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Sun Apr 30, 2006 2:12 pm

I can't find a diagram anywhere, and I need this car road ready to make a 400 mile drive next week ... the only quirk left is the darned signals/flashers. I'm positive it's the relay, but I can't figure out which one is the correct one. Anyone know which relay number it is, or could give me a good description of it's location? Also, can you tell me what the pin layout on it should look like, so I can make sure autozone gave me the right one? They gave me the wrong one twice for my rabbit convertible -_-

I'm 6 months pregnant and getting down under there to pull them out is a real pain, I really need some quick, easy instructions :] Let's hope I don't get stuck under the dash.

Sun Apr 30, 2006 8:14 pm

The flasher relay for all older watercooled VW's is the same basic unit. Heck, I think this same basic relay was used from 1971-1998 and maybe even after that. It has been made and sold under a few part numbers through the years but the terminal numbers are the same and they are all interchangable. It will have three terminals, 49, 49a and 31. (USA style relays that say P,X,L on them won't work.) On the fuse/relay panel, I'm pretty sure it should be the one furthest to your right, on the row just above the fuses. It will be the only relay on that plate that has those terminal numbers.

As for the pin layout of the relay, I have a pic I uploaded a few weeks ago with a couple of examples. These are older relays but they both have the same pin layout as yours should have.

-Andy

Sun Apr 30, 2006 9:41 pm

excellent, thank you very much. i definitely have the right relay, and the spot you described was empty! so that would be why it doesnt work ;]

i will try to get it in there tomorrow, and hopefully i will have signals again, to warn my fellow drivers to stay the heck out of my way :D

Tue May 02, 2006 5:24 pm

the relay works perfectly, however when i turn on the passenger side signal the voltage meter drops about 4 volts and the bulb still looks dim, same thing happens when the hazards are on. this, is not good. i hate hate hate electrical work of any sort, my hands shake whenever i have to splice a wire. i am assuming this is a short? any advice on how to track it down? :\

but yay the flasher works, and thank you for telling me where to put it :D

Wed May 03, 2006 7:45 am

Well, something is not right. So on left turns the signals function fine but on right turns they do not? It might not be a short - direct shorts usually blow the fuse right away. But there probably is a poor connection of some kind somewhere in the turn signal circuit for that side. When you say the bulb is dim, do you mean front and rear bulbs, or just one of them. If it's just one I'd suspect a bad contact in the bulbholder, or in the wires leading the bulbholder or a bad ground wire somewhere. Then there's the possibilty its the the dreaded water-<bleeped> fusebox syndrome, as the juice for the right turn lights enters the fusebox at pin A7, then exits at C8(front) and E11(rear) so that current path wanders around the fusebox quite a bit. The left side also runs through there in similar fashion. (A20 to C19+E6) It's all a matter of tracing the circuit point to point. I know you hate electrical work, so I'm sorry about that bad news (and you'll realize why I have for myself, a USA made Golf, which uses an American style fusebox that very seldom suffers from these sort of problems)

-Andy

Wed May 03, 2006 9:04 am

glutamodo wrote: Well, something is not right. So on left turns the signals function fine but on right turns they do not? It might not be a short - direct shorts usually blow the fuse right away. But there probably is a poor connection of some kind somewhere in the turn signal circuit for that side. When you say the bulb is dim, do you mean front and rear bulbs, or just one of them. If it's just one I'd suspect a bad contact in the bulbholder, or in the wires leading the bulbholder or a bad ground wire somewhere. Then there's the possibilty its the the dreaded water-<bleeped> fusebox syndrome, as the juice for the right turn lights enters the fusebox at pin A7, then exits at C8(front) and E11(rear) so that current path wanders around the fusebox quite a bit. The left side also runs through there in similar fashion. (A20 to C19+E6) It's all a matter of tracing the circuit point to point. I know you hate electrical work, so I'm sorry about that bad news (and you'll realize why I have for myself, a USA made Golf, which uses an American style fusebox that very seldom suffers from these sort of problems)

-Andy

All of the signals look dim, that one is particularly so. My driver's dei flashes and behavres normally but when I click it to passenger side, only the rear one flashes and sucks the power like a beast.

I took a good look at the fuse panel, I pulled other relays and checked them out and it looks immaculate, I can't see any damage as I did on my other Rabbits.

Could is be possible that it was swapped, and poorly wired? Oh man I am not looking forward to this ... I'm 6 months pregnant and don't fit under that dash very well anymore. I got stuck on the ground like a turtle the other day :D

Wed May 03, 2006 9:12 am

Moley wrote: [
Could is be possible that it was swapped, and poorly wired?

Well, since the fusebox plugs are pretty straightforward, I don't see how. Now in the rest of the wiring of the car, sometimes you'll get something really odd - like a pinched wire somewhere, that barely contacts ground. Not enough to pop a fuse but enough to draw down that circuit. Those can be a real pain to find. It might all be back at one of the lights too, pinched wire or something else weird. Like I said, it's point to point troubleshooting. Good luck, hope you find something sooner than later in the process.

-Andy

Wed May 03, 2006 9:43 am

glutamodo wrote: Moley wrote: [
Could is be possible that it was swapped, and poorly wired?

Well, since the fusebox plugs are pretty straightforward, I don't see how. Now in the rest of the wiring of the car, sometimes you'll get something really odd - like a pinched wire somewhere, that barely contacts ground. Not enough to pop a fuse but enough to draw down that circuit. Those can be a real pain to find. It might all be back at one of the lights too, pinched wire or something else weird. Like I said, it's point to point troubleshooting. Good luck, hope you find something sooner than later in the process.

-Andy

i just read my post and a lot was nigh incoherent. i have a wireless keyboard in my lap, and the belly gets in the way. hah!

your comment about pinched wire is intriguing, since the wiring on the side that's behaving badly is so incredibly cut off and short that it's crimped pretty badly. it looks like someone installed a new light assembly (it does look pretty new, if badly installed), and lost a whole lot of wire getting it in there somehow, and rather than put in new wiring so there's space to work they just pulled as hard as they could and barely got it to fit. would just that assembly effect the entire system, since they do all look a little dim? thank you for all the help so far, i appreciate it :]

Wed May 03, 2006 10:40 am

A wire for just one light would only affect the entire system if you are using the e-flashers. Otherwise they are separate circuits. If someone put in wrong bulbs or miswired all the T/S bulbs then that could explain dimness. Poor grounds can too. Not sure what more to say, I think I'd have to tear into it myself to come up with any further conclusions.

-Andy

Mon May 15, 2006 2:36 pm

glutamodo wrote: A wire for just one light would only affect the entire system if you are using the e-flashers. Otherwise they are separate circuits. If someone put in wrong bulbs or miswired all the T/S bulbs then that could explain dimness. Poor grounds can too. Not sure what more to say, I think I'd have to tear into it myself to come up with any further conclusions.

-Andy

well if you're ever in las vegas let me know, you're welcome to check it out ;]

the front flashers don't seem to function at all, either. the rear signals work, though dim, it will be good enough to get me home. at least the horn works, that's a first ... the other 3 vws i've bought i had to fix that :D