9 Exterior lights went out on my 2011 Golf TDI

This Sunday out of the blue 9 exterior lights on my 2011 golf TDI with stopped working.


The following DIC check messages displayed:
Front right low beam
Front right turn signal
Rear left turn signal
Rear left brake light
Check license plate lighting
Front right fog light
Left front side light
Rear right side light
Right back-up light

I verified that all the lights mentioned above where in fact not working. Once I got home I checked the fuse box. I removed each fused and reseated. All looked ok and nothing was corroded and nothing looked out of the ordinary.

As soon as I put the cover back on all 9 lights that where not working all of the sudden came on. I removed the cover to look around some more and saw nothing out of place. The multiply red and one black wire on the front of the fuse box are all tight. I put the cover back on and the 9 lights are still out. I slapped the top of the box and the 9 lights started working again. I closed the hood and turned the car off and went inside to watch the super bowl.

This morning the 9 lights where not working again. I popped the hood and slapped the top of the fuse box and the 9 lights all started working. I drove for about an hour and they continued to work.

Does anyone have any ideas as to what is going on?

Sounds like a bad ground connection.

Or a bad relay? You could try swapping two identical relays.

sounds like a warranty issue

I'd go with the ground connection too. However, if it is still under warranty, let the stealership have a go at it. Good luck.

homelessgdog said:

I'd go with the ground connection too. However, if it is still under warranty, let the stealership have a go at it. Good luck.

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and let us know when you've got an update

Did you ever find a solution to this? I am now having this same exact issue on my 2011 sportwagen.

My father had the same issue with his Tiguan, turned out to be this:





http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?5940918-Melting-fuse-box-stikes-again!-(the-40K-club-)

One of the fuses in the far back of the box (30A green one) melts and causes light issues. Check that

Chockomon said:

My father had the same issue with his Tiguan, turned out to be this:

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?5940918-Melting-fuse-box-stikes-again!-(the-40K-club-)

One of the fuses in the far back of the box (30A green one) melts and causes light issues. Check that

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VW was never much good with electrical stuff. Remember those ceramic fuses from MKI Golfs? They'd overheat, melt the fuse box cover, but never blow.

I second Chockomon. See my thread a while ago, I had the EXACT same issue:

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=405656

It WAS a melted fuse block. Fuse F16 (30 Amp) was also melted in said box. Service advisor said common in the Tiguans and starting to show up in the VI Golfs. New box is different material (prone to less melting, I assume) and is only an interim fix as VW is allegedly working on a recall at which point I'll be reimbursed.

Lost almost all my lights on my 2010 Golf TDI on the way to work this morning, error, error, error on the dash. Not the first time, but usually happened when I started up. So dealing right now with the exact same problem as the picture above, uncanny, I opened my box and it could have been the same picture! Just got off the phone with the dealership and NO recall to date! Unbelievable.

Sounds like a good time to take this up the ladder to both VWoA and also the NHTSA.

I was honestly thinking this is a good reason to change out as many bulbs with LEDs. Less power going through those fuses.

I only have a few bulbs left that are incandescent. But those will be changed soon.

recall is called campaign 97am. it was done on my 10 jetta for same problem.

jetlagmech said:

recall is called campaign 97am. it was done on my 10 jetta for same problem.

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Sure enough:
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=414428

Thanks for the service bulletin info... Found a bunch of information about it on Google.

Hey look what I found after all my lights went out on my 2010 Golf TDI!

HectorsTDI said:

Hey look what I found after all my lights went out on my 2010 Golf TDI!
https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5736/22215130163_750a3f108f_b.jpg

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There's a very good chance that you'll be able to get it fixed or replaced at the dealer free of charge.

would this be a likely culprit for fog lights that stopped working... and now are apparently back to working? I had no warning lights when it happened.

Was looking into a completely different issue on my car and came across a fues like this. Haven't had any symptoms as of yet, but the fuse is completely toast, but still fully functional :\.

Having same problem on my 11 Golf. Went to stealership in Savannah GA (I do NOT recommend them), and they said I had some "corroded ground wires" which they "cleaned" and told me the issue was fixed.

$250 later, I am in Augusta Georgia, and the F%^king problem is back. I have to drive back to Maryland in 10 days, so I am going to chance it, and take it to my dealership back home, who does awesome work, and get it fixed correctly.

Waynoooo said:

Having same problem on my 11 Golf. Went to stealership in Savannah GA (I do NOT recommend them), and they said I had some "corroded ground wires" which they "cleaned" and told me the issue was fixed.

$250 later, I am in Augusta Georgia, and the F%^king problem is back. I have to drive back to Maryland in 10 days, so I am going to chance it, and take it to my dealership back home, who does awesome work, and get it fixed correctly.

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Which dealer do you go to in Maryland?

Tweak3D said:

Was looking into a completely different issue on my car and came across a fues like this. Haven't had any symptoms as of yet, but the fuse is completely toast, but still fully functional :\.

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that usually means the contact isn't pinching hard enough on fuse or crimped wire going to the fuse contact isn't crimped good. arcing caused heat and melts stuff but no additional current to blow fuse. then after a while the arcing spots being burned and corrode creating additional resistance and heat.

ATR said:

Which dealer do you go to in Maryland?

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I go to Cook VW in Fallston. I live in Bel Air and they are right down the road from me. The service staff has always been exceptional, and have always taken the time to answer my questions and keep me informed.

They are not your typical "Stealership". I recommend them to anyone looking to have work done on their diesel in the Northern Maryland area.

Waynoooo said:

I go to Cook VW in Fallston. I live in Bel Air and they are right down the road from me. The service staff has always been exceptional, and have always taken the time to answer my questions and keep me informed.

They are not your typical "Stealership". I recommend them to anyone looking to have work done on their diesel in the Northern Maryland area.

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I'll keep them in mind if my dealer falls through. Good to know that there's another good dealer in Maryland.

FWIW the dealer I have had very good experiences with is Heritage VW in Owings Mills. They really went out of their way to help me with a airbag install for a Scirocco steering wheel.

mine just did this and I replaced the fuse. If i'm not on the "recall list" what would I need to do to get them to replace the fuse block. I'd rather not wait for another failure.

The old fuse was melted, and the socket wasn't looking great (but wasn't totally melted and fubar'd just yet).

kooyajerms said:

mine just did this and I replaced the fuse. If i'm not on the "recall list" what would I need to do to get them to replace the fuse block. I'd rather not wait for another failure.

The old fuse was melted, and the socket wasn't looking great (but wasn't totally melted and fubar'd just yet).

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They may not do anything if there's a new fuse in there. But if the fuse socket is pretty bad looking they may replace it. No one here can say for sure... You need to check with your local dealer

Oh don't worry, I kept the old fuse and it's ready to go back in when I hit the dealer. I'm still on call waiting for them to figure out a P2015 code that a new intake manifold didn't fix, (CPO warranty)

hotpocketdeath said:

I was honestly thinking this is a good reason to change out as many bulbs with LEDs. Less power going through those fuses.

I only have a few bulbs left that are incandescent. But those will be changed soon.

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Not necessarily true. In order for LEDs to work on cars with CAN bus monitoring not designed to work with LEDs need bulbs that fool the computer into thinking it is a standard 12V incandescent; it does this by using a built in resistor network that the excess current sinks through. The computer sees the same current output so it does not cut power to the bulb thinking it is out because LEDs operate at such a low output current. Therefore the fuses see the same current

Efchou said:

Not necessarily true. In order for LEDs to work on cars with CAN bus monitoring not designed to work with LEDs need bulbs that fool the computer into thinking it is a standard 12V incandescent; it does this by using a built in resistor network that the excess current sinks through. The computer sees the same current output so it does not cut power to the bulb thinking it is out because LEDs operate at such a low output current. Therefore the fuses see the same current

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Not exactly.

Almost, if not all, interior lights don't have canbus checks and can run simple LED replacements. Been running cheap LED bulbs for 3 or 4 years now without issue.

Also, you only need enough resistance to "trick" the canbus on some bulbs, which isn't as much power as a regular incadecent bulb would need. For example, my back up lights are LED now and I have 25ohm resistors on them, which at 12V is about 5.75W. The LED itself draws 7.5W, so 13.25W combined. So that runs about 3/4 the power of a standard 921 bulb w/ more light output.

Additionally, with some lights, you can turn off bulb checking. I switched to LED tails a while back and used VCDS to turn off their checking. No need for resistors on them. My running lights are also standard LEDs and don't use resistors. And they don't throw errors.

There's also some HID warning cancelers that eliminate the canbus check but not consume power constantly like a normal resistor would.

Edit: This is what I have observed with my own car. I can't say for certain if other cars/models will behave the same.

Timely thread....wife's car had lights going off and on in different combinations for the last week. Originally thought it was something getting damp bc it seemed to coincide with wet weather. After seeing this thread I ran out and popped the hood. Sure enough....scorched fuse and melted plastic in the area around it. Appointment was already made for Tuesday.

Are they replacing the fuse plate on golfs as part of this recall yet? Anything to mention beyond recall 97am?