couple of hours the last time I did it.

baietas said:

I had the same problem but then i used a tuner cleaner spray by mistake.

After that everything seemed fine, but after a few hours, the signal got stuck on left turn (not regular one, the lights seemed dimmer than a normal blink) and smoke started coming out.

I've tried to use compressed air to clean everything, but it still smokes.
What do you guys think? I can see a small light at the base of the signal lever. Could this be a spark or is it just the reflection of the left turn arrow (it seems to be a reflection since the timing is the same).

I now got the contact and head cleaner from the source (canadian radio shack)

It says that it is flamable. Is this normal? Should i use it, or will i set my car on fire with it?

Let me know because i wanna try it before i take my car to the reaper. 170 for the part + 120$ for labour (Canadian) is a bit much for my budget right now.

Click to expand...

did you manage to fix the phantom clickin with that contact cleaner????

I tried to do it on mine, it doesnt seem to resolve the problem... I wonder if it's a bad contact cleaner?? or should I spray lots & lots of it??

thanks

Possessed Car

Wingnut said:

Yeah, the best way to do it is to remove the stalk, take it apart, clean it & re lube it with dielectric grease. That will totally eliminate the problem.

The issue with just using a contact cleaner is that it is only a temporary fix. What you are doing is removing some of the grease that was originally there. That helps to cure the problem, but it also removes the lubrication, so the brass terminals wear faster & the buildup of shavings reoccurs.

I may be doing this for a local member in the near future & will take some pics & do a how-to on it. It is quite involved as you have to remove the airbag, steering wheel & take the stalk apart. It took me a couple of hours the last time I did it.

Click to expand...

Wingnut,
Do you have any photos yet? My '03 tdi just started this at 107,400 miles and it caused the lights to the A/C panel to flash on/off and eventually turned on a check-engine light. I'll probably start problem-solving this weekend.
Thanks,

All three of the things you mentioned are unrelated.

The flickering light in the AC panel is just a bulb. I have a how to on replacing that bulb in my signature. Takes all of 5 min to do and the bulb is about $2.

The CEL is something engine related. Probably a glow plug or coolant temp sensor code. Those are the most common, but you will have to get the car scanned to get the actual code. Any Autozone will do it or contact someone on the Vag-com list that lives close to you. Once you have the code, post it here and someone can help. Or even better, plug the code in the search bar and you will find out all kinds of info about it and how to fix it.

Wingnut said:

All three of the things you mentioned are unrelated.

The flickering light in the AC panel is just a bulb. I have a how to on replacing that bulb in my signature. Takes all of 5 min to do and the bulb is about $2.

The CEL is something engine related. Probably a glow plug or coolant temp sensor code. Those are the most common, but you will have to get the car scanned to get the actual code. Any Autozone will do it or contact someone on the Vag-com list that lives close to you. Once you have the code, post it here and someone can help. Or even better, plug the code in the search bar and you will find out all kinds of info about it and how to fix it.

Click to expand...

It's odd how these "coincidentally" all occurred at once. The bulb in the AC panel seems to be fine now that it has warmed up again outside. It would turn off whenever I turned on the turn signal, but when the relay quit ticking, the light would turn back on. BTW, the CEL was P0671 for a glowplug. It only got down to the mid-40s. Who knows? Still, do you have the photos of the turn-signal switch maintenance you mentioned?
Thanks,

My heater control bulb flickered for a few months before it finally gave out. The element in the bulb makes sporadic contact. I could tap the switch and sometimes the light would come on. Just replace the bulb and you should be OK.

As for pictures of the signal stalk, I have not had the need to remove mine again after my initial cleaning, so no, I do not have any more pictures. If and when the stalk causes the funny noises again, I will do another writeup. Or, if a local memebr happens to come by & need it done to his car.

Finally, if you want help with the glow plug code, click on my signature & read the glow plugs 101 V2.0 thread. All you need to know is in there to diagnose & fix the problem. You will just have to get someone to clear the code for you when you are done.