Stupid door Switch!! $3 Fix!!!

[All of Us]

ro.sniper:

I was tinking about your situation and it occurred to me that you could try to get a single edge razor blade between the glass and the epoxy and try to loosen it that way, but then I remembered the size of the "porthole" that you have to work through to loosen the clamps and figured that might be "next to impossible" to accomplish. I suffered a window drop a few months ago and a switch failure on the opposite side so both doors on my A4 have been apart, and I've only owned this particular car since November of '09.

Dan

 

[ro.sniper]

ro.sniper:

I was tinking about your situation and it occurred to me that you could try to get a single edge razor blade between the glass and the epoxy and try to loosen it that way, but then I remembered the size of the "porthole" that you have to work through to loosen the clamps and figured that might be "next to impossible" to accomplish. I suffered a window drop a few months ago and a switch failure on the opposite side so both my doors on my A4 have been apart, and I've only owned this particular car since November of '09.

Dan

I guess I don't have much choice... oh well. I can repair the window switch on the passenger side, but i may have to find the lead wires that go though the door and make my own switch elsewhere for the driver side door. I can't believe how needlessly complicated this door is. I like ingenuity but this is something else. I can see the lead designer going like "vas ist ze zmallest switch we can find and vhere could ve hide it"

 

[jason3559]

Another successful (cheat) replacement

I cheated. New VW replacement door latch assembly. Started down the path of replacing the 4th microswitch with the RadioShack part. Broke the driver side of my 2000 Golf TDI (226,000mi) and retreived the door lock assembly. The microswitch was a mess. However, my driver side door has forever been misaligned. The lowest hinge lower bolt loosens itself. This lets the driver side door sag so the driver side door top right starts butting against the rear passanger door top left. I assumed the alignment was always the issue.

However, my alarm started going off during rain storms, wind storms, and always multiple times at night, and I live in a condo complex. Good times.

I decided against the microswitch replacement because I don't want to spend multiple hours troubleshooting after replacement. In addition, drilling out the support seems problematic. One wrong move, and cutting fully through the support would lead to buying a new assembly anyway.

The new assembly is in, the door hing was retightened, and the door is aligned. Everything is working perfectly except for one item. When I shut the door, the door doesn't auto-lock itself after a period of time. OTher then that, perfect.

PM me if you need two RadioShack microswitches. The metal tabs are still attached, however I curled the end of one of them, so it would fit in the slot.

 

[david_594]

The new assembly is in, the door hing was retightened, and the door is aligned. Everything is working perfectly except for one item. When I shut the door, the door doesn't auto-lock itself after a period of time. OTher then that, perfect.

Thats how its supposed to work. Its only supposed to auto lock the doors if you unlock the and don't open any doors.

 

[NB_TDi]

hehe been broken so long people think it's a feature all the time!

 

[Keebler145]

I had the wonderful opportunity of doing this to my car and my fathers this past weekend, they both went out within a month of each other .

I didn't do the radio shack shin dig I just went and bought two brand new assemblies from VW. Was much easier in my opinion . My only question is (though it's too late) is there any real way to get that door panel off with out breaking those black plastic mounting pieces?!!! i only broke three and they are cheap to replace but *** who designed that??!!!

 

[ro.sniper]

ro.sniper:

I was tinking about your situation and it occurred to me that you could try to get a single edge razor blade between the glass and the epoxy and try to loosen it that way, but then I remembered the size of the "porthole" that you have to work through to loosen the clamps and figured that might be "next to impossible" to accomplish. I suffered a window drop a few months ago and a switch failure on the opposite side so both doors on my A4 have been apart, and I've only owned this particular car since November of '09.

Dan

Ok as lame as this sounds, any way I can drill in a certain spot in the door and get access to the switch... I'd repair it after... or just leave..


In the rubber accordion where all the wires go... there must be 2 wires which indicate the open close position of the switch... any way I can tap into these. I'd make my own switch after.

 

[Carphuntin_god]

I didn't do the radio shack shin dig I just went and bought two brand new assemblies from VW. Was much easier in my opinion

so, did you replace the entire lock assembly, or just the microswitch? or how much of the assembly?

 

[graeme86]

In the rubber accordion where all the wires go... there must be 2 wires which indicate the open close position of the switch... any way I can tap into these. I'd make my own switch after.

The wires from the door lock only run to the electric window motor inside the door, so you still have to take off the trim to access them, but you could tap into the rear part of the harness clipped to inner door. Then there is a CANBUS signal to the CCM....at least on the later A4 chassis cars.

 

[carlos31820]

Does anyone know if this same procedure applies to my MKV Jetta (2006). I think I have to remove the outer door skin to get access to the lock assembly. Can anyone confirm?

 

[Gregataustin]

Contact Cleaner?

When you guys say Contact Cleaner, are you talking about the contact cleaner I used on points so long ago? Or are you talking about Electrical Parts Cleaner? I have both, and I seem to remember contact cleaner kind of melting plastic. Just a question as I am about to fix a switch, but I would prefer to just clean it

 

[carlos31820]

Does anyone know if this same procedure applies to my MKV Jetta (2006). I think I have to remove the outer door skin to get access to the lock assembly. Can anyone confirm?

UPDATE!!

I just wanted to post and say THANK YOU for posting this. I just repaired my 2006 MKV Jetta door switch using these instructions. Mine was also a faulty micro switch so the Radio Shack $3 switch replacement did the trick.

For anyone considering doing this for an MKV, the procedure is close to what's detailed here but not 100%. For MKV, you will need to do the following...

• Remove door trim covering door skin bolts.
• Remove door handle. Remove the single bolt that is behind the door handle you just removed.
• Remove outer door skin (you don't need to remove the inside door panel). Remove bolts holding outer door skin. Note that although all these bolts are Torx T-30, there are three distinct sizes. Make note of which bolt goes where. Remove door skin.
• With door skin removed, remove the inner bracket that holds the door handle. It's pretty simple, there are no bolts, it just comes out. There is a small rubber band on one of the upper mounting points.
• With the door skin off, you are now ready to remove the door lock/latch assembly. Undo the wiring harness. Now using a triple square/12-point 6mm bit, remove the two black bolts holding the door latch assembly to the door.
• With the lock assembly loose, swing it toward you so you can undo the door latch cable. This is the cable that opens the door when the inner door handle is used.
• After the cable is removed, the door lock/latch assembly is now free.
• Follow the above instructions in the original DIY to repair your door lock/latch.
• Reverse these steps to put everything together.

Again, thank you for posting this. Saved me a lot of money with the $3 switch fix.

 

[david_594]

My passenger side door switch has failed now too. First one lasted 8 or so years, second made it out to 10. I rarely use the passenger side door so no idea how long its really been going on for. First thing I noticed was the doors randomly re-locking themselves while making random turns. And today I happened to catch it re-lock the passenger side door after I opened it.

Time to place an order with allied for a few more switches. http://www.alliedelec.com/search/productdetail.aspx?SKU=8040028

At least its only like a half hour process to R&R the assembly.

 

[grahamtdi]

Has anyone decided to take old locks from wreckers and put new switches in them?

 

[mltmlt]

I glued new microswitch in New Beetle

Thanks for the great instructions! I replaced microswitch in my New Beetle (lock p/n 3B1 837 015 AK) few days ago with RadioShack's one. I've got classic failure.

In my case the counterpart is worn out.

So I decided to keep metal bar for smooth movement. I reverse the switch so the button is on the left. I bent metal bar slightly above the button so the bar follows the profile of the counterpart. This bar adds extra thickness. So I decided not to drill holes close to the edge and simply use super glue. I had no dieletric varnish at hand so I covered them as well as the button with dielectric grease.

I had bad first attempt since first switch stopped working (temporarily?) after glue cured. I suspect fumes were the reason. I had hard times prying it off. (It makes me think that given the small weight of the switch, glue should be enough to hold it in place. And even if glue fails I hope the switch will just stay open.) Normally closed contacts kept working fine though with increased resistance, whereas normally open contacts didn't connect at all. After I opened the switch and used sandpaper, switch started to work as usual. Here is how it looks alike inside if somebody is curious.

Anyway, I decided to buy new switch and don't apply glue at the side with a plastic part of the lock. I kept pressing the button forth and back just in case.
In my 2002 New Beetle the board itself was covered with varnish so there was no bad soldering at all inside of the electrical part of the lock.

Also the rivet was too tight and i hardly could move the plastic which was cracked

 

[vicius_the_one]

I buyed V4NC from Saia burgess and i replaced the upper cap this way :

 

[NarfBLAST]

Finally got around to take my door apart...

Re-soldered the circuit board, fixed the door switch with a little piece of heat shrink tubing to replace the worn out nub (I am sure this will not last long) and reconditioned the power lock motor...

What do I mean by reconditioning the power lock motor? Well, after fixing the circuit board, the motor still would barely turn. I took it apart, cleaned out the carbon, now it would turn a little more, but sometimes it would stick (dead spots). So I plugged it into a 12v battery and let it run in one direction then the other for a couple of minutes... now the brushes and commutator must have been getting cleaned up because it seemed much stronger, but it still had dead spots where it would stall and not self start when voltage was applied without a nudge. So I sprayed some Releaseall (mineral oil) right inside the motor, shook out the excess, and applied 12v again... full power and no more dead spots! I am so happy I just had to share.

P.S. also welded one of the window track corner posts back on to the inner door, and adjusted the outside door handle. It feels like a brand new car when I open and close the door now.

I also de-fragged and lubed the door lock the other day:

 

[graeme86]

That's a ridiculous amount of work to fix a $3 part.

Thank you VW

Thanks for the sharing those great tips.

 

[david_594]

That's a ridiculous amount of work to fix a $3 part.

Thank you VW

Thanks for the sharing those great tips.

Your not fixing the $3 switch. Your replacing the $10 switch to fix the $150 part.

It seems to make everyone bitter to think it takes 2 hours to do such a cheap fix. But would you rather it take you 2 hours and $150 to make the same fix?

 

[procupine14]

It seems to make everyone bitter to think it takes 2 hours to do such a cheap fix. But would you rather it take you 2 hours and $150 to make the same fix?

I guess that all depends on how much you value your time. I will be trying a variety of things this weekend after reading 3/4 of this thread. My driver's door on my '03 Beetle isn't lighting up the lights and the alarm thinks that it is shut and rearms the car if you don't use haste getting in and starting the car.

great thread!!!

 

[david_594]

My driver's door on my '03 Beetle isn't lighting up the lights and the alarm thinks that it is shut and rearms the car if you don't use haste getting in and starting the car.

great thread!!!

Just make sure you have the switch on hand when you tear it all apart. If you go with the radioshack one you can return it if you don't need it.

 

[willz]

i had the same probbem with my switch, which i fixed

yes it is a common problem i've heard, but my car stereo guy said he knows which wire to cut, and he did i for me.
now the light on my door is out. but no warning either.
my alarm still works.
all you need is to remove the door panel and snip the wire.

 

[ro.sniper]

Does anyone know the wires that are going in the rubber boot of the door for the switch? What colour are they? Are they blue and red? I'd like to retrofit my own switch somewhere else.

 

[david_594]

yes it is a common problem i've heard, but my car stereo guy said he knows which wire to cut, and he did i for me.
now the light on my door is out. but no warning either.
my alarm still works.
all you need is to remove the door panel and snip the wire.

Your alarm still arms. But it will no longer go off if someone were to open the driver side door.

Try it yourself. Lock the car with the driver side window down then reach in the window and open the door from the handle inside. The door will open and the alarm should go off. If it doesn't(which it wont because the wire has been snipped) you will see what I mean.

Personally I would just spend the $10 and 2 hours and fix it. Removing the door panel is the hardest part of the whole process.

 

[Keven]

So do I need one of these for each door? I have my door panels apart and have the same problem as everyone else so I was going to try this and ths (http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?1542461) to see if it fixes my problems. Anyone have a page number that offers the best info so I dont have to read all 24 pages?

 

[wesmontage]

Researching the chemicals online, I found DeoxIT GOLD contains mineral spirits but not acetone. Citrus Solvent is interesting because it says it can replace solvents like mineral spirits and acetone. De-Solv-It is something we can find in most any grocery store. May be a problem for electrical conductivity but if I try it and it doesn't work, I can always wash it out with something more agressive and evaporative like 1626 or carb cleaner.

Hope it warms up soon!

I just started reading this thread because my driver's door switch appears to have the dreaded gunk buildup. Being an EE (Bachelors degree from School of Hard Knocks, Masters from Smokestack U), I have a bit of experience with cleaners, electrical/electronic parts and plastics. First of all. DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, USE CITRUS CLEANERS ON ELECTRONICS, WIRING OR STYRENIC PLASTICS (those would be ABS, polystyrene, HIPS, SAN). Also, citrus solvent (called citrus terpenes by the chemists) makes an excellent PAINT REMOVER. Lots of automotive paint is far harder to damage than most paints and coatings, but I certainly wouldn't want to experiment with it on my car.

Mineral spirit (white spirit, Stoddard solvent) is far less aggressive than the citrus stuff, and does little to nothing to car paint. Acetone can be aggressive against lots of kinds of plastic, but it evaporates really fast so it probably wouldn't do much damage, but I'd still be leery of using it in my Golf door.

Oils and greases can also weaken lots of kinds of plastic. I don't know what the switch cams are made from, but adding lube might be a factor in its failure. If it's made from nylon, lube is a non-issue.

I just unstuck my switch with a few small shots of Kroil. http://kanolabs.com/
This stuff seems to work as advertised most of the time, although it isn't quite the miracle product they hype it up to be. Works way better than Liquid Wrench or WD-40, though. The Kroil may have worked because my latch has never been lubed and thus may not have the big slug of entrapped muck shown in several of the other posts. If my switch stays fixed, or if the penetrating oil causes a major meltdown, I'll post again.

FWIW, the little rubber boot on the switches might be affected by solvents, and very possibly by some lubricants. I don't have the manufacturer's spec in front of me, but I do know that it is possible to soften that boot with certain chemicals. If the boot tears, it's all over. In those cases where the cam that actuates the switch wears out and becomes jagged, the chemicals are beside the point and the cam will tear the boot anyway.

If I do replace my switch, I'll try to find one with a roller - IF I can find one that fits. I'll also take a look at the switch specs and make sure the contact material is right for the job. Gold is for really small currents because it doesn't tarnish and cause a bad connection, but using it for tungsten lights will pit its contacts and destroy it. Silver contacts don't work so well for really low currents because it tarnishes, but they hold up much better in lighting circuits.

 

[tommytix]

Some pics of the mechanisms for you to savour....

The operating cam for the switch which sense the door open/closed via the latch position seen from below and from the inside face
http://static.zooomr.com/images/9422845_c077d76cf1.jpg

The sensor shown plastic rivetted to the latch assembly from the outside face
http://static.zooomr.com/images/9422844_0ec49ab97e.jpg

And once more from underneath
http://static.zooomr.com/images/9422842_68303b6637.jpg

 

[dhs28]

im new to the forum, i joined because of this thread, i dont have a TDI but this info pertains to my 2002 jetta GLS 2.0 as well.

i tried the Contact Cleaner solution and that worked for a day, and then off and on for another day and now it doesnt work anymore. did anyone have a long life span of success using the contact cleaner?

 

[concours]

First, thanks to all those who've come before me. I have two A4's both driver's door switches are failed. I opened up the '01 with 360K miles. I first observed movement, tested pin 7 & 8 for continuity, found the switch not changing state, removed (carefully cut away the melted over part of the pins with a razor knife), cleaned and inspected the switch. Inside the contacts were perfect, the actuation button was simply worn down where it rubs on the cam. I had bought the RS switch, but like others, hesitate about it being not sealed. I decided to clean with solvent the worn button and added a drop of JB Weld to the worn tip. Built it up about .040-.050". Down side is it had to harden overnight, but I had time, weather on my side for a change. Today I re-inserted the switch into the original holes and re-melted the pins with a soldering iron. Lubed the cam with SylGlide grease and re-assembled the door. Works great so far. I'll report back after a while, but I have reason to believe it will be as durable as the original set-up. Just another variation of this very cool repair to an annoying problem.

 

[NarfBLAST]

...Inside the contacts were perfect, the actuation button was simply worn down where it rubs on the cam...

Same here! I used some heat shrink tubing to replace the rubber button cover, i sort of shrunk it over the nipple to make a new nipple. Been working great for 2 months.

I would not recommend this unless you are willing to take the door apart again or like me you don't mind living with a non working door switch (I lived with it for 4 years).