Door wires severed, must be a recall?

[SpeedFreek]

How expensive is the harness, the same thing just happened to me.

 

[oilhammer]

They vary, but most are about $160.

 

[Iflyasa]

Wow
I just had the same symptons on my 06 Jetta TDI. My door thinks it's open when it's not. And now, my windows/door locks/trunk/gas lever all stopped working! I called the dealer and they were not aware of a harness for that repair. Oh well, I'll go on Tuesday and I'm sure they will see broken wires, and then say they need to order a harness, which will require another trip back.. Ahhh!

 

[ukguy]

Hi there. Very interesting thread. I have had virtually the same symptoms as the OP on my Golf MK5 2004 model except on other wires in that same position. I only found this out after the airbag warning light coming on and then me fault checking after connecting via VCDS. 2 airbag wires in the rubber bellow were severed. There was no sign of damage to the bellow or perishing of the wires etc.

I find it hard to believe that this is simply caused by stretching of the cables as there seems to be some slack there after re-attaching and soldering the affected wires. There are also other wires there that are frayed. All these frays are in a really hard to get to part of the bellow (near where it enters the door). This leads me to suspect this may have been damaged whilst fitting at the factory perhaps and the leads have been together by a strand or so literally for a few years.

All is well again now until the next time perhaps

 

[Maksymuik]

Ughhh, that was not fun. Butt connectors and heat shrink tubing later it's all fixed. I hear the new harnesses are around $120 CA. I will pay for it but will harass VW to install it free of charge. Let you know how that goes.

We'll see how long my connections last. Seems pretty strong though.

Sorry for lack of pics.

 

[mikevandusen]

Breaking door wires/2006 TDI Jetta

Maybe this is a payback because I'm an electrician. Same stuff happened on my 1986 Audi 5000 quattro. Root cause as I see it - 2 different sizes of wire will flex differently and the heaviest breaks first due the most resistance to bending. VW's have been notorious in the past for electrical issues. I will be buying a harness to replace from the door post to inside the door. I'll let you know what it costs. Lousy stiff wiring from our German friends. And a poor design. For an 06 TDI Jetta with 82K miles of wear and tear - I am less than impressed...........I've seen it B4​

I'll bet it would cost you $250 at the dealer to repair. Buy a VAGCOM and a manual and some tools and your life will be better - (oh and some GoJo)


80 Rabbit
80 Dasher diesel
87 Jetta
97 Jetta
98 Cabrio
06 Jetta diesel

 

[leicaman]

Even our old '72 super-beetle's speaker wiring to the doors that was part of a "special" at the time upgrade of a Blaupunkt AM/FM radio (oh say ahhhh!) had several repairs at the door juncture over its lifetime. We just spliced in new wires and tried different grommets and the last repair seemed to work ok.

 

[Maksymuik]

Hmmm, seems my airbag light is still on since I have repaired it all. Guess I need to get the codes cleared. This I will demand for free.

 

[doggonit]

Hey, I have the identical problem with the drivers door...Mk5 (or 2006 Jetta TDI) ...I was suspecting the sensor indicating the door is open was disallowing allthe other functions to cease. My rubber boot looks just like this one... Now how do I get that boot off??
Doggonit in Mooresville, IN

 

[Maksymuik]

Hey, I have the identical problem with the drivers door...Mk5 (or 2006 Jetta TDI) ...I was suspecting the sensor indicating the door is open was disallowing allthe other functions to cease. My rubber boot looks just like this one... Now how do I get that boot off??
Doggonit in Mooresville, IN

There is a knob at the top of the boot where it connects to the car. You must press this up and pull outwards. The part of attachment to the door needs to be wedged out slowly if you are trying to remove the boot. I suggest just pulling the boot back to reconnect the wires. I ended up doing some custom fabrication and cutting to get the boot off.

 

[ukguy]

There is a knob at the top of the boot where it connects to the car. You must press this up and pull outwards. The part of attachment to the door needs to be wedged out slowly if you are trying to remove the boot. I suggest just pulling the boot back to reconnect the wires. I ended up doing some custom fabrication and cutting to get the boot off.

I think it would be next to impossible to remove the boot on the door side without taking the outer skin off. The boot tapers into the wires inside the door and there is a strong seal inside. Looks much easier to pull the boot into the door...

 

[nic_a_bod]

I fell victim to this on the passenger side. I'd started wondering how the wife was getting in to the passenger side with the door locked and I didn't unlock the car. Here the all the doors were locked but the front passenger door. I didn't realize all the items that weren't working on the door till I used vagcom and I knew after that it was the wire harness.

I just spliced the broken wire back together and used shrink tube.

 

[kirkus]

It got me yesterday

Spent some time with help but got it done.
4 wires cut. Just used some extra wire with solder and heat shrink.
I worry about the other 5 that weren't broken.
I would've like to have had only one splice but don't think it's gonna be an off the shelf pin for the connector.
Of course this doesn't happen till late Friday and I've got a 1500 mile road trip starting Thursday.
Had some sparks coming from the clump of pooh.
Now I've got an airbag light and auto up on the drivers window doesn't work anymore.
It would be too nice of VGA to fix something like this. Even though so many of the cars functions go through the driver door. The wet interior doesn't make any nicer. Window wouldn't go up.

 

[jonathantingley]

Spent some time with help but got it done.
4 wires cut. Just used some extra wire with solder and heat shrink.
I worry about the other 5 that weren't broken.
I would've like to have had only one splice but don't think it's gonna be an off the shelf pin for the connector.
Of course this doesn't happen till late Friday and I've got a 1500 mile road trip starting Thursday.
Had some sparks coming from the clump of pooh.
Now I've got an airbag light and auto up on the drivers window doesn't work anymore.
It would be too nice of VGA to fix something like this. Even though so many of the cars functions go through the driver door. The wet interior doesn't make any nicer. Window wouldn't go up.

You can try disconnecting the battery for a few minutes to see if the airbag light will go out (I don't know - works on some cars?)

To reprogram the auto window, Just put the window all the way down, hold down button for a few seconds, put window all the way up and hold button up for a few seconds. I don't think it matters which order you do it in- up or down first but i have done this several times with success.

 

[mobiledaveb]

Same thing happened with my 99 Eurovan. Larger wires insulation appeared to be brittle as well. PITA to splice.

 

[kirkus]

You can try disconnecting the battery for a few minutes to see if the airbag light will go out (I don't know - works on some cars?)

To reprogram the auto window, Just put the window all the way down, hold down button for a few seconds, put window all the way up and hold button up for a few seconds. I don't think it matters which order you do it in- up or down first but i have done this several times with success.

Thanks a bunch.
Windows check out.
Checked SC-3 a 5 amp fuse on an ohm meter... all good.
Disconnected the battery. Restarted the car. All the lights checked out BUT the airbag light. It did cycle (went off then came back on).
Lookin like a 1500 mile trip with a steady airbag light.
Could be worse.

 

[Mail2me]

Spent some time with help but got it done.
4 wires cut. Just used some extra wire with solder and heat shrink.
I worry about the other 5 that weren't broken.
I would've like to have had only one splice but don't think it's gonna be an off the shelf pin for the connector.
Of course this doesn't happen till late Friday and I've got a 1500 mile road trip starting Thursday.
Had some sparks coming from the clump of pooh.
Now I've got an airbag light and auto up on the drivers window doesn't work anymore.
It would be too nice of VGA to fix something like this. Even though so many of the cars functions go through the driver door. The wet interior doesn't make any nicer. Window wouldn't go up.

I got the same (in Australia we have them made in South Africa) so it's a global issue:
http://www.vwwatercooled.org.au/f15/if-driver-door-controls-not-working-46214.html

 

[hid3]

How do I remove the rubber boot without breaking anything?

 

[Mr. Timewise]

^ same question...

Can the driver's door outer skin be taken off just by removing the bolts that are around the perimeter of the inside? Is there glue there that must be replaced?

It does seem that to remove the rubber boot at the door side that the boot must be extracted toward the inside of the door.

 

[Ron 33]

mine too 06 jetta

Had to butt splice the power wire to the window motor.
Did not add any wire, or heatshrink.
Removed some of the wire anchors from the harness to allow more slack, that was six months ago. Still working....

 

[hid3]

Are there any directions how to remove the rubber cover to inspect the wires?

 

[Mr. Timewise]

Are there any directions how to remove the rubber cover to inspect the wires?

The best advice I can give you is NOT to pry the top or bottom of the boot away from the door's A pillar. I broke my rubber boot at the top where an internal tilt-able latching tab is located. This was as a result of prying the boot away from the A pillar.

Note the rubber covered knob on the outer top portion of the boot. The trick is to squeeze the bump on the top of the knob downward. This will tilt a latching tab downward inside the top of the boot. The only way I can think of squeezing the rubber knob is with a small pliers. Something soft jawed would be good, but a very small channel lock pliers should work just fine. Squeeze the knob area by placing one jaw of the pliers on the highest point of the knob and slip the other jaw of the pliers into the little recess between the knob and the rest of the rubber boot...do not squeeze the entire height of the boot. Forcing the bump on the knob downward with a wedge or lever is not possible because the rubber below the knob is without any inner support.

Here are some photos that might help you decide the best way to do this. Click on any one of the images to go to a photo album of larger images of all the pictures. The fourth photo shows the knob rather well. The part I broke on my boot was the little latching tab in the inside center top of the boot...best seen in the fifth photo.



If you grab the knob properly with a pliers you can squeeze it and the latch inside will tilt downward. The latching tab will then clear the metal of the A pillar and you can tilt the entire boot outward a few degrees and lift it up. The wiring harness will remain connected to its mating connector at the A pillar.

The two plastic extensions on either side of the latching tab are guides that center the boot in the opening of the A pillar. They do not move.

Here's a picture of the bottom of the rubber boot on the A pillar side. It shows a non-movable tab which engages the metal edge of the opening in the A pillar. The ramp of the slot in the tab slips over the lower edge of the A pillar opening, pulling the boot tight against the A pillar as the boot moves downward.



And here are some pictures of the door side of the rubber boot to show that it must be extracted from within the door. Compare the profile in these photos to what you see on the car's door and you'll see that the great majority of the outer perimeter is actually inside the door.

 

[thecadman]

^ same question...

Can the driver's door outer skin be taken off just by removing the bolts that are around the perimeter of the inside? Is there glue there that must be replaced?

It does seem that to remove the rubber boot at the door side that the boot must be extracted toward the inside of the door.

That is the method I used to fix my broken wire problem.

Trick with the door skin is disconnecting the door lock mechanism.

Here is the step by step link that I followed with no real issues.

Here is the one I used from VWvortex. There may be one on here, but I know this one worked for me . . .

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?2984471

Good luck with your fix.

 

[ajskier]

Hello All,

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but was looking for some help. I have an 06 Jetta and my driver side door controls are working intermittingly. I checked the fuses and they all seem fine. Could this be from the wires starting to break? Thank you for your help.

 

[Iflyasa]

Yes. Mine did the same thing and had the dealer fix it under warranty.

 

[ajskier]

Well, I did have some wires broken. I fixed them the best I could without taking the door apart. Has anybody else tried to fix this issue with just moving the rubber sleeve back? I could barely get into the opening with my soldering iron, so I got the wires re-attached, but the solder job doesn't look good. I am thinking when I have more time to take apart the door and re-do the job. Was just wondering if anybody had any luck fixing this with out taking the door apart. Also, what did you do to keep the rubber boot back as far as possible.

Thanks,
AJ

 

[dae06]

I did mine 3 days ago. The ground wire was severed. With door wide open the two ends would not touch. I was able to get access at both ends of the rubber boot without removing the door skin. I first spliced the wire coming from the door and then ran that ~6" piece of wire though the boot and spliced it to the wire coming from the frame of the car (the plug). There was one wire that looked like it was going to go at any time and a tiny purple one that looked to have been severed for a while. I didn't have time to mess with them, but I plan on getting a new wire harness and replace the whole thing in the future.

After the fix, I now have an "Airbag Fault" light on. I'm not sure why, but as soon as my Vag-Com comes I hope to clear this code.

 

[ajskier]

I did mine 3 days ago. The ground wire was severed. With door wide open the two ends would not touch. I was able to get access at both ends of the rubber boot without removing the door skin. I first spliced the wire coming from the door and then ran that ~6" piece of wire though the boot and spliced it to the wire coming from the frame of the car (the plug). There was one wire that looked like it was going to go at any time and a tiny purple one that looked to have been severed for a while. I didn't have time to mess with them, but I plan on getting a new wire harness and replace the whole thing in the future.

After the fix, I now have an "Airbag Fault" light on. I'm not sure why, but as soon as my Vag-Com comes I hope to clear this code.

Can you tell me how you were able to get access to both ends of rubber boot without removing the door skin? I am very interested because one of my connections is not that great because I was not able to get back into the book on the door side. Any information would greatly be appreciated.

 

[dae06]

I'd have to say I got lucky. I was trying to find the two clips by sliding a screw driver underneath the door side boot and accidentally pushed the boot part way into the door. I was then able to jimmy it back out to expose both ends of it.

Hope this helps

It really is a tight spot to try to work on.

 

[El Dobro]

The VW dealer ordered up the driver's door wiring harness for my car today. I guess the problem continues.