Any VW mechanics here?

[GNRick]

My daughter's 2005 Jetta is draining the battery while it sits. does not seem to be an alternator issue. I told her to take it to AZ and have the guy put his voltmeter on it while she pulls fuses to find the cause. A local mercedes mechanic told her that is not a good idea as pulling a fuse could affect other circuits. He told her the dealership can check each circuit to see which one is pulling current with the car off. I know the radio has a memory but I guess it should only pull a certain amount of current. She checked a VW site and they said common causes are the radio and power window circuits. But she is afraid to pull the fuses now. Any suggestions? She lives 10 hours from me so I can't visit the car. Would hate to have her pay a dealer to diagnose this. Thanks.

 

[Justa_v6]

These cars have a "sleep" mode the car is supposed to go into once the car is locked, it can take anywhere from 1-5 min depending on options of vehicle. If a module (comfort control,immobilizer, etc) is staying "awake" it can drain the battery. You would have to perform an amperage draw test to see what the draw is. Anything over .5 mA is unacceptable. I need to double check that specification, it can vary car to car but I believe that is the rule of thumb used.

Pulling the fuse is a acceptable method of checking the source for the drain. By pulling the fuse you can isolate the circuit and see what is powered by the pulled fuse.

When pulling fuses it can create multiple faults which is not a problem if you have a factory scan-tool but I could see why the an independent garage can be wary of this method.

I work for Audi but I have worked on many VW's as well I have seen other VW techs use this same method.


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[GNRick]

Hey JustaV-6 thanks for the info. I like your avatar! She took it to an independent VW mechanic located right across the street from the VW dealer. He told her those cars have a problem where the wires going to the power window motor in the driver's door are too short and tend to break/come loose. So that was the problem and $195 later all is well (except for my daughter's bank account which always seems to bite me in the ass). I asked my local mechanic and he said (a) get a car that is cheaper to work on or (b) take it to a VW specialist. He also said if you pull the fuse to the ignition you then have to have the car towed to the dealer so they can reflash the chip. So maybe as long as you are careful with which fuses to pull you should be alright. Her last repair was replacing the brake switch so her cruise would work. Another $200 bill. Car has 75k miles. Do you think she should sell it? She is going to complain to VW customer service since this seems to be a common problem. Do you think she will get a refund of the repair?

 

[Justa_v6]

I have pulled every single last fuse in that car and put them back (in the correct place of course) and the car would start right up. The system will have several faults but it should start up.

As far as the car repair I do believe sticking to a single mechanic, simply because he would know the complete history of the vehicle and that helps when trying to diagnose these cars.

If she has been a good customer to the VW dealer they can help her out and give her a break on a vehicle maintenance which I have seen done before, but that would be at the discretion of the service manager.

The window motor is technically a module since it controls the window, side view mirror, speaker and door lock for that side, they all connect there.



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[Justa_v6]

By the way these cars have no chips in them they are flashed via an OBD connector. The ECM is not opened to change chips.
He might have meant the vehicle will not start but that would be due to the immobilizer (anti-theft) and that is if he would disconnect a module not a fuse. But that is rare.


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[GNRick]

That goes to show you what my local mechanic knows about VW's. The dealer she bought the car from is in Illinois. They did the majority of the repairs until she moved to Atlanta, GA to live with my brother until she finds a permanent job. Not much going on here in central Illinois jobwise for journalism majors. The Firestone shop replaced the battery and brake switch in Atlanta. Now she found this VW specialist. I'll let you know if customer service helps her. You're not in GA by any chance are you?

 

[Justa_v6]

No im not
I am Los Angeles,CA