Caff

I hadn't thought about it weight wise. I shall have to make a couple of phone calls. It's still running but I'm surprised it is. It's going to fail it's MOT in September! Steering is going, suspension dodgy, body work... sounds a bit like me! :16: I'm getting a T5 conversion camper!! Most people downsize!

After many years of Galaxy driving I am about to pick up a VW! I don't just want the faithful old Gal to be squashed at the scrap metal merchants but would like to see if it is of use to anyone. She's an X reg 1.9 TDi and may have some useful parts.Is there some route I can take with this? Of course the local breakers might be interested and I shall give them a ring in the morning if no one comes up with any ideas here. I shall miss her having had her since she was 1!

I took off the driver's side rear interior panel and the tailgate panel to free up all the wires for the tail gate. We checked each one and found a few more with lightly damaged sheathing. None were broken at all and none worn. There were no problems with any other door's wiring and earthing for the tail gate is in that area below the fuel tank filler. So we went back to the switches - again: there must be two circuits, one to turn the dash warning light on and one to turn on the lights when the doors are open. My original diagnosis was correct and the new replacement switch I had bought( to replace the one I had crushed) was faulty and getting worse. Because the problem initially was intermittent I had began to think the problem was elsewhere. So four switches (we changed others "just in case") and many hours later all is working correctly. As a final gesture the fuse also blew. I think it was no 63, a mini fuse on the "vertical set" which took me a while to find going through them one by one! So all is quiet and not clicking again. Thanks all for your help, as ever.

Thanks for your reply SilverBeast. Having fiddled with all the wiring the lights are flashing constantly and it's difficult to say which area of fiddling has aggravated!! I shall have to give it another go. I'm not sure the doors shut with the door gaiters disconnected. If I do have success I will post it here. It would be so much easier to know which wires could be the culprit amongst the bundles.

Is the controller under the passenger seat anything to do with courtesy lights? An interesting thought is that when I pull the ignition keys out but have the lights on the "computer" knows whether the driver's door is open or shut.

Having thoroughly inspected the wires on the tailgate, and rebound a few, this problem continues. It comes and goes. We've had a good look at all the wires and think we've caught all the ones that had insulation breakdown/cracking. The wires themselves were all still in good condition as far as was visible and are now well bound up and immobilised. This is beyond annoying and is less intermittent, the lights are on nearly all the time and the problem seems to be aggravated with forward/backward motion. Switching off the engine means I can't raise the passenger electric window as the computer thinks a door is open. Could it be an earth failing? Could this be a relay? Do I have to start replacing door switches again, is there a particular set of wires (colours) which I should be having an ever closer look at? Every so often the problem goes away and I think its solved. I've been running back and forth to the tip so all the doors are being opened and shut (and slammed) repeatedly, It's so distracting to drive with this problem! I'm no electrician and am struggling with this.

I'll have a look but I'm wondering if the problem is deeper. It doesn't think any door is open. Hence me thinking the switches might be innocent. There's some sort of control for turning the lights off when the ignition is on or when the doors have been shut for a couple of minutes. I'm wondering if this is the area of problem - but what to look at? Car electrics are not my thing!! :(

When driving along the courtesy lights occasionally flash and I can hear the click of relays. This is getting much worse. The "door open" light on the dash does not come on though. Have replaced three door switches but am wondering if this is not the problem as because the "door open" light not flashing implies the problem is elsewhere. This is driving me nuts, I've turned all the lights out but the rear ones for the tail gate can't be turned off, so they flash (annoying at night) and the clicking can't be right. The courtesy lights all work as normal when doors are open. Any ideas of where to look.

I had the same problem as the initial poster and the solution worked for me. I prized the surround away but did not need to remove the dials. Not sure they could come off! Then just four torx screws and the controls are out. Simples. Thanks daddyfixit.

Is it not on your insurance? I had it done on mine by Autoglas. One screen lasted about 6 months and the heated elements failed. It wa suggested that it was badly installed. I had to pay a small excess compared to the actual cost. I still wouldn't be without my heated windscreen. Such a large screen out of reach! Caff

Same symptoms and in my case it was a fuse. Had the same problem and the wet footwell previously. Can't remember which fuse it was except that my little manual thought the fuse was for engine management (except it wasn't). I have a diesel mind you. A thorough search through the fuse box in daylight was necessary as first time round in the dark and artificial light I missed it and had started to take out loads of unecessary bits and bobs. Caff

Yes thanks. We'd checked for this and so did the MOT chap without being prompted. The vibration happens at right turns too I notice but not as much I think. The steering pump is on my "to do" list when I feel moneyed

Mine hasn't settled, but thanks. The MOT chap had a good look and a quick drive. He reckons the problem is the power steering pump. He tells me that as it is very mild I can continue to drive it. Looks like it's a case of wear and tear and bad timing. The gal has done over 100k so this might be right. I shall be changing the pump in the near future though as I find it a bit disconcerting and I've seen some reconditioned pumps on eBay. He said he's seen much worse and not to panic.

I need some advice please Just got my Gal mk 2 back from an MOT and, though I've never encountered this before, she now vibrates gently (as if driving on a mild rumble strip) when turning left at low speeds, eg in car parks. Turning right doesn't show this up and also driving at normal speeds - I suppose the sensation might be masked. I can't hear any dodgy noises I'm taking it back to the MOT chap as he seems very approachable but I'd like to know what he might have done to give this problem. I've tried to search the forum and Google but am obviously asking the wrong thing. Thanks in advance Cath

Only how many years too late???

Could this be the motor siezing? - common fault. Search this site for solutions. If its this it's easy to resolve.

Sorry I'm adding to the confusion. I meant relay 109 as in my earlier post. This is inside car not under the bonnet. But if chrispb123456 is right, and I bow to his knowledge, I have just put a red herring in the works for which I appologise! C

Fuse 109 is behind the main fuse panel to the right of the steering wheel. It's time consuming but not difficult. It's somewhere on the forum how to attack. I get the impression that this relay being faulty really drains your battery.

Is this a Mk 2? If so relay 109 was our problem. Search for my posts and you'll find it. We flattened our battery fiddling and this meant we couldn't start the car after we changed the relay. We also changed a fuse box but not sure if the main problem. Another common thing. It was extremely cold when the relay "failed" fully.

Yeah...... :ph34r: :lol: :D Thanks for all your help. Couldn't charge battery when we were away yesterday but battery has been on charge all today. Started first time this evening. Assuming that our problems have upset my battery. Was at 11.8v this am. Started the engine with 12.5 volts. Alternator charges at 14.4v at 2000revs no load. Thanks again everyone that's chipped in. You should have seen us dancing around! Saved our bacon, sanity and money

Thank you both. Thought of the battery so it's has been on charge over night. It's reading 12.5 at mo. Got to leave for Aberystwyth (going to miss the comfort of the Gal!) so can't do anything now. Have multimeter but not at all competent in its use! Help would be wonderful. Will start again tonight. Thanks again to everyone who's helping

Left of battery standing in front and looking back. (Starter motor?) Think everything back in place. There's a photo on the forum somewhere of the fuse box which confirmed what we'd written down, order of cables etc. Fuse box new, relay 109 new, battery/alternator cable resoldered. Can't see any stray wires. Tomorrow evening O/H is going to put everything back as it was and start again.

Checked connections to starter and solenoid and earths. Soldered connection of alternator cable at fuse box as previously intended. Can't work out a reason for this as nothing else has been touched. At wits end and knackered :unsure:

Changed said items. Presumably different problem. Turn ignition key and get clicking (sparking?) from somewhere to left and below battery, coil? and all dash lights flash with the clicking. Sounds awful. At wits end. Wanted car for long journey. At least I have the fiesta :unsure: Just don't know what to do now. Battery charging but at 12.1v. Doesn't sound like anything I've heard before.

After lots of phone calls and visits to both Volkswagen and Ford. Relay from VW - sorted. Took cable which connects alternator to battery fuse box. It's 140cm long and about 7.5mm diameter,it has an extra corrugated black plastic cover. All code numbers do not correspond to VW or Ford codes. Not sure how much effort VW put into finding out anything behind their door but Ford showed us all their diagrams and it looks non standard and the real alternator assembly cable has two wires. To check a mechanic was consulted and he queried why we were changing that cable, it looked OK. He said the fault was the fuse box and the red cable from the battery, he's always changing them. Approx