Right rear tail light out

G

Grizzly907la

Member
Joined
Dec 21, 2020
Location
North Carolina
TDI
2002 VW Golf
I have a 2002 VW Golf. The right tail light is out. Here's what I've done so far to resolve the issue, but with no luck.

1. Replaced the connector due to a break in the wire, close to it.
2. Replace the fuse.
3. Replaced the bulb
4. Purchased a new bulb harness.

None of that has work. Every other light, right and left side work. The tail light on the right will not turn on. The only option I can see at the moment is to remove the cover on the back hatch and trace the cables looking for any damage and/or broken wires.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
 
Powder Hound

Powder Hound

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 25, 1999
Location
Under a Bridge, Crestview, FL, USA
TDI
'00 Golf 4dr White 5sp, '02 Jettachero 5sp, Wife's '03 NB Platinum Gray auto(!)
I think, as frustrating as it can be, that you are on the right track. Checking the ground from back there would also be a good thing. Maybe a good volt meter, or even just a test light should be helpful.

Cheers and good luck,

PH
 
G

Grizzly907la

Member
Joined
Dec 21, 2020
Location
North Carolina
TDI
2002 VW Golf
CableJockey said:
Have you inspected the bulb carrier? It could be corrosion causing the issues. Try using a multimeter to test voltage on the exposed traces/contacts.
Click to expand...
I bought a new bulb carrier and still got the same result. I have ordered a voltage tester and have managed to trace out where the wiring is going. Once I get the tester I'll check the voltages. The previous owner put a trailer hitch on it. The only wire from the hitch assembly is the green wire that's supposed to be for the turn signal which works. I don't know if the headlight switch itself is malfunctional but I ordered a replacement just in case.
 
CableJockey

CableJockey

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 20, 2019
Location
South Dakota
TDI
2002 Golf GLS
Grizzly907la said:
That's actually quite useful. Looking at it, I am thinking it could be the light switch, or possibly a relay.
Click to expand...
Maybe, I didn't have much time to study the diagram earlier.
But if the diagram actually matches the way your car is wired, it would appear that the switch being bad would cause more than just a single light to stop working (Because they share connections). A bad fuse could be the cause, but with you saying that every other light works, it seems unlikely: the right tail-light in the diagram appears to share fuse 22 with the right front side-marker. If the side-marker works (steady on with head-lights) I would assume the fuse is good.
By deduction, that leaves wiring, the bulb, or the bulb carrier for the right rear. You have eliminated bulb and carrier, so unfortunately it would appear to be a problem with wiring.
Something to keep in mind: installed wiring rarely "goes-bad" in the middle of a run. Usually it is connectors, connection points, or obvious damage. The diagram does not indicate any additional breaks or splices mid-span, so try focusing on the two ends of the connection: the fuse panel and the tail-light. Since you have already fiddled with the tail light a bit, perhaps the fused side needs to be looked into. It is not uncommon for a wire/terminal to wiggle their way loose from the back of a fuse block, perhaps this happened in your case?
Try looking at fuse 22 under the dash, see if anything looks suspicious with the wires behind the fuse block (Probably not as easy as it sounds), pull the fuse and make sure the the metal contacts are visible and able to make good contact...

Electrical troubleshooting is a fickle task, and difficult to describe in a step-by-step kind of way, but hopefully the above is able to get you looking in the right direction.
 
oilhammer

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
The rear harness (1J0-971-011) does both tail lamps, as well as links the license plate lamp sub harness and the hatch sub harness. So I would think the issue would be somewhere in the back, as I am pretty sure the fuses are left and right running lamps, and if your right front running lamps work your fuse is good. By running lamps, I mean the little city light in the headlamp assembly (white) and the marker lamp in the bumper cover (orange).

The ground is shared with all the bulbs in back, so if your brake and turn and reverse all work, your ground to the bulb holder is good.
 
F

Funguy

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 18, 2005
Location
Front Range of Colorado
TDI
2015 Golf Sportwagen dsg and 2015 Passat 6 M/T
My right rear tail light on my 02 Jetta went out because the bulb holder was corroded. This because the body shop didn't tighten the unit when they put it back together allowing moisture. Was hard to clean out the corrosion but did finally get it done. New one looks to be about $10 which would have been easier than cleaning it.
 
G

Grizzly907la

Member
Joined
Dec 21, 2020
Location
North Carolina
TDI
2002 VW Golf
Follow up.

I made some extra long test leads to check for continuity. I have continuity for all of the wires. I referenced the diagrams that were linked in this post. I checked the relay and had continuity. I pulled relay 53, and I've ordered a new relay. I should get it tomorrow. I'll keep ya all posted, on whether or not that's the problem.
 
hskrdu

hskrdu

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 17, 2003
Location
Maryland and New England
TDI
2003 Golf GLS 4D 5M, 2015 GSW SE 6M
You've probably already seen this thread, but if not, it might be helpful. If nothing else, you can prevent the rest of the wires from going bad as long as you have the trim apart.

MKIV Golf: Fixing Hatch Boot Wiring

MKIV Golf Tech Write-up: Fixing Hatch Boot Wiring As we know, the Golf is plagued by sub par wiring running from the trunk space to the rear hatch that runs through the boots. Many have fixed the issue, it's not rocket science, but it took a while to get everything together so I figured I'd do...
forums.tdiclub.com forums.tdiclub.com
 
Rapid Transit

Rapid Transit

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 2, 2010
Location
SF Bay Area
TDI
03 4dr Golf GLS
If you replaced bulb with used, don’t be surprised if the replacement bulb has high resistance contact too. File/sand bulb contacts clean and reinstall with dielectric grease.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top