Left front door illumination lights won't turn off

John-TDI

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 6, 2012
Location
Middletown NY
TDI
2003 Jetta Wagon TDI
I've tried searching for anything similar and couldn't find anything. 2003 Jetta wagon. I noticed today that when i turned my headlights off the red lights in all the switches are staying lit only the Left front door door no other lights.

I tried unplugging the dimmer switch and the headlight switch with no change. Before i go out in the snow and try pulling the door card i anyone has seen this or know where to start looking for an issue.
 

wonneber

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 12, 2011
Location
Monroe, NY, USA
TDI
2014 Jetta Sportwagon,2003 Jetta 261K Sold but not forgotten
Maybe the wires in the boot between the door & pillar frayed & shorted?
I think there's a plug in the left kick panel you could unplug.
I'm not clear if it's all the red lights that are on or just the drivers door.
 

John-TDI

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 6, 2012
Location
Middletown NY
TDI
2003 Jetta Wagon TDI
Maybe the wires in the boot between the door & pillar frayed & shorted?
I think there's a plug in the left kick panel you could unplug.
I'm not clear if it's all the red lights that are on or just the drivers door.
Just the red lights on the LF door. I think i might have found the issue, If i unplug the fuel door switch all the lights turn off. I'm thinking the switch is bad internally.


My LF door lock actuator is also bad i installed an after market radio and it wont turn off unless i open the passenger door.
 

wonneber

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Oct 12, 2011
Location
Monroe, NY, USA
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2014 Jetta Sportwagon,2003 Jetta 261K Sold but not forgotten
Could be a bad switch, it does have power all the time.

When I replaced my radio I ran all new wires so I would not have to worry about scan tools not working and to have real speaker wires. :)
When I shut the key the radio goes off.
There's a few power studs under the relay box.
I used one that has power all the time and another that has power in run but not crank.
 

John-TDI

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Joined
Nov 6, 2012
Location
Middletown NY
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2003 Jetta Wagon TDI
Could be a bad switch, it does have power all the time.

When I replaced my radio I ran all new wires so I would not have to worry about scan tools not working and to have real speaker wires. :)
When I shut the key the radio goes off.
There's a few power studs under the relay box.
I used one that has power all the time and another that has power in run but not crank.
I'm thinking the switch went bad and it's back feeding that circuit in the door. As far as the radio goes i got a proper can bus radio harness with sub module so i can keep my steering wheel control and not have any issues. we will see if it works. If i keep this car long enough i will end up mounting an amp under the drivers side seat and running a 4 channel system and abandoning the factory wiring.

Well i decided to bite the bullet and ordered the left front lock module. If anyone is in need of one ECS tuning has a sale on them going 99.95 with free shipping. I also ordered the fuel door switch off ebay dealer close out for 20.00
 
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JB05

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Oct 20, 2005
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Il.USA
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Golf,2005,anthracite blue
Are there any stored DTC's? A proper scan should be taken first.
 

masterqi

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Joined
Oct 24, 2017
Location
Colorado
TDI
1999.5 Jetta GLS VR6
I've tried searching for anything similar and couldn't find anything. 2003 Jetta wagon. I noticed today that when i turned my headlights off the red lights in all the switches are staying lit only the Left front door door no other lights.
John, here's another thread with the same issue:

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=337128

For me, it's the same thing but right front door.
 

masterqi

Member
Joined
Oct 24, 2017
Location
Colorado
TDI
1999.5 Jetta GLS VR6
Just the red lights on the LF door. I think i might have found the issue, If i unplug the fuel door switch all the lights turn off. I'm thinking the switch is bad internally.
Curious about this potential root cause, although I wonder if this would affect lights on the opposite side door (see above post). Have you tried replacing that switch?
 
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wonneber

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 12, 2011
Location
Monroe, NY, USA
TDI
2014 Jetta Sportwagon,2003 Jetta 261K Sold but not forgotten
I think i might have found the issue, If i unplug the fuel door switch all the lights turn off. I'm thinking the switch is bad internally.
With the fuel switch out can you check if there's power to pin 4 of the socket?
On mine its a gray/blue wire.
It connects to the 'interior light system' somewhere.
The red/yellow on pin 1 is hot all the time.
 

BobnOH

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May 29, 2004
Location
central Ohio
TDI
New Beetle 2003 manual
I can't see why the fuel door switch would feed the window switches. Wire cross connect (damaged wiring)
 

John-TDI

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Joined
Nov 6, 2012
Location
Middletown NY
TDI
2003 Jetta Wagon TDI
Curious about this potential root cause, although I wonder if this would affect lights on the opposite side door (see above post). Have you tried replacing that switch?
It's only the left side door having an issue and i ordered a switch.

With the fuel switch out can you check if there's power to pin 4 of the socket?
On mine its a gray/blue wire.
It connects to the 'interior light system' somewhere.
The red/yellow on pin 1 is hot all the time.
I will check into it tomorrow when i replace my bad door lock module.

I can't see why the fuel door switch would feed the window switches. Wire cross connect (damaged wiring)
It's just effecting the illumination the windows staying energized if from the bad LF door module that i am going to replace.
 

BobnOH

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Joined
May 29, 2004
Location
central Ohio
TDI
New Beetle 2003 manual
Also, I don't think the door open or close error would illuminate those window switches.
Mine has a bad door switch, for years, intermittent. It will illuminate the puddle light, or refuse to illuminate and even lock the keys in the car, among other things. But I've never seen the window switch light up. I've been wrong before.
 

John-TDI

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Joined
Nov 6, 2012
Location
Middletown NY
TDI
2003 Jetta Wagon TDI
Also, I don't think the door open or close error would illuminate those window switches.
Mine has a bad door switch, for years, intermittent. It will illuminate the puddle light, or refuse to illuminate and even lock the keys in the car, among other things. But I've never seen the window switch light up. I've been wrong before.

I think it's just something i'm discovering just because i installed an aftermarket radio and it didn't turn off when i opened the door other then that i wouldn't have thought it was bad. As for the illumination that came out of left field to say the least. I unplugged the fuel door switch and the illumination lights cut out so i'm going to start there and see what i get.
 

wonneber

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 12, 2011
Location
Monroe, NY, USA
TDI
2014 Jetta Sportwagon,2003 Jetta 261K Sold but not forgotten
I can't see why the fuel door switch would feed the window switches. Wire cross connect (damaged wiring)
That's what I'm thinking also.
Trying to confirm it.
I would have thought all the lights would have been on.
 

VE1.9

Veteran Member
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Dec 29, 2012
Location
Chicago
TDI
2002 Jetta GLX 5spd
I think the fuel door switch will indeed end up being the issue. I'm guessing there is an internal short between the illumination wire and the +12V constant feed at the switch. It makes sense because the whole door uses the same illumination source, so it would power all the LEDs in that door.

The reason it doesn't light up all the red LEDs in the car, is because the doors are not directly wired to the dash dimmer switch. If you were to look at the connectors for the door harness at the base of the A-pillar, you would find that there is no illumination wire (grey/blue) feeding into the door harness. The illumination source for the doors comes from the window motor module, not the dimmer switch. The LEDs in the doors will still vary with intensity by operating the dimmer switch, but this is done through CAN-bus, not by the dimmer switch itself.

The cars with the older 1J0 CCMs might have had a direct illumination feed to the doors from the dimmer switch, but the newer 1C0 ones do not.
 

crashtested

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Jun 15, 2010
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Nelson, BC
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2016 Q5 TDI Technik, 2014 GSW CL 6MT (RIP), 2004 Jetta GLS 5MT (sold), 2010 GSW HL 6MT (buy back)
I had the same thing when the lock module went.
 

masterqi

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Oct 24, 2017
Location
Colorado
TDI
1999.5 Jetta GLS VR6
I think the fuel door switch will indeed end up being the issue. I'm guessing there is an internal short between the illumination wire and the +12V constant feed at the switch. It makes sense because the whole door uses the same illumination source, so it would power all the LEDs in that door.
But some people (including myself) have the issue on the passenger side. So how could a bad fuel door switch on the driver's side affect that?
 

VE1.9

Veteran Member
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Dec 29, 2012
Location
Chicago
TDI
2002 Jetta GLX 5spd
But some people (including myself) have the issue on the passenger side. So how could a bad fuel door switch on the driver's side affect that?
In the OP's case I believe it's the fuel door switch because he said he removed it and the LEDs shut off. However, this problem could be caused by any of the switches in the door since they are all wired to the same illumination source ( if one turns on, then all of them turn on), the problem is not exclusive to the fuel door switch.

In your case, I would suspect that either the window switch, or lock/unlock switch has the same internal short that the OP's fuel door switch has. So either one (or possibly both) of those switches is bad, or the window motor module (the actual source of illumination) has gone bad and is supplying permanent power to the switches. The CCM is a distant possibility as well, but not very likely.

I would start by unplugging each of the switches to see if the other switch's LEDs turn off. If they do, then you've found the bad switch. If they don't, check each switch for internal shorting with a multimeter. There should be no continuity between any of the pins. If there is, then that particular switch is bad. If both switches test out OK, then it's likely an internal short in the window motor module.
 

masterqi

Member
Joined
Oct 24, 2017
Location
Colorado
TDI
1999.5 Jetta GLS VR6
Thanks for the info/advice. Too bad the switches on the passenger door can't be accessed as easily as on the driver's door! :mad:
 

John-TDI

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 6, 2012
Location
Middletown NY
TDI
2003 Jetta Wagon TDI
In the OP's case I believe it's the fuel door switch because he said he removed it and the LEDs shut off. However, this problem could be caused by any of the switches in the door since they are all wired to the same illumination source ( if one turns on, then all of them turn on), the problem is not exclusive to the fuel door switch.

In your case, I would suspect that either the window switch, or lock/unlock switch has the same internal short that the OP's fuel door switch has. So either one (or possibly both) of those switches is bad, or the window motor module (the actual source of illumination) has gone bad and is supplying permanent power to the switches. The CCM is a distant possibility as well, but not very likely.

I would start by unplugging each of the switches to see if the other switch's LEDs turn off. If they do, then you've found the bad switch. If they don't, check each switch for internal shorting with a multimeter. There should be no continuity between any of the pins. If there is, then that particular switch is bad. If both switches test out OK, then it's likely an internal short in the window motor module.
It's defiantly a bad switch it's shorting out internally with the constant 12V i had a chance to play around with it today with my power probe.
 
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