clock and trip zeroed on shutdown, and ABS+brake+chimes

Had a similar issue with my 03 along with other electrical gremlins. Ended up being the fuse box on top of battery..all good now.

SOLVED, perpetual trip meter and clock reset to 12:00

jeeprockr said:

Any updates? My 02 Jetta is doing everything described in this thread. I've cleaned the grounds under the battery tray, battery terminals as well etc. Fuses are all good. Still need to pull of the wheels to check those sensors. Odometer zeros out as soon as I turn the key off.

Click to expand...

My symptoms were a little different- The trip meter and clock were NOT visible when I turned the key off. Then when I turned the key on, I could see the previous readings for a moment, and THEN is would reset. They were not resetting when I turned the ignition off; they were resetting just after I turned the ignition on!

Fuse 15

It is a 5 amp fuse. My Bentley manual calls it
"Instrument cluster, automatic transmission control module"

As soon as I replaced the fuse, the clock, odometer, AND trip meter are displayed after shutting down and pulling the key. And they do NOT reset when I turned it back on. Seems fixed. Finally, a clock and trip meter!

But my radio does NOT turn off when I open the door. It turns off when I pull the key out of the ignition (did this after a couple of drive cycles.

One other thing... the light in the lower area of the door lights up BRIGHT when I open the door, (so does the dome light). The switch in the driver door locking mechanism appears to be fine. But should the radio turn off when I open the door? This is 2003 Jetta wagon, with automatic to manual conversion.

I do NOT have the extra buttons on the wiper stalk-only wiper control. No multifunction computer option on this car (darn).

With the radio, what's normal for my car is radio stays on as long as key is in ignition. Radio will stay on with key pulled from ignition till door is open ( this function is also timed)
So if you pull the key and sit for a long time without opening door radio will shut off.
Power windows seem to follow this pattern as well.
Cheers

NEW behavior after fuse replacement-delayed

muzy said:

With the radio, what's normal for my car is radio stays on as long as key is in ignition. Radio will stay on with key pulled from ignition till door is open ( this function is also timed)
So if you pull the key and sit for a long time without opening door radio will shut off.
Power windows seem to follow this pattern as well.
Cheers

Click to expand...

Oddly, after a couple of start/stop cycles, there is a consistent pattern emerging. The radio shuts off when I pull the key. But the windows remain powered until I open the door. This is fine with me. I hope it is permanent.

I do NOT have the extra buttons on the windshield wiper stalk (no multifunction computer). Only one trip meter controlled by the peg by the speedometer, and no instantaneous readout of fuel consumption, miles left on tank, average mileage, etc. Kind of primitive compared to the newer VWs.

I think I will go aftermarket on the stereo and replace the speakers eventually. I really miss blue tooth.

Also discovered that if I have a cell phone plugged into the charger, when I turn the car off and the trip odometer zeros, the phone acts likes it's being unplugged and plugged back in. Over and over and over... Replaced fuse #15 and I still have the problem. Grounds under the battery are clean as well as the connections in the fuse box on top of the battery. This is a fun one haha.

I open the door to exit and the lights flicker rapidly, there is a rapid clicking of door locks and/or relay. When starting the key intermittently won't light instrument cluster. Occasionally I'm unable to crank engine. Had to put in gear, and turn steering wheel. When accelerating the lights flicker and dim between gears. Windows roll opposite way randomly. Keyfob won't always cause a response. Alarm won't always beep when locking.
I had vag com codes read by garage, which point to door control module. I'm probably going for it. He says it can cause all these issues, which if it's shorting out I could believe. I went to open wiring harness to door and am afraid I'll rip it, but while there I noticed a rubber drain right above it, dripping water and daring me to mess with it.

Doesn't sound like just a door module. Check the various plugs, modules and wires in the door and under the dash. Even a loose or dirty fuse.

I'm reading about more and more alternator issues causing weird problems. Wiring (especially the connector just above the starter- wires like to break there) and bad diodes on the alternator (allowing current flows to reverse out to who knows where).

Alternator issues are definitely one of the first thing to check for, when you have weird electrical issues, right after, or concurrently with bad ground and power connections

Diodes

Good call on alternator diodes (I think)! I may have multiple issues but I read ac voltage on running battery and it was 26.4. I don't imagine its supposed to do that. I guess I better order more stuff. It didn't make it to 12.4v even at 1500 rpm, but battery is staying charged to about 12.2

I am the original poster, and thanks to all who have read and made posts.

The car recently had a wheel bearing go bad, and get replaced. While that was being done, the sensor for the left front ABS was also replaced. Since that happened, there has been none of the nonsense written about in this thread. Someone else posted that their symptoms stopped after an ABS sensor repair, and to have this happen twice seemed significant.

If the problem comes back, I will update this, and in the meantime I hope everyone chasing this type of symptom the best of luck.

Why ABS? Dunno but a theory, which I have not analyzed much is that the ABS system does something when the power shuts down, and with the right configuration it may draw more power than normal, creating a low voltage somewhere and resetting ECU or other electronics.

This just happened to me this morning. Tuned off ignition and pulled the key, and I think that the clock and OD reset at the same time. I'll have to pay closer attention. They do not blank out however. This happened earlier during the week, and lasted for just over 100 miles on the trip OD. My door lock module acts up in the cold causing the door ajar light to turn on, but goes off after things warm up. Don't know if this door module is the cause because the door ajar light was off when the clock and OD reset. When the weather warms up I will have a look at the fuses on top of the battery.

I'd look at the fuses and connections on top of the battery ASAP as problems there can turn into BIG problems (melting wires and such). I recommend folks check those connections from time to time.

Just went out and checked the fuses on top of the battery, and they were all clean and tight showing no signs of arcing or overheating. So I reset the clock; and started the engine and let it run for a couple of minutes 'til the gp's turned off. Shut off engine and the clock did not reset; the trip OD is still at 00 since I did not go anywhere. I shut off the engine and everything went blank; all power cut out completely. The voltmeter in my cig. lighter showed no voltage reading also. Put key back in ignition and no start. Tried this two more times and nothing. Then I turned the ignition on only and put the transmission in neutral and everything came back; clock and OD displays showed up and the VM showed 13 volts since it had recently been charged. Put it back in Park and engine fired up. No CEL, but I'll have to see what VCDS shows. The alternator is a 120 amp, genuine Bosch reman and puts out 13.8 to 14 volts. Wiggling the key in the ignition switch didn't do anything either before the Neutral experiment. I'm totally lost.
I wonder if I could have disturbed some wiring down by the transmission when I recently changed the crankshaft position sensor.

Check the grounds.

No. The reason I changed the CPS was due to me changing the t-stat. I had to move the now fragile cable which must have broken one of the three fine wires, but that is now solved. Mine is an auto, 09A, and after some research in the Bentley, I suspect a bad fuse 15 or possibly a relay. I need to hood up VCDS, but I need to unbury my car first. It's coming down pretty hard out here in the burbs of Chicago.

Update: VCDS shows 01314 DTC in both the Instruments and the Auto Transmission groups. Since I recently performed a Malone VNT Delete reflash, this can be ignored. I deleted it and will see if it comes back. Engine group had no DTC's, but the Central Locks shows that the lock module has intermittent communication which I'm well aware of. I don't know if this lock module would affect the LCD's resetting. The door ajar light goes on when first starting out, but goes off after a while; maybe has to do with cabin temperature. I intend to recheck the wires down by the driver side kick panel as a start. They looked OK last year as well as the wire by the front driver's door hinge.
I ran the engine for a while also, and the clock did not default to 12:00 like it did yesterday.