electrical haywire

herc

Member
Joined
Jan 15, 2004
Location
taneytown md
TDI
03 golf black
alarm was going off, interior lights stay on, door alarm stayed on after door was closed! ***!? has anyone have this happen to them? small stuff been going on for awhile like no horn when locked, lights dont come on when door is open but this is insane! /images/graemlins/tongue.gif /images/graemlins/mad.gif /images/graemlins/confused.gif
 

bitterberry

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2003
Location
Lenexa, KS
TDI
1999.5 Jetta (5-speed)
Sounds like a fuse is not working properly. The description of the horn not working when doors are locked was something similar I experienced three years ago. It was a fuse.
 

bitterberry

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2003
Location
Lenexa, KS
TDI
1999.5 Jetta (5-speed)
I've been thinking about this some more... the more and more I turn it around in my head, it sounds like a grounding problem. The electrical wires that provide the ground circuit could be damaged or loose. But I would still check all fuses and relays.

Another thought I had (and someone who has a wiring diagram or knows for certain can confirm), some newer cars (I don't know if this includes VWs) do not have the lights, alarms, etc hard wired. For example, the switches don't send the juice to the dome light, it sends a digital signal to a computer (the ecu or sometimes a chip in the trunk) and that sends the current. That way the computer knows to turn the lights on when the door unlocks, turn the lights off when the last door closes, etc.

If there is some type of mechanism that controls that in our vee dubs, that may be an expensive part to replace. Not sure.

Insight anyone?
 

MOGolf

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Jun 27, 2001
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underneath something
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2001 Golf GLS TDI Reflex silver, rough road suspension and steel skid plate, 2004 Passat Variant, Candy White, rough road suspension and geared balanced shaft module, and much, much more. 2016 LR RR HSE TD6, 2019 Jaguar I-PACE
Either the switch in the door latch is bad, or the control module as mentioned. Most likely the switch. Since this is an '03, it's likely to be just a random bad luck of getting the bad part of the batch.
 

herc

Member
Joined
Jan 15, 2004
Location
taneytown md
TDI
03 golf black
this is an 01 someone mentioned a door switch but i figured i could live with it. i will look into the fuse thing asap.the only thing its doing silly now is the door chime 30x or so after the door is closed.
 

MOGolf

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Joined
Jun 27, 2001
Location
underneath something
TDI
2001 Golf GLS TDI Reflex silver, rough road suspension and steel skid plate, 2004 Passat Variant, Candy White, rough road suspension and geared balanced shaft module, and much, much more. 2016 LR RR HSE TD6, 2019 Jaguar I-PACE
Most likely the switch in the latch. The '01s and early were notorious for these going bad a few years ago.
 

herc

Member
Joined
Jan 15, 2004
Location
taneytown md
TDI
03 golf black
do you know of a way to trace this? am i better off replacing it and see what i get? my wife said it acted funny a few times, had to close hard to get it to latch.
 

JoshL

Member
Joined
Feb 12, 2004
Herc, my 01 is having the exact same problem, the alarm goes off sometimes when the doors are locked, the open door bell stays on for quite some time and even once it goes off if you hit a bump it will start back up. Please let me know if you find out exactly what the problem is.

Thanks
 

bbarbulo

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 11, 2003
Location
Windsor, ON, Canada
yup, we've had this problem for about 2 years now. just learn to live with it, when the alarm goes off as I unlock the car, if I'm in a public location and I'm embarassed beyond belief, I quickly pull the #16 fuse and that kills the alarm. (haha, some factory alarm when a theif can just yank a fuse to shut it up and proceed to start the car) /images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif anyways, now my mom and dad learned the trick, so when it happens to them, they are just as quick to pull the fuse to shut the alarm up.
 

mgwerks

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 10, 2003
Location
Texas Hill Country
TDI
black 1999 New Beetle
I'm with MOGolf on this - unfortunately, the cheap little switch is only available with the whole door handle assembly - and it isn't cheap.

If any or all who replace a door handle for this reason (bad switch) would like to send the old handles to me, I'd be more than happy to do some work to discover a way to reuse the assembly with a new switch option. This way maybe I can find a solution to prevent future owners from having to take the expensive road. If I had a few to play with, I might be able to come up with a solution and post a HowTo on it. Have digicam, will tinker! PM or email me if you like.

Mark
 

MOGolf

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Location
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2001 Golf GLS TDI Reflex silver, rough road suspension and steel skid plate, 2004 Passat Variant, Candy White, rough road suspension and geared balanced shaft module, and much, much more. 2016 LR RR HSE TD6, 2019 Jaguar I-PACE
You can use VAG-COM to confirm the switch position.

And once more, it is not in the door handle. It is down in the latch part that grabs the ring on the car body when the door closes.
 

VelvetFoot

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 17, 2001
Location
Sand Lake, NY
TDI
NB, 2000, Yellow
Hey I found some pictures when I fixed my lock! Note: If you attempt this, take digi pictures to know how to reassemble things. The wire coming into the lock had some cracked soldered connections to the circuit board. I resoldered the connections and it worked for at least a year until I sold the car ('99 Jetta).

This first picture is with the lock on the inside frame, with the frame taken out of the door. You can see the wire.



Here is a picture of the lock taken apart. You can see the microswitches and the motor as well as the wires. You can't see the connections, but it's right underneath!



I am not saying that this is your problem, but it might be. There seems to be a few different solder joint failures in our cars.
 

herc

Member
Joined
Jan 15, 2004
Location
taneytown md
TDI
03 golf black
wow. um ,????? so for now i can pull the #16 fuse to avoid the alarm going off and i can drive until i figure it out? /images/graemlins/confused.gifits currently off the road.
 

herc

Member
Joined
Jan 15, 2004
Location
taneytown md
TDI
03 golf black
now the lights on the drivers door stay on, when you turn the headlights on the it makes that reminder sound for almost 5mins and the door chime for alittle less. also i cannot lock the car using the key, only by locking the pass door and closing. im tearing it apart tis weekend. which door first?
 

MOGolf

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jun 27, 2001
Location
underneath something
TDI
2001 Golf GLS TDI Reflex silver, rough road suspension and steel skid plate, 2004 Passat Variant, Candy White, rough road suspension and geared balanced shaft module, and much, much more. 2016 LR RR HSE TD6, 2019 Jaguar I-PACE
It is the switch inside the driver's door lock/latch.
 

dieselt

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 1, 2004
Location
maine
TDI
jetta, 2000, green
[ QUOTE ]
It is the switch inside the driver's door lock/latch.

[/ QUOTE ]
My symptoms on 2000 J: when opening drivers door latch was harder to operate, interior lights would not come on and the door had to be locked using the key in the lock (central locking inop, drivers door). remedy: Cleaned latch and lock with electric motor cleaner and liberally treated with graphite lock-ease.

Use of any lubricant for this mechanism other then dry graphite will result in sticking of the locks and associated switches.
Result: Latch works without sticking and all electrical problems disappeared. /images/graemlins/smile.gif
 

dieselt

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 1, 2004
Location
maine
TDI
jetta, 2000, green
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
It is the switch inside the driver's door lock/latch.

[/ QUOTE ]
My symptoms on 2000 J: when opening drivers door latch was harder to operate, interior lights would not come on and the door had to be locked using the key in the lock (central locking inop, drivers door). remedy: Cleaned latch and lock with electric motor cleaner and liberally treated with graphite lock-ease.

Use of any lubricant for this mechanism other then dry graphite will result in sticking of the locks and associated switches.
Result: Latch works without sticking and all electrical problems disappeared. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

 

herc

Member
Joined
Jan 15, 2004
Location
taneytown md
TDI
03 golf black
i got the lock-ease and graphite spray the other day. tried to do a parking lot quick fix, no good. today im going to tear it apart and do it right and hope it works. my car wont turn with the key in the door. thats why i lock the pass side and close.
 

mgwerks

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 10, 2003
Location
Texas Hill Country
TDI
black 1999 New Beetle
[ QUOTE ]
Here is a picture of the lock taken apart. You can see the microswitches and the motor as well as the wires. You can't see the connections, but it's right underneath!

[/ QUOTE ]If you are going to get it this far apart, I'd just replace the switches. They are soldered in, but are a standard SPTD microswitch available at any good electronics supply house for a buck or two. We used to use these same switches in our processing equipment.
 

Bob_G

New member
Joined
May 16, 2004
TDI
Beetle, 2001, Techno Blue
Hey Hey Hey! My inaugural post /images/graemlins/smile.gif

I am currently in the midst of the micro-switch replacement,
and am having a bit of trouble getting it to work correctly.

What I am in need of, is to know how the little push-button
on the micro-switch is supposed to operate...

When the door is open, is the button pressed in, or is
it not?
Thanks!
 

Bob_G

New member
Joined
May 16, 2004
TDI
Beetle, 2001, Techno Blue
[ QUOTE ]
Hey Hey Hey! My inaugural post /images/graemlins/smile.gif

I am currently in the midst of the micro-switch replacement,
and am having a bit of trouble getting it to work correctly.

What I am in need of, is to know how the little push-button
on the micro-switch is supposed to operate...

When the door is open, is the button pressed in, or is
it not?
Thanks!

[/ QUOTE ]

He, answering my own post...

With a bit of fiddling, I figured out it's depressed
when closed and not when open. It was a matter of some
fine-tuning in the adjustment of the new hole locations.

Dealer wanted $300 plus. Thanks to you fine folks,
I paid a mere $2.86 including the tax /images/graemlins/smile.gif
 

sootwagen

Veteran Member
Joined
May 25, 2003
Location
Nowhere
TDI
None
Does anyone have a part number for the lock assembly? 2003 Jetta wagon front driver's side lock?

TIA
 

the3ms

New member
Joined
Feb 14, 2006
Similar problem plus more!!!

Hi! I'm posting here instead of starting a new thread because I'm having a similar problem...and I did something to make it worse.

Our 98 Jetta TDI started behaving as if possessed...first the alarm stopped setting when I locked the doors. No biggie. This went on for a couple of months. The the car started saying that the trunk was open when it wasn't, and you could continually hear some mechanism trying to engage. About that time, the hazards would go on randomly. Then, theeriest one....the door locks would go up and down, up and down, all by themselves. Then suddenly the car seemed to have fixed itself, so I delayed getting it in to the garage for weeks, and then suddenly one day the alarm went off when I was at a shopping center and would not reset, so I could not start the car. (Even with coaching from the local dealer -- very nice people -- over the phone.) So I had it towed 70 miles (Thank you, AAA Plus).

They mechanic at the dealer's thought it was that the fuse box was loose. So it was tightened. And when the minute I pulled in after returning from the dealership, it all started up again. I thought I'd drive awhile to get more data, and I got a lot. The highlight was on Christmas with the car in the garage, locks going up and down and the horn honking intermittently. This killed the battery. We got it back into the garage, and word up, it was the vacuum pump. So we had that replaced.

Everything was okay for three weeks, then last Thursday, the alarm stopped setting, and Friday afternoon the locks started going up and down again. But I had to drive out of town on a business trip that evening, and since it had taken a little time for the car to go completely nuts the previous two times, I went ahead and drove out of town Friday afternoon.

So..I'm staying at my co-workers' house 130 miles from home, we have to both get up early to drive 200 miles the next morning, and at 2:30 a.m., in the middle of a storm, the intermittent horn honking (as distinct from the alarm going off) starts up again. I'm a guest in these people's home, they live in a quiet neighborhood. I was mortified, as well as awake and not thinking clearly. So I got dressed, went out, pulled out the handbook, and took out the fuse for the horn. It seemed to have stopped, so I went back to bed, almost fell asleep, and it started up again. So I took out ALL the fuses. Went back in. Almost fell asleep. Horn went off. So...I thought disconnecting the battery would be a good idea but I didn't have a wrench and I didn't want to get my coworker up to ask him for one, so I just took out the bottom two rows of relays, as the horn kept honking merrily along. Finally, when I got the whole second row out, the horn stopped. Went in. Went to bed. Horn went off again. Got co-worker up. Got wrench. Disconnected battery. It all stopped.

The next morning there was the problem of putting the relays back in. The fuses -- no problem -- the manual has a schematic. But the relays...went to a local dealer, they had no info for me. When to an auto parts store, looked at a book appliable to a variety of different types of Jetta's, they did have a picture of a fuse box w/ the relays, but it looked NOTHING like mine.

So...I called the dealer that had helped me out on the phone before (also where we take the car to be fixed) and this very nice guy did some research and over the phone talked me into getting the relays back in right.

But...they weren't completely right. The turn signals and hazards didn't work. The windshield wipers worked if you pushed the lever up, but not if you pushed it down. And there was a funny noise in the dash. So I got another tow home. Thanks, AAA Plus, but this time I had to pay and extra $95 dollars because I was farther away.

Well...the mechanic concluded that the in addition to the vacuum pump replaced before, the alarm control module needed to be replaced. So, while they are waiting for a new one, we are driving with their test alarm control module in the car. (Very kind.) And it is true, the locks and all seem to be okay for now.

However...although they said they checked the blikers and windsheild wiper and they were fine, and congratulated me on getting the relays in properly....alas, it was not true. I must not have gotten them in right. They still aren't working, as I discovered on my way home from the garage.


So....since I really don't want to spend more money on this now and am also not having so much confidence in the garage's detail orientedness, I went on a website that had VW parts, found out which relay controlled the blinkers and hazards, reinstalled it, and they're fine. BUT I can't figure out what's up with the wipers. The fuse is fine. The relay (which I also looked up on the website) does seem to be in the right place...at least, the wipers won't work at all if it's anywhere else. But the still don't work when the lever is down, which is where my preferred wiper settings are.

SO my question is, for anyone who has read all the way through this, does anyone have some advice? (Besides telling the mechanic, which of course, I will)

Or...is anyone who has a 1998 Jetta TDI willing to photograph their fuses and relays and post it here so I can take a look at it? (Anyone who performs this kindness will earn extra good karma points, I am sure.)

Thanks for listening,

the3ms
 

LagoonBlueTDI

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2000
Location
TX
TDI
2013 Passat TDI SE 6sp
the3ms said:
SO my question is, for anyone who has read all the way through this, does anyone have some advice?
I feel your pain, as my car acted up last night while at a friends house...:mad:

I asked the local VW dealership if there's any way to disable the alarm. They said "No, and even if there was we couldn't tell you for legal liability reasons".

I'd be happy just being able to turn the damn thing off for good. As soon as I finish typing this I'm going out to the garage and cutting the wire that leads to the "meep meep meep meep" horn. But that won't solve the other issues like flashing lights, etc.

Anybody got any advice? Taking the door apart and diking with the switches didn't do any good...
 

alphaseinor

TDI Innovator, Gone but Not Forgotten
Joined
Jul 30, 2006
Location
Denton, TX
TDI
'03 Jetta TDI 780,000 miles (totaled out), 01 Audi TT 225 Quattro 230,000 Miles (runs great!), 00 Cabreetle Beetle dash, ALH & MK4 harness Swap
Honestly sounds like a bad harness/ground issue... these will sometimes show up as a bad switch condition, since they are basically connecting and disconnecting.
 

cfsapper

Member
Joined
Nov 6, 2008
Location
Ottawa
TDI
04 GLS
Has anybody done the door open/closed switch replacement on a 2004 Jetta? I think mine has gone bad on the driver's side (door open, no interior or "puddle" light).
 

dieselboy04'

Veteran Member
Joined
May 2, 2011
Location
Va
TDI
05' Jetta TDI GLS 5spd
Don't know if this will help anyone but its worth a try. My battery died in my remote and once replaced started doing what you all have stated. Alarm, horns lights ect. So I removed my remote battery once again and no more randomness out of the crazy alarm. I'm still in search for a permanent fix but this works for now without pulling any fuse or disconnecting the battery. I'm about positive it's in the door switch, just haven't had time to tear into it. Let me know if someone's found the fix for this. Thanks
 
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