B5.5 Daily Repair POS

[TDI in MT]

And now the car insists that the drivers door is open randomly while driving, but with the stereo at the right volume it drowns out the constant chime. Any one ever run into this problem?

Bad switch in the door latch. $265 at a dealer because the switch is not available separately, $3 at Radio Shack. My Golf had that problem but it was not intermittent; it never worked. Thought the door was closed all the time.

[Mrbubblehead]

Do you remember what switch you bought at radio shack?

[TDI in MT]

Do you remember what switch you bought at radio shack?

Not right now, might have it at home but i won't be there until Sunday. Pretty much went there and looked at the assortment of switches and compared them to the one I took out of the door latch mechanism. None were a direct "drop-in" replacement; some modification to the latch mechanism was needed. The mounting holes in the RS switch were farther back than the OEM one; I had to make the latch's existing holes for the switch mounting screws into slots by cutting out 2 small (1/4"?) pieces. A Dremel with a cut-off wheel is ideal for this job. Two each of #4-40 x 3/4" screws, #4 flat washers, lock washers & stop nuts are needed too. (I think they were #4-40, maybe #6. I'm guessing on the length too, but as I remember that wasn't important.)

I don't know how long it will last; it's not waterproof. But that part of the door shouldn't see much water.

You are aware that getting at this switch requires removing everything in the door, right? Even the glass. It's a major pain. You'll also need "triplesquare" socket wrench attachments to remove the door latch.

[TDI in MT]

Do you remember what switch you bought at radio shack?

Not right now, might have it at home but i won't be there until Sunday. Pretty much went there and looked at the assortment of switches and compared them to the one I took out of the door latch mechanism.

Sorry it took so long. As it happens, I bought two and didn't use one. The RadioShack p/n is 275-0016. Some have removed the metal lever, I didn't. I'm not sure what can be done to waterproof the contacts, maybe a dab of axle grease on the itty-bitty actuator? I didn't think of that in time so my switch is fully un-waterproof. It is still working after a month or so.

Go here for instructions. I think this is the page I used but the pics don't look quite like what I remember: http://www.myturbodiesel.com/1000q/mult ... t-Golf.htm

[Mrbubblehead]

Well I didn't really have time to get to that switch. So I asked the Passat to handle it on its own and it did. It switch gave out all the way, it thinks the door is always closed now. I just have to remember to take my keys out and turn the lights off when i get out of the car since it doesn't beep at me anymore. I'm just happy it doesn't beep anymore while driving. Success!

[Mrbubblehead]

The passat is off to Portland today. When I changed the oil last week, I noticed that the oil cooler water lines looked puffy so i replaced them last night. They were almost 3 times the size of new ones in places.

[MT-Getto]

You driving it to portland? Is it coming back?

[Mrbubblehead]

I'm not driving it to Portland. We were supposed to go there for thanksgiving but my boss is an ass and told me that I cant go last minute. So Amanda is going by herself. I wanted to make sure that it wasn't going to have any failures. I noticed that those hoses looked ballooned up and took care of it before they popped. It is idling rough though. Looks like it will need a TB gasket and a boost tube or two, but I didn't think that it would be an issue at the moment. It's still pulling hard and getting around 28mpg on the highway.

[Mrbubblehead]

An update to your question Trevor "Is it coming back?". The answer is maybe. I got a call yesterday form Amanda saying the coolant light went on and the coolant reservoir is almost empty. Had a friend look at it out there and apparently one of the plastic heater core fittings that goes through the fire wall has deteriorated and started leaking. He cut the cracked part off and slid the hose back as far as he could and hose clamped it. So far it is holding. I told Amanda to go to the hardware store and pick up parts to make a bypass for the heater core in case it gives out.

[MT-Getto]

Crap!