RockAuto door latch?

rangeroad

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2005 GLS Jetta Wagon (5-speed) Malone 1.5 w/ EGR delete
Anyone buy a RockAuto door latch? If so, reviews? No brainer or stay away? The price certainly is right!
 
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mjydrafter

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dsm, ia
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2004 Jetta Wagon
Which one they have like 15?

I don't remember where I got the last one I got but IIRC it was $100. About the best price I could find for a genuine article.
 

rangeroad

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Did it work ok for you? My local aftermarket place just has factories and they’re $220 lol
 

mjydrafter

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Did it work ok for you? My local aftermarket place just has factories and they’re $220 lol
That's a little pricey. I just looked and ECS has genuine VW latches for ~$120.

Mine worked fine. Mine had already been repaired once (bad solder connections) and then the stupid $3 switch went. So, I bought a new one.

Now I would do the workaround with a Hyundai door switch (if it were the $3 switch problem). My son pulled a bunch of switches and we've done 2 cars. So, much easier than doing the latch over and over...
 

jokila

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2003 Jetta GLS, Manual
That's a little pricey. I just looked and ECS has genuine VW latches for ~$120.

Mine worked fine. Mine had already been repaired once (bad solder connections) and then the stupid $3 switch went. So, I bought a new one.

Now I would do the workaround with a Hyundai door switch (if it were the $3 switch problem). My son pulled a bunch of switches and we've done 2 cars. So, much easier than doing the latch over and over...
Can you elaborate on the workaround. I did a quick google and cannot find anything.
 

mjydrafter

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Can you elaborate on the workaround. I did a quick google and cannot find anything.

Took me a second. Once you do one you'll remember how. Just tap the puddle light circuit.


I should add that it won't help if the latch has the bad solder problem.

Get the screw when you get the Hyundai switch at the JY, it's self tapping and all you need is a couple of quick drilled holes.
 
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KrashDH

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Took me a second. Once you do one you'll remember how. Just tap the puddle light circuit.


I should add that it won't help if the latch has the bad solder problem.
I need to do this, I have an intermittent working latch.
So the gentleman in the video said you need to splice one of the wires into the ground wire of the puddle light. The switch is just a glorified moment switch.

So the CCM detects if the lights are on or the door is open. The signal gets sent through the latch.
The completion of that latch circuit is what turns that puddle light on...

So I'm a bit confused. If your door light doesn't come on...lets say sticky latch or something, how does this help?

The only thing I can think of at this point is that the puddle light shares a common ground with the CCM and all the other interior lighting...and that the door latch is in a "normally open" state when the door is closed. When you open the door and the latch swings, you are completing the ground of the door circuit which then completes the ground of all the other items tied to it in common....so the same thing would go for any object that's tied together with other grounds...if you complete any of the individual grounds, it also grounds the components in the circuit. In the puddle light case, when the door opens, you're completing the ground for that component, which will also complete the paths of all the other items. Hopefully I'm thinking of this correctly, and if so, I'm gonna go try to find some Hyundai (or other moment) switches. Seems you could do this with the door card still on and just fish some wire through to pull your new wire to that end...
 
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mjydrafter

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I need to do this, I have an intermittent working latch.
So the gentleman in the video said you need to splice one of the wires into the ground wire of the puddle light. The switch is just a glorified moment switch.

So the CCM detects if the lights are on or the door is open. The signal gets sent through the latch.
The completion of that latch circuit is what turns that puddle light on...

So I'm a bit confused. If your door light doesn't come on...lets say sticky latch or something, how does this help?

The only thing I can think of at this point is that the puddle light shares a common ground with the CCM and all the other interior lighting...and that the door latch is in a "normally open" state when the door is closed. When you open the door and the latch swings, you are completing the ground of the door circuit which then completes the ground of all the other items tied to it in common....so the same thing would go for any object that's tied together with other grounds...if you complete any of the individual grounds, it also grounds the components in the circuit. In the puddle light case, when the door opens, you're completing the ground for that component, which will also complete the paths of all the other items. Hopefully I'm thinking of this correctly, and if so, I'm gonna go try to find some Hyundai (or other moment) switches. Seems you could do this with the door card still on and just fish some wire through to pull your new wire to that end...
This switch takes the $3 switch out of the equation. And apparently the puddle light circuit is all it takes to "tell" the CCM that the door is closed.

We did remove the door card and the fuse panel cover at the end of the dash. We grounded right inside the fuse panel cover. 4 solder connections, a little heat shrink and a electric eye connector and you're golden (with the switch & screw).
 

KrashDH

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This switch takes the $3 switch out of the equation. And apparently the puddle light circuit is all it takes to "tell" the CCM that the door is closed.

We did remove the door card and the fuse panel cover at the end of the dash. We grounded right inside the fuse panel cover. 4 solder connections, a little heat shrink and a electric eye connector and you're golden (with the switch & screw).
I know the functionality of the momentary, but it doesn't take the door latch switch out of the equation, especially if it's working intermittently. The fix above would be an "or" scenario...but in general, I know enough about electronics and circuits to be a danger to myself and a liability to the fire department. But they have good job security that way

Without looking at a wiring diagram, I was trying to figure out HOW this would work, hence my explanation above. You're technically not taking the latch out of the equation, you're providing an "or" scenario through the puddle light, which again, to make this work, would have to share a common ground with the CCM and everything it talks to. Hence the tapping into the ground wire on the puddle, then grounding the other end of the switch in the fuse area. Door closed, ground is broken, there is no path. Door open, either the door latch makes the ground complete, OR in this case, the moment switch makes the ground happen through the puddle, hence all of the other electronics will have current flow. Least that's all I can come up with.

I was looking around, tons of those switches available, but not a lot of the male plugs available. I like to use OEM connectors where I can.
 
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mjydrafter

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I was looking around, tons of those switches available, but not a lot of the male plugs available. I like to use OEM connectors where I can.
Oh, I should have mentioned, we get the connector with the Hyundai switch, pull out a few inches of the Hyundai wire so you can solder you new wire to it.

The worst part is getting the new wire through the accordion and through the car body. (That's why we pulled the door card.)
 

KrashDH

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Oh, I should have mentioned, we get the connector with the Hyundai switch, pull out a few inches of the Hyundai wire so you can solder you new wire to it.

The worst part is getting the new wire through the accordion and through the car body. (That's why we pulled the door card.)
Ya, it looks like I might have to try and go to a pick and pull. There are a ton of Hyundai's at the local one close to my house. I can't imagine that's a hot commodity when people go in there. I have some wire I'm hoping I can just fish through the door and boot then fetch the wire through that way. If no go, I'll pull the card. But my switch has been acting "normal" lately...

I think I can make this plug n play without really messing with the harness too much. That way, when it finally fails for good and I actually have to pull everything back out, I'll just cut the red and blue wires from the door latch and wire the momentary switch right to those.
 

Instigatr

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03 Golf 2 door MTM
Lots of Toyota's use the same switch. Late 80s into the early 2000. Most of them are single wire though. One that I know is two wire is the drivers door switch on a 94-98 Previa. The single wire one will work, just need to ground the mounting bolt.
Aaron
 

JB05

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I tried this mod a few years ago when my interior lights would not turn on. It did work for a while, but I eventually had to replace the latch due to other problems. With the new OEM latch I could not lock my car and the alarm would sound off in the middle of the night. Removing the added switch cured all that. Just replace the latch because sooner or later other problems will occur.
 

KrashDH

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I tried this mod a few years ago when my interior lights would not turn on. It did work for a while, but I eventually had to replace the latch due to other problems. With the new OEM latch I could not lock my car and the alarm would sound off in the middle of the night. Removing the added switch cured all that. Just replace the latch because sooner or later other problems will occur.
Sounds more like a switch functionality issue or an issue with the wiring...if your aftermarket switch wasn't completely opening the circuit with the door closed, then your symptoms would happen.
 
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