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2001 Volkswagen Beetle Electrical & Lighting Problems

2

Comments

  • soup46173soup46173 Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2000 Volkswagen Beetle that the battery went dead. We replaced the battery and a few days later the the headlamps, turn signals, blower motor, and wipers quit working. The last time this happened it was the ignition. Has anyone had this problem?
  • belle721belle721 Member Posts: 2
    Did you ever find anything out? My VW bug is doing the same thing! THANKS!
  • ocbeachgrl16ocbeachgrl16 Member Posts: 4
    I had the same problem. I jsut got it fixed it is the load realy switch! that created this problem. I had no wipers, blow moter, headlights, abs, break and engine light would stay on! soooo this was my problem. I had to go to the dealer.
  • belle721belle721 Member Posts: 2
    Bill142- Any luck finding out the problems to your electrical system failure? I am going through the same thing right now with my 2002 beetle. Thanks for the help!
  • amandak2amandak2 Member Posts: 3
    hey jerry,


    I noticed it has been a while since you have posted your dilemma. In case you have not figured it out, I have a 2001 beetle, and might be able to help you. There are two circular pieces of plastic on the inside of your trunk, opposite the taillights on the outside...they should be black and sloped. These pieces pop off, giving you access to the lamp. All you have to do is push the taillight out from the inside (by means of a weird protrusive, funny-bent wire). There, you will find the wires and the housing for your lights, which simply unclip. Make sure when you replace the light, you tighten the lens back on to your car. Good luck... now off to find out how to fix my electrical problems!

    Hope I could help!
    Amanda
  • jimmer6jimmer6 Member Posts: 1
    Had the same prob. installed a remote switch and it works , I would imagine you need a new fan switch
  • bee8bee8 Member Posts: 1
    Hello Everyone,

    I have a 05 Beetle GLS, I think someone stole the headlight cover, the plastic piece is missing. Does anyone know if the whole headlight needs to be replaced or maybe I can by the plastic piece that fits over the top? The dealer wants $385. to replace head lamp. THATS OUTRAGEOUS! I would appreciate any advice.

    Thank You!
    BEE08
  • dartydavedartydave Member Posts: 2
    Look for a bad ground to the assembly. Usually when you have a dim bulb like you are describing it is getting it's ground through another bulb.
  • dartydavedartydave Member Posts: 2
    We offer them on our website dartauto.com for $186.85. I have seen a couple of messed up ones that people have tried to get in and out, but with a little patience, some silicon spray and the help of this board you should be able to change it.
  • turtlebugturtlebug Member Posts: 1
    I assume you've fixed this already, but just to let you know I don't think this is the same battery issue that beans31 had. I had this EXACT problem a couple of years ago on my 2002 GLS. The svc dept traced it to the switch being stuck as "open", so it thought the hatch was open all the time. Thus, the reason your car did not beep when you locked it--it thought that the hatch was open, even though it was really closed. They replaced the switch (under mf. warranty at that tiem) and I haven't had any problems (with this anyway :( )since.
  • itshercaritshercar Member Posts: 2
    In "07" I took in my wifes beetle for brake switch recall.Today I called dealership because brake lights went out again,I was told to bring it in at no cost for replacement switch.When I asked if this is common they said yes!!!??? I asked why did the last new switch go out they said the original recall replacement switch was exactly the same as oem from factory(defect switch)?Soooo they replaced the defect with another of the same defect???They did say it has been redesigned and no further replacement needed."o" goody I just hope everyone out their knows there is a recall on the recall and that "HUMMER"speeding up behind you in your mirror.... can't see your brake lights!!!!!
  • itshercaritshercar Member Posts: 2
    How or can I fix gas cap hatch.It would not release without a good tug.Can I adjust it.I took off rear fender well cover but cannot access cable attachment??????? Any help welcome. :cry: :confuse:
  • scaramouchescaramouche Member Posts: 3
    The electronic switch for the fuel hatch release in my '99 beetle works only intermittently, so, quite often, I have to access it from inside the cargo area. There is a round plastic cover, about 4-5 inches in diameter on the right (in line with the hatch) If you remove this, you will find a rubber-coated cable inside; a slight pull on this should open the hatch for you. I've just left that plastic disc off for quick access.
  • last123last123 Member Posts: 1
    I had my 03 Turbo run thru a computer diagnostic check just for FYI at a random mechanic and was told the results came back with 2 problems with the turbo. Within a week my "engine" light came on and stayed on. 1 1/2 weeks ago I brought it into the VW dealer for another computer check and this time it came back with problem with the "turbo valve", thermostat and temp. guage. OK - made my appt for this morning. But oil pressure lamp came on yesterday. Low oil, so put oil in the car. Level was FINE then. As I got on the autobahn (yes Im in germany) the oil pressure light came on again, the car starting "thrusting" like it was losing acceleration then a sound I can only describe as a child's "kazoo" was coming from my engine. Parked it and called for a tow. ANY idea what this could be? It is now at the dealer and I'm expecting a VERY high bill. :confuse:
  • bill142bill142 Member Posts: 3
    I have a 2000 VW beetle, at the bottom of the center console below the radio and AC/heat and vents, there is the following control panel consisting of dial and push button controls starting left to right as viewed from the driver’s seat: (1)-Drivers Heated Seat, (2)-ASR, (3)-Emergency Flasher, (4)-Rear Defroster, (5)-Passenger Heated Seat.

    The female connector plugs for all of these controls have the same design and each can connect to any of the five control’s above. The wiring diagram does not show the detail to make the correct selection and mating connection. The female connectors are difference colors: Light Green, Burnt Orange, Light Brown, and two black.

    I attempted to logically connect these to the controls based on wiring and the mating number of connector pins. This resulted in multiple fuses being blown. The only connector I believe is connected correctly is the Emergency Flasher, #3 above, this connected to one of the black connectors.

    Can anyone tell me the correct colored female connector to each control ?
  • bill142bill142 Member Posts: 3
    I know you most likely fixed the problem.

    This is the 1st time on the forum since my post. It was the ignition switch connector and wiring. There is a defect in the design, they undersized the wiring. Had to replace switch connectors and wiring. VW refuses to recall. This is a result of the fog-lights wired through the ignition switch. Overload of wire size. there have been a few small fires I have read on line. My wiring was burnt involving 3-4 wires and melted plastic.
  • mrsfgcmrsfgc Member Posts: 1
    My 98 VW Beele has a sutck hatch. It just won't open. Not a huge deal because I don't want to deal with replacing the entire thing. But now (months later) the alarm will go off for no reason. It seems to be sporadic but a lot of times its right after it rains.

    Anyone know why? or How I can turn off the alarm without opening the hatch?

    Thanks so much for your help!
  • babycar1babycar1 Member Posts: 1
    1999 vw beetle 2.0 manual, turn the key ,dash lights come on, all aux items come on, but the car will not turn over.
    Has anyone had this problem - not sure where to start but after looking at the fuse diagrams Im thinking it might be the clutch pedal switch starter lock relay - anyone know anything about this, where it is located or if Im even going in the right direction?
  • lostbuglostbug Member Posts: 1
    My 2000 Beetle burned when the A/C fan switch broke, started smoking, and caught fire. Do I have any recourse against Volkswagen? Has anyone had this problem?
  • raujrauj Member Posts: 2
    I have a 2002 turbo beetle with automatic transmition. when I put brake the cluster light common. I connect one snap on scanner and the scanner show me, the brake light switch f, I replace the switch but the problem stell in my car. :cry:
  • lee42leelee42lee Member Posts: 3
    I am having the same problem. Did you get yours fixed?
  • phxgearheadphxgearhead Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2000 Beetle in which the outside mirror adjust knob was broken off preventing electrical adjustment of the mirrors. I replace the switch with new, but the mirrors still don't adjust. All (visible) fuses have checked good. What am I missing? This is a friends car, so the only manual I have is the owners manual, so I'm at a bit of a disadvantage.
  • wprawsonwprawson Member Posts: 1
    Hello,

    I just had the same problem with my 2003 bug. Before this happened, I had my alternator and battery replace than this happened. Did you ever get the issue identified and fixed?
  • ccardamoneccardamone Member Posts: 4
    Does anyone have any experience with dimming headlights during driving at night? Just bought this beetle as a winter beater...everything else O.K. right now...don't know if I should get this checked.

    Thanks,
  • m_jonesrnm_jonesrn Member Posts: 1
    Oh my gosh, My beetle is doing exactly the same thing! Did anyone get thiers fixed? :sick:
  • ttraiderttraider Member Posts: 2
    replace coolant temp sensor, causes both problems. trust me.
  • ttraiderttraider Member Posts: 2
    replace the coolant temp sensor,can cause both problems in rare cases. been there and done that.
  • KiaraKiara Member Posts: 1
    '03 Beetle Convertible..seems to only like warm weather..when temps are 25 and below the car turns over but the lights don't work, nor do the blinkers nor does the heat, then at times it reverses the lights work as do the blinkers but the car won't turn over.. has anyone else had this problem?? :confuse:
  • spudbugspudbug Member Posts: 1
    when my car ( 2001 new beetle ) is warm ( either from driving or ambient temperatur in the summer ) and I unlock it via remote the left side turning signal ist stuck in the on position.. the only thing that helps is running the AC blowing in the foot area for 30 min or so and keep trying to unlock/lock car till it turns off again.

    anyone knows a easy and cheap fix ? eben unlocking it with the key will still "flash the lights"
  • honeygirl1honeygirl1 Member Posts: 1
    :sick: The windows roll down after you leave the car. Radio not working either. So far that is all that is not working I think.. Please help.. Thanks
  • kansaskarinkansaskarin Member Posts: 1
    HELP!!!!!!

    Ok, for starters, I have a 2004 VW Beetle GLS 1.8 turbo...

    It all appeared to start out as my a/c going out. It was still blowing, just not cold. So my dear husband figures he'd add some freon to see if that fixed the problem. Needless to say, that didn't fix the problem.

    So of course, being that he's a man and loves to dismantle things to see how they work, he proceeds to check my fuses. He notices one of the 3 fuses under the hood seems to be shorted out. It had even left a small burnt spot and appeared to have melted a tiny part of the rubber around it.

    After installing a new fuse, all hell breaks loose! Not only do I still not have cold a/c, I now have indicator lights coming on that have never came on before (EPC and BRAKE lights), I lost the temperature side of my time/temperature display near the sunroof, my cruise control no longer works and the most irritating part is my car is now making a constant low fuel dinging noise when I get above 5 mph (that's the one that's slightly longer than the seatbelt ding).

    I've only had this bug a little over a year and am quite unhappy at the trouble it's caused me so far. It seems that I'm replacing either a headlight or a tail light once or twice a month. I'm almost at my wits end and hope someone can shed some light on what's possesing my car.
  • rebrak24rebrak24 Member Posts: 1
    03 beetle having serious electrical problems causing the engine,
    power steering to stall while driving. Other symptoms include the brake lights to remain illuminated, sunroof to stay open after switching to close position, very dim headlamps, door lock features are faulty, no radio, and the worst condition of this is the fuses mounted on top of the "new" battery are brittle along with the ground cable completely gone.
  • kotic1kotic1 Member Posts: 1
    Did you ever get the fuse issues solved? I just lost a/c, and now sometimes the car won't start till I pop the hood and mess with the hot wire on the battery. I'm worried symptoms are getting worse. can any one help?
  • raujrauj Member Posts: 2
    Buy a # 4 gauge cable, 2 terminal, crimp the cable put a insulation and replace the cable what run to the battery fuse and alternator. or buy a original cable (is spensive) ;)
  • drankindrankin Member Posts: 1
    My wife's '04 Beetle needed a replacement right headlight assembly a year ago ($280). She then needed the lamp replaced 3 or 4 times. I took the assembly apart and found the low-beam socket is almost burnt to a crisp. Does anyone know if there's a place to buy just the socket (Z1 lamp I think)? I wonder if there may be some kind of switch problem that causes the low beam to constantly burn out--since it's on it's second assembly. In any event, I really would like to just find a socket to splice in. Any ideas?
  • nelle95nelle95 Member Posts: 1
    I have no warning tones for: keys left in ignition, lights still on, low fuel. Now my brights will not work but that may be a different problem. This 1999 Beetle has had lighting problems from day one. What controls the warning tones?
  • jvargas872jvargas872 Member Posts: 4
    TURN SIGNAL'S AND HAZARD LIGHTS NOT WORKING, CHECKED FUSE'S. FUSES ARE GOOD...MIGHT BE THE FLASHER RELAY BUT CAN'T FIND OUT WHERE IT IS LOCATED I HAVE A 1999 VW BEETLE
  • jvargas872jvargas872 Member Posts: 4
    TURN SIGNAL'S AND HAZARD LIGHTS NOT WORKING, CHECKED FUSE'S. FUSES ARE GOOD...MIGHT BE THE FLASHER RELAY BUT CAN'T FIND OUT WHERE IT IS LOCATED I HAVE A 1999 VW BEETLE CAN ANYONE HELP?
  • jvargas872jvargas872 Member Posts: 4
    OPENIING THE HOOD, PULL UP RELEASE LEVER AT THE BACK OF THE HEADLIGHT HOUSING, THE HEADLIGHT SLIDES IN AND OUT OF THE BODY IN TRACKS...(COMES OUT THE FRONT OF THE CAR) PULL,THE HEADLIGHT HOUSING FAR ENOUGH FORWARD TO DISCONNECT THE ELECTRICAL CONNECTORS, THEN SLIDE THE HEADLIGHT HOUSING ALL THE WAY OUT.
    REMOVE RETAINING CLIP TO REMOVE OLD BULB FROM THE HOLDER...
    REVERSE PROCEDURE FOR INSTALLING.
  • john_from_cajohn_from_ca Member Posts: 1
    We have 2000 Beetle with about 50,000 miles on it. If the car is not driven at least every other day the battery looses charge. Anyone have any ideas for me.
  • loreashlinnloreashlinn Member Posts: 3
    Could someone please give me some directions on how to change the headlights on my buggie! I found some excellent directions for another year, but they didn't work for mine! Please, please help! I really don't want to have to take it to the dealer to get this done! Also, the wonderful guy at NAPA couldn't even tell me which headlights that I needed to buy. I want the brightest ones around! :shades:

    Thanks,
    Lore from MS
  • belaircarguybelaircarguy Member Posts: 107
    If a battery loses a charge within such a short period of time it most likely is one of two problems:

    1. Battery is old and near the end of its useful life. If it is about 4-5 years old, you may want to consider getting a new battery.

    2. A short somewhere in the car, whereby the battery is being drained when the car is not running. This could be almost anything.

    Best bet is to take this to a shop such as Pep Boys or Sears or somewhere that sells batteries and have them check the electrical system. They will tell you if the battery is old and not holding a charge properly. They can also look for a drain on the battery, if that is happening when parked.

    Good luck.

    BelAIrCarGuy
  • ivanhoe9ivanhoe9 Member Posts: 4
    John had same problem 99 NB; had a recall on it too. Turns out to be a short in tail light assembly. Sure enough found burned bulbs in driver side tail light but only after going through two batteries. Even with the recall VW would not refund the cost of batteries claiming electrical was not covered! Check those bulbs for hot burn spots. Hope that helps
  • ivanhoe9ivanhoe9 Member Posts: 4
    I just experienced the dash lights and gauge blackout that I’ve read about on other forums. I’ve been told that the coolant overflow reservoir can leak onto the electrical harness and cause shorting. Well I can believe it now! Lost all lights tach and speedometer and all engine failure lights came on. Lucky I didn’t get all the warning sounds or I would have gone nuts.
    Anybody had this happen or heard of it?
    Also been told to drill a small hole in reservoir bulb to allow this overflow to travel elsewhere.
    Any thoughts friends?
  • ivanhoe9ivanhoe9 Member Posts: 4
    UPDATE: I blew out the ALT on the trip home from work. No head lights, dash lights, tach, speedometer, radio, horn and all indicator lights on. Repaired @ $850. All A-ok now.
  • ulrichgrunulrichgrun Member Posts: 1
    where do the wires go from the positive side and the negative side of the coil ? I just purchased this for a project car and the wiring was all disconnected. I know the ign wire goes to positive side of coil but what wires go to the negative side????
  • beetlejuice10beetlejuice10 Member Posts: 1
    I HAVE A 2000 BEETLE AND I HAVE REPLACED THE ALTERNATOR TWICE IN TWO MONTHS. THE FIRST TIME IT WASN'T RECHARGING THE BATTERY I REPLACED IT. THE SECOND ALTERNATOR WAS OVER CHARGING THE BATTERY. THE ALTERNATOR THAT I REPLACED IT WITH IS NOT CHARGING AT ALL. SO I FIGURE IT'S SOMETHING ELSE. CAN ANYONE HELP ME WITH THIS PROBLEM.
  • sophiebugsophiebug Member Posts: 1
    I have a 99 bug, and when i lock it, 9 times out of 10, i cant unlock it. The door will unlock, but the standard security system wont shut off, so when i put the key in the ignition the alarm goes off, i mean, there have been days that i just cant drive my car because the feature wont shut off. Someone suggested I get my battery checked, i did, and its fine. its annoying as hell! fix it! :cry:
  • swineswine Member Posts: 2
    have you replaced the batteries in the key?

    I have similar problem: mangled switch in key sender drained key's battery.
    Now replaced battery and disabled alarm, but car still won't start.
  • theberrigirltheberrigirl Member Posts: 3
    I have a 2002 vw beetle and my fog lights stopped working recently. I tried replacing the bulbs but they are still not working. I also tried the fuse and fuse is good. The switch inside the car also shows that they are on when i turn the switch to turn them on but they are not working. Has this happened to anyone else? Does anyone know what could be wrong? :confuse:
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