Stupid door Switch!! $3 Fix!!!

[dieselpower04]

Do I really have to tear my whole door apart to fix this door switch problem?

 

[All of Us]

Since the switch is part of the door lock mechanism, and the door lock mechanism is riveted to the inside of the inner door panel, I don't see how you could fix the switch without taking the door apart. However, if you do figure out some way to do it without taking the door apart, let all of us know how you managed it.

Dan

 

[yvon g]

i'm having a similiar problem. when right door closed, interior lights stay on. with doors closed and car parked, interior lights will come on , and with car locked, alarm goes off as if a door was opened. but, also the right mirror isn't heating any more. has any one found that the culprit could be a corroded connector some where?

 

[elandem]

Wingnut's contact spray solution worked for me. So far

Before ripping my door apart, and risking tearing something up, I decided to try the $6 can of contact cleaner solution. Dang if it didn't work! I sprayed a whole can in there. It's been a few days and I'm having 100% success on locking the door. Previously, if I locked with the fob, it might not work unless I unlocked and then locked again. Previously, experimentation and observation indicated that the door didn't know it was open. Now, it works every time. Genius! I hesitated to write this up, for fear that it would stop as soon as I praised the solution - but not being superstitious, I'm writing it now.

Still wondering if this could have been the problem with my battery drain. I'm experimenting with that right now to determine if it was/is the cause.

Thanks a TON.

Richey

 

[bf1967]

Success!

I decided that I had lived long enough with a messed up switch, so I tore into my door today. I found that the switch itself actually still worked, but because of the way it is mounted the cam that presses in the switch was actually sliding past the plunger on the switch.

I pulled the old switch out and epoxied in my replacement switch. I was going to use screws and slot the holes out, but i didn't have a screw small enough and neither did the hardware store. Let's hope this switch lasts longer than the OEM one. The real problem with the factory setup is that the switch is at the bottom of the lock where all the dirt and gunk will accumulate in the switch. Hopefully my new sealed switch will fare better.

Bob

 

[qmark]

can the auto-lock be switched off...with a vag-com?....or how not to lock your keys in it....? #1 would be don't leave your keys in the car....we can skip that one...

 

[Greaseburger]

Auto locks can be easily disabled with vag.

 

[abradleyjr]

Wow. Great thread. I thought I was going to go crazy with this problem. This has to be one of the most infuriating things I've ever had to deal with (the chiming). Hopefully I can find some time in the next couple of weeks to tackle this!

 

[Rollingcircle]

Great thread. I've had this problem for a couple of years. After reading this thread I decided to tackle it. So I'm taking apart the door panel and the light on the door goes on! ??
When I get to the connector for the lock I could wiggle it and it would chime and then stop ( I had the key in the ignition! Well a couple of years ago I had the window holding clamps changed at the dealer (recall?) for free. When they pulled the panel out they pushed out the two plastic rivets that holds the lock to the inner panel and never replaced them. Well I guess over the years the vibration on the wire broke the solder connection on the circuit board inside the door lock. I resoldered the connector and it's all set! I did put two screws in where the rivets were to steady the lock and keep this from happening again.
Food for thought.
Jim

 

[david_594]

When they pulled the panel out they pushed out the two plastic rivets that holds the lock to the inner panel and never replaced them. Well I guess over the years the vibration on the wire broke the solder connection on the circuit board inside the door lock. I resoldered the connector and it's all set! I did put two screws in where the rivets were to steady the lock and keep this from happening again.
Food for thought.
Jim

The plastic rivets and the associated bracket were to aid in assembly from the factory. There was really no need to replace them. Broken solder joints in the door module are also a fairly common failure mode for the door module.

 

[High Miles]

I did it

Spent all day yesterday doing the research (reading all the posts on this forum) I went to Radio Shack got 2 switches (i new i would mess one up) . Today spent 3 hours doing the swap. IT ALL WORKS !
THANKS EVERYONE HERE FOR YOUR POSTS.

 

[darkhorse]

Arg

My driver door switch didn't work when I got the car. Tonight the passenger door switch failed. Now I can take both doors apart.

 

[NB_TDi]

I'm not really sure why everyone keeps saying disable the auto locks. The microswitch damage isn't from locking or unlocking the doors. It's from closing the doors.

 

[darkhorse]

I'm not really sure why everyone keeps saying disable the auto locks. The microswitch damage isn't from locking or unlocking the doors. It's from closing the doors.

Doesn't it have something to do with dirt buildup?

 

[NB_TDi]

It can, but if damage is the issue it's from closing the door. Some people slam, others ease. The locking action has nothing to do with the microswitch.

 

[darkhorse]

It can, but if damage is the issue it's from closing the door. Some people slam, others ease. The locking action has nothing to do with the microswitch.

I don't really slam mine much more than needed to make them latch. I don't even use the passenger door much. I'll know more when I get around to taking them apart to see what's up.

 

[NB_TDi]

I bought a large can of electrical contact cleaner last month and figured I'd give it a try again.

The front passenger door is working intermitenly now. The driver's front is still dead. The rear driver's side is still stuck "open". Meaning I can't arm my alarm still. Also means that all my interior lights still stay on. They won't dim after awhile. My guess is because it goes from open-->closed and it just starts the dim cycle all over again.

Guess I should probably just repair them. Still annoying that I only have ONE working door latch. Yes ONE!

 

[bf1967]

Doesn't it have something to do with dirt buildup?

Mine was pretty gunked up. Dirt is not a friend to switches. The switch basically sits in such a way that the dirt accumulates around the plunger.

Bob

 

[NB_TDi]

Not just from sitting there. People keep spraying stuff into the latches! Be it WD40 or grease, it's a big NO NO!

 

[Greaseburger]

I ordered my burgess switches from allied and they were backordered for over a month, they ended up sending me one that didn't have the leads for free and canceling my order as well as finding me another source( Newark electronics) had them right in stock and shipped fast, even though allied lost that sale they gained me as a customer for thier service

 

[NB_TDi]

Well I picked up a broken latch from a local VW Garage. Or so they thought it was broken. Got it home, took it apart. Everything is perfect. Except for the massive amounts of sludge on the lock. This will be my drop in replacement for my driver's side door. Hopefully I can snag a spare for the passenger and the back.

Save a micro-switch; Don't lube your door latch!!!

 

[graeme86]

Does the cam that runs on the switch require some lubricant? (dry lube such as graphite grease maybe?)

 

[NB_TDi]

By looking at it, no. You could just bugger up the internals of the switch. The cam is coated in what appears to be plastic or rubber. It runs along the rubber coated plunger on the switch. Which does actually end up ripping the rubber from the switch. But the new switches I bought don't have the rubber.

After taking this thing apart and reassembling; I can safely say there is no need for lube anywhere, especially spray stuff. All it does is attract dirt and cause more problems.

 

[SheeB]

The subpart of illustration 14 that's the switch in question is part number: 1j5962104B It's about $30; and looks close enough (both in ETKA and the Bentley) that I'm be willing to take the gamble; that is unless someone has had their Jetta hatch latch apart and wants to shoot me a pic and give me more verification one way or the other...

aNUT, did you ever get that piece and was able to do the comparison to the front switch?

 

[P2B]

$0 Switch Fix

Finally got around to looking at my front passenger door switch today.

I found the door open switch still worked, but the tiny plunger which activates the switch was MIA. It appears it was held in place by a rubber seal, and fell out when the rubber failed.

I fabricated a new plunger out of a nylon bolt from my computer junkbox - cut the shank to 3mm and filed it to fit the plunger hole, then filed the head down to match the gap between the cam and switch when the door is open. The head diameter is 5.5mm, big enough to prevent the new plunger from falling out when the door is closed - switch had to be cut off the latch to install it, and glued back on afterward.

I was pleasantly surprised to find this fix actually works perfectly! It doesn't provide a watertight seal like the original plunger, but the switch has survived a couple of winters with no plunger, so perhaps will last a while longer.

This is what I used:

Simon

 

[All of Us]

Plastic covered cam

Volks:

After the plastic covered cam (PCC) ripped the rubber cover off the switch the switch got revenge by wearing a divot into the PCC. I think it was the combination of the hard plastic that the switch plunger as made of and dust/grit/sand (Michigan Car) on the cam that did the dirty (pun) work. I ended up filling in the divot with some epoxy and letting it harden before putting everything back together.

Dan

 

[NB_TDi]

That's a good idea. The cam on the spare one I have is a little beat up. I'll do the same.

 

[ro.sniper]

Ok both my front doors are experiencing the broken switch issue...

The problem i'm having is that in the winter my window fell inside my door so I epoxied it into the clamps. Any way I can get at the switch now?

 

[All of Us]

Ruh roh!

ro.sniper:

Thats the problem I see with the glue method of window retention, how the heck do you get it apart the next time something happens! All I can think of is to take everything apart per instructions and when you go to unclamp the window hope/pray the epoxy releases from the window. If not, perhaps a little persuasion in the form of gentle tapping or prying to get it to release. You might even try twisting the clamp parts to get them loose, just don't shatter the window glass. That may turn out to be the tricky part. Go slow and VERY easy and you may not have to find a replacement window. Good luck!!

Dan

 

[ro.sniper]

ro.sniper:

Thats the problem I see with the glue method of window retention, how the heck do you get it apart the next time something happens! All I can think of is to take everything apart per instructions and when you go to unclamp the window hope/pray the epoxy releases from the window. If not, perhaps a little persuasion in the form of gentle tapping or prying to get it to release. You might even try twisting the clamp parts to get them loose, just don't shatter the window glass. That may turn out to be the tricky part. Go slow and VERY easy and you may not have to find a replacement window. Good luck!!

Dan

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.........

That's what I thought... ughh what a bunch of fail and aids combined.