Stupid door Switch!! $3 Fix!!!

mrclean

Member
Joined
Aug 2, 2005
Location
Greencastle PA
TDI
2005 Jetta wagon, dark blue metallic
My door switch is being alittle different. If you close the door normally and open it, the puddle light will not light. If you close the door to the "door ajar" position and then open, the puddle light will light.
With the switch having plastic rivets, I guess there is no adjustment.
Would the fix be to take it all apart and elongate the holes as if I am installing a new switch?
After I open the door panel up, if I find the switch about to fall apart, can I remove one of the other micro switches that roll the windows up and down and swap them?
Thanks Paul
 

vun

Active member
Joined
Oct 4, 2000
Location
Ashburn, VA, USA
just found this thread, and I think I've found out why the driver door does not light the dome light and the buzzer sounds off for a couple minutes:mad: after I start my car up
Does anyone know if having a bad door switch will cause the car to fail safety inspection (VA)?
TIA
 

VT_hawkeye

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 8, 2002
Location
Charlottesville, VA USA
TDI
03 Jetta sedan
vun said:
just found this thread, and I think I've found out why the driver door does not light the dome light and the buzzer sounds off for a couple minutes:mad: after I start my car up
Does anyone know if having a bad door switch will cause the car to fail safety inspection (VA)?
TIA
Mine's been bad for at least couple of years and has passed VA safety inspection every time. I do not have the buzzer, though, just no dome light, no door base panel light, and relock (i.e. car still thinks the door's closed). It doesn't appear from http://www.vsp.state.va.us/Safety.shtm that the door switch failure would make the car fail inspection.
 

grahamtdi

Member
Joined
Jun 20, 2009
Location
Vancouver, BC
TDI
2003 Jetta Sdn
I have a 2003 Jetta, and I have the same problem. I have noticed that if i close the door partially, up to the latch but not closed completely, the switch does its thing. The lights come on and the appropriate chimes are heard.
 

vun

Active member
Joined
Oct 4, 2000
Location
Ashburn, VA, USA
VT_hawkeye said:
Mine's been bad for at least couple of years and has passed VA safety inspection every time. I do not have the buzzer, though, just no dome light, no door base panel light, and relock (i.e. car still thinks the door's closed). It doesn't appear from http://www.vsp.state.va.us/Safety.shtm that the door switch failure would make the car fail inspection.
thanks for the info
I'll let you guys know as soon as I can get the car inspected
Cheers
 

Dunhamjr

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 26, 2001
Location
Seattle, WA
TDI
none right now
Just did this to my Golf today.

So far its working great. Slotting the holes for the new switch was a pain, the dremel bit I had wasn't fully up to the task, so I took a drill bit and using bare hands used it to radius out the hole in the microswitch. This gave me a bit more 'play'. Also took a small round file and finished slotting the bracket as close as I dared. I used a bolt and nut setup with red loctite, is shouldnt go anywheres.

I did find that the part number at RS has changed to 275-0016.

My only issue now is that I didnt get the interior door lever hooked up completely correct to the cable and keeper... so now the lever pulls to 90 degrees before it opens and it 'feels weird', kind of hollow feeling. Guess I will have to pull the panel back off and do it right.

Too bad I am doing all this work on a car that is going to be sold at the end of the month.
 

pfredricks

Active member
Joined
Sep 7, 2009
Location
Glendale, AZ
TDI
2001 Jetta TDI, 2012 VW Clean"ish" Diesel TDI
Summary of the fix

This thread was getting so long, I thought it was time to summarize:

Symptoms:
Car doesn't recognize that door opens as a result:
1. Dome and Puddle lamp don't illuminate when door opened
2. Car locks itself after entry if not started
3. "Lost its voice" no chime when door openend and lights on or key in ignition

Instructions:
vwsandman said:
Steps: From VWSANDMAN
1) Tear the door down to the door lock assembly. This is detailed in the Bentley or here: http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=1015107
2) Remove the door lock assembly from the door carrier assembly you just removed. You will need to drill out a rivit to do this as detailed in Bentley.
3) Once you have the door lock assembly out, you will see the switch in question. It is the one that has a red and blue wire going to it. Mine was ruined as outlined above.
4) You will need a dremel tool to slot out the holes that hold the switch in place to the new switch fits in.
4) Observe the posistion and how the old switch works.Then remove the old switch. It is held in place by two plastic plugs that are melted to hold the switch. Pry it out with a small flat bladed screwdriver and clip the wires at the switch. Then slot out the holes for the new switch with your dremel. You will be able to see what you need to slot by comparing the two switches.
5) Take the new switch and remove the lever by slowly twisting it out with a pliers. You don't need it, just the main body of the switch.
6) You will need two tiny screws and nuts, which I had laying around, otherwise you can get them at the hardware store. Attatch the new switch and solder the red and blur wires to the switch. One to the C (Common) and one to the NO (normally open). Plug the electrical plug back in and test the operation of the switch.
7) Button it all back up and rejoice in the money you saved!

I also lubed the new switch with electrical grease and hopefully it will last for awhile. Now that it is all modified, I can slug a new one in if it fails again in the future. (hopefully I wont have to!)

I know these instructions are very basic, but if you have the ability to get all of this apart, you can change out this switch.
Useful websites/References:
http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=1015107
http://www.taligentx.com/passat/main...lockmechanism/
http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...ductId=2049718
http://forums.motivemag.com/zerothread?id=4312922
http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=1542461

Parts/Specialized Tools list you should have before beginning:

Tools-T20, 25, 30 Torx, 8MM triple square tool, Dremel with Carbide tip(for enlarging holes) Soldering Iron, Flux, Solder, Rivet Tool(may substitute small machine screw and bolt)

Parts List:radio shack switch part number 275-106A or 275-0016, Ace Hardware #2-56 bolts with nuts (very small), duct tape and Loctite. (possibly also JB Weld).

Test Before putting the whole door back together
cattlerepairman said:
To test the assembly:
- mount the lock assembly onto the carrier panel, attach electrical connector, slide carrier panel into place (in the door), attach the 2 bolts that secure the lock, put one screw in that holds the carrier panel.
- attach the electrical connectors at the inside of the A pillar (without threading them through the openings)
- attach the cable to the outside door handle
- mount the lock cylinder

- the quick test to see whether the car recognizes that the door is open:
close door, lock with key fob, horn beeps (unless you disabled this function)
unlock car but do not open door; wait and watch - locks re-lock after about a minute
- lock again, then unlock and open door.
If your switch works, the locks will NOT re-lock with the door open.
A couple tips i might add-
1. I lightly dremelled the surface of the switch to make it less likely to catch and make the mechanism work together better. (without this it seemed likely to eventually catch and break)
2. After affixing the switch with the #2 machine screws, I filled the old holes with JB weld. I don't want to have to do this again later.
3. IF you have these symptoms, strongly consider not opening up the whole door lock mechanism(DLM) to inspect the solder joints. One must make sure that it is not only put back together correctly, but in the correct (unlocked) positions which can be complicated, time consuming, and frustrating. Just replace the switch and see if that works.

I'd like to thank everyone who figured this out. I replaced mine and it save me alot of money. Everything works again, AMAZING! Thanks again, hope this helps you save some time surfing!
 

Funguy

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 18, 2005
Location
Front Range of Colorado
TDI
2015 Golf Sportwagen dsg and 2015 Passat 6 M/T
Funguy said:
The fix has not held up well at all. :(
update on the quick contact cleaner fix. After applying the contact cleaner several times and using high pressure air and working the switch hard with a tool it worked. I messed-up by spraying white grease in the latch and had to clean it again. The cheap fix has now held-up for several months.
No doubt that it will fail now that I have told everyone that it is fixed!
 

mape1082

Active member
Joined
Nov 5, 2007
Location
Montréal
TDI
Jetta 2001
Finally after reading posts like this one I got all the info I needed to do the repair by myself.

I found that the switch had been tampered, meaning, it was damaged and someone tried to fix it.

I realized of that because when I disassembled it I tried to fix the pin, which had a little plastic piece broken. But the person who tried to fix it re-assembled the switch in the opposite way. Not sure if the broken pin was before or after the last repair attempt. I wasnt able to fix it , because this apparently was a sealed one but with a broken seal, so the lock mechanism surface was in direct contact with the top of the pin, causing a lot of friction. The pin did not resist.
I installed a "GC Switch, Momentary subminiature Snap action switch" (almost identical to the one found at http://www.radioshack.com/prod...49718).

Instead of gluing the switch I used the old switch's plastic and with solder gun I melted it and used it as a glue to fix the new switch to the body of the lock.

After reassembling the door , closing the doors and locking the car I could hear that glorious "beep"!! yeahh it worked! Also for the first time I saw how nice the interior lights get on when the door is opened and fade graciously when the engine starts!

Thanks for all the info and guidance!
 

gsgnz

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 22, 2008
Location
Durango, CO
TDI
01 Jetta GLS
So I finally got mine all tore apart. When I manually depress the switch (as if the door is open) the interior lights come on and the buzzer goes off.
This leads me to believe the switch is working but the "cam latch" isn't allowing it to release.
Has anyone had this similar situation? Or have all of your switches been out of order when you tore the door apart?
Is it possible to reattach the same switch and take some material off of the cam latch in the closed position? The cam seems pretty worn...
 

All of Us

Ian's Dad
Joined
Nov 14, 2005
Location
Brookfield, IL
TDI
2015 NMS Passat SE TDI "Gin" 2006 A5 New Jetta TDI "Graycie" and 2003 A4 Jetta GLS TDI "Liath"
Volks:

First, I want to thank vwsandman for sorting this fix out and even finding a suitable substitute part to do the repair. I just finished fixing the passenger side door on the '03 Jetta I recently picked up in Michigan (Thanks again, Lew!). The interior light was not coming on and the clearance light in the door was not coming on even though the bulb was good. A little fiddling around with the microswitch indicated that the switch, although working, was not working as intended. When I tore it apart the plunger on the switch had actually worn a divot into the plastic on the accentric cam that activates the switch. I filled in the divot with some epoxy and picked up the RS replacement microswitch and got to work installing the new switch. Biggest PITA of the whole job is filing/grinding the mounting holes so they align with the new switch, but hey, once that's done if you have to do another retrofit somewhere down the road the holes are already aligned.
Put everything back together and she works again!!!

Dan
 

Tom Servo

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 9, 2000
Location
LA (Lower Alabama)
TDI
2005 Gol TDI, blue and falling apart
grahamtdi said:
I have a 2003 Jetta, and I have the same problem. I have noticed that if i close the door partially, up to the latch but not closed completely, the switch does its thing. The lights come on and the appropriate chimes are heard.
Mine did the same thing for a while, so the dome lights would come on because the switch was tripped. For the longest I thought I had a burned out door marker bulb.

In my car it wasn't a faulty switch but dirt. Apparently a long ride down a country lane resulted in the latch picking up a lot of red dirt which caused the latch to stick. A little PB Blaster and things are back to normal for now.

Dunno if there's a better lubricant for the latch but we'll see how long this lasts before it sticks again.
 

mtnsapo

Member
Joined
Oct 30, 2006
Location
san jose, ca
TDI
98 jetta
humm, if my problem is that the car thinks the door is open while driving, could i just cut the wires to the swtich the and connect them together?

I think the car would think the door is shut all the time, but is there a problem with that? I just want the door open sound to not go on while going down the freeway....


TIA

Brian
 

All of Us

Ian's Dad
Joined
Nov 14, 2005
Location
Brookfield, IL
TDI
2015 NMS Passat SE TDI "Gin" 2006 A5 New Jetta TDI "Graycie" and 2003 A4 Jetta GLS TDI "Liath"
mtnsapo:

If I remember correctly, the switch is wired in a "normally open" condition. So the only time the wires would be connected is when the door is open and the switch is depressed. It could be that your switch has the botton stuck down and is always telling the car that the door is open. Cutting the wire would cure that condition, but connecting the wires back together again should recreate the condition you already have. If you are going to go through the hassle of disassembling the door to cut the wire you may as well do the $3 switch fix and get it working like it supposed to again. Won't take you much longer and you will be happy it's working right when you're done.

Dan
 

Tom Servo

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 9, 2000
Location
LA (Lower Alabama)
TDI
2005 Gol TDI, blue and falling apart
mtnsapo said:
I think the car would think the door is shut all the time, but is there a problem with that? I just want the door open sound to not go on while going down the freeway....
The only problem I had with mine thinking the door was shut all the time was the dome lights didn't illuminate when the door was opened. Also, the alarm could be armed with the door open, even though the driver's door lock won't engage with the door ajar.

Other than those issues, I don't see how it would be that big of an issue.
 

All of Us

Ian's Dad
Joined
Nov 14, 2005
Location
Brookfield, IL
TDI
2015 NMS Passat SE TDI "Gin" 2006 A5 New Jetta TDI "Graycie" and 2003 A4 Jetta GLS TDI "Liath"
I believe another issue would be that the clearance marker light on the inside of the door will never illuminate. That's what tipped me off that I had a problem. Someone told me my door light bulb was burned out and when I tested the bulb it worked fine. I had to dig a little deeper to find the real cause of the problem and to find the $3 fix. Thanks again VWsandman!!

Dan
 
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VW Vet

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 4, 2000
Location
Maine
TDI
Golf GL TDI, 2001
Another problem with a bad door switch:
When you unlock the door with the fob, open it and put stuff inside, maybe even your keys, close the door to get some more stuff, the door will be locked when you come back. The computer will think you never opened the door.
 

Tom Servo

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 9, 2000
Location
LA (Lower Alabama)
TDI
2005 Gol TDI, blue and falling apart
VW Vet said:
Another problem with a bad door switch:
When you unlock the door with the fob, open it and put stuff inside, maybe even your keys, close the door to get some more stuff, the door will be locked when you come back. The computer will think you never opened the door.
:eek: Ok now that's a serious issue. (And all the more reason to never ever part with your key until it goes in the ignition.)
 

brum

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2009
Location
Bulgaria
TDI
Passat B5, 1.9 TDI, AFN
Here is my solution.

The problem with the microswitch is that it has plastic pin that ware out with the time. And when that happens the switch is no longer pushed enough to make contact.

I looked for replacement microswitch and couldn't find anywhere. But I looked at the switches from the same series and I found that:


I was thinking that I could use the cap of the switch and replace with it the cap of the door switch. But this happened to be the old switch version. The new can not be disassembled. Instead it must be broken and used as donor. The plastic pin can be extracted and used to replace the broken one in the door lock microswitch. Here are the steps:

1. This is the original microswitch.
http://www.vwclub.bg/forum/download/file.php?id=40716&t=1

2. This is how it looks after we disassemble it.
http://www.vwclub.bg/forum/download/file.php?id=40715&t=1

3. Here is the donor switch after I broke it to take out the pin.
http://www.vwclub.bg/forum/download/file.php?id=40719&t=1

4. This are the original and the replacement plastic pin. In order to take them out from the switch, you just need to push it and it will come out.
http://www.vwclub.bg/forum/download/file.php?id=40717

5. And this is the rebuilt switch. It is working perfectly. For another 5 or 10 yeas...
http://www.vwclub.bg/forum/download/file.php?id=40716&t=1

The donor switch is V4NST7 from Burgess. I bought it for 3USD from farnell
 
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NB_TDi

Vendor
Joined
Mar 16, 2008
Location
NB, Canada █♣█
TDI
2014 Jetta SE
brum said:
Here is my solution.

The problem with the microswitch is that it has plastic pin that ware out with the time. And when that happens the switch is no longer pushed enough to make contact.

That's the problem with YOUR switch. Some of them crack in half, some of the solder joints on the boards crack. The list of problems is scattered with many issues. The switchs plunger is merely a single issue. A good fix, yes good job, but it's not the be all end all fix of the door switches.
 

Graphic Man

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 6, 2008
Location
Mississauga ont. Canada
TDI
looking to buy
need some help here please

my drivers door light will not come on and the key fob (now with new battery's) does not lock or unlock or open the trunk.....key in the door will not turn ( i am guessing it's rusted) alarm is armed but car still drives (park lights flash for 30 seconds and i had to disconnect the alarm horn).......will a door lock module fix this?

Thanks
 

Gusbug2002

Member
Joined
Dec 5, 2009
Location
Chicago Burbs
TDI
2002 beetle 1.9 auto
Volkswagon ,, fine job on pretending this problem doesn't exist,,,,especially since it a safety issue [door lite doesn't lite to warn passing cars you have a open door at nite ] this should be a recall ,,,, about 400.00 for dealer to repair,, called the rep,,they never head about it,,but all the dealers stock the parts,,what a coincidence.
 

l_c

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 4, 2003
Location
San Jose, CA USA
TDI
Wrecked and gone: VW Jetta wagon 2002 silver TDI
Re: This Design Sucks

Just think, if under-the-hood components/systems are designed to use similar standards (is it good for 5000 cycles? 1 million?), that's how the car model gets a bad rap for "quality/reliability issues".

Sucks, sucks, sucks. This (low-current door sense switches) is not a newfangled concept. Hey, can we just use hall-effect sensors instead? I feel that microswitches in a door are Always Going To Fail Eventually. If it failed after a million cycles, I wouldn't mind at all. This system (at least in my car) has failed on both front doors (I'm on my 2nd set of modules in 165k miles) twice; usage has been on the order of 20k cycles (for the driver's door) over 8 years. Sucks!!!!!!!
Larry.

Gusbug2002 said:
Volkswagon ,, fine job on pretending this problem doesn't exist,,,,especially since it a safety issue [door lite doesn't lite to warn passing cars you have a open door at nite ] this should be a recall ,,,, about 400.00 for dealer to repair,, called the rep,,they never head about it,,but all the dealers stock the parts,,what a coincidence.
 

aNUT

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Nov 29, 2006
Location
Boulder, Colorado
TDI
'01 TT (ALH-ish), B7 Audi gasser, '05 Golf
I happened to be looking through my Bentley the other day and came across a curious looking illustration in the section pertaining to the MK4 Jetta Wagon rear lid latch mechanism. From the illustration, it appears that the microswitch for the rear latch is not only very similar to the one we need for a direct replacement for the door switches, but also available as a separate part.

I started looking through my ETKA, and it appears that the switch is indeed a separate part; running about $30.

Here is the illustration:



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...
 
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darkhorse

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 21, 2009
Location
Wisconsin
TDI
'06 Golf GLS, '01 Dodge/Cummins
I don't know about that switch but I recognize your e-mail from the Kerma site. I'll be getting back to you. ;)
 

michael.

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 25, 2001
Location
Tacoma, WA
TDI
Golf, 2K, silver
FWIW -

I had this problem a while back and tried the 4 dollar Radio Shack fix - but alas, it didn't last. I think the switch was mounted a bit incorrectly, so it eventually went out.

But then!!! My window regulator went out. Now that is a huge problem. The microswitch I can live without a light once in a while, but the window dropping down in middle of winter, No.

As it was 20 degrees in WA state a few weeks ago, I went into my local VW shop (2 Quicks German Auto) and they replaced my entire door lock assembly and driver's window regulator for under $400 out the door.

It was worth it. I tried the cheap fix, didn't work. And I could have done the work my self, but at 20 degrees F on a Saturday when I should be playing daddy... it was money well spent.

michael.
 
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