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Here are some pictures of the problem... I guess the second photo isn't so clear (I was in a hurry) but you can still see. It also occurred to me that it shines a lot dimmer--I am almost certain that it was at full brightness before but who knows. the side markers on the front are on on both sides, as are the tail lights.
It also happens when I press the unlock button--the passenger side flashes twice dimly, and I thought both were supposed to flash in this situation. Both lights come on full blast when I use the convenience feature though.
OK, so measure voltage on both wires of the RH connector to ground. I SUSPECT that we will find the ground, the black wire, has voltage when the car is off, but that us a guess.
Hey Ross,
Sorry for the inactivity, last weekend I had to move a Mark 2 Jetta over a large distance for my dad... It wasn't pretty. It started to get cold here, so I fixed my auxiliary coolant pump and I get heat now! Other than that which I deemed a pressing issue (the fog was getting so bad in the car), I haven't had time to do anything because of school. I believe I'll be pulling out the troublesome module today and testing it--if I don't get to it today, it will be in the near future. I haven't ignored your advice or anything, I've just been busy
No sweat! I myself was a student trying to keep a "vintage" car going a long time ago!
Hehe, they do garner a lot of respect, that's for sure!
So I just went outside and tested the dimmer switch--not the culprit, as I had suspected after re-reading Jim Butterworth's writeup on fuses and illumination control modules! Unplugging the dimmer did nothing when I plugged the fuse back in. Unless of course, I checked the wrong thing. I unplugged the dimmer switch, which is what I thought you were referring to, but maybe you're talking about the same thing here:
Which he refers to as the Illumination control module.
His symptoms are so hilariously similar to mine that I'm putting my money on this switch being the problem. Apologies if it's the same thing and I unplugged the wrong module.
On another note, while I was there I noticed my battery is on its last legs, holding a charge of 12.15 V after just one day... And without the alarm on, the battery is using less than 30 MA. I also noticed its CCAs have diminished. I figured since the voltage is so low, I would start up the car and have it charge the battery for me a bit, just in case. I got one of the roughest idles I've experienced. I'm hoping it's because the computers were reset from disconnecting the battery, coupled with the fact that it's fairly cold and it started from a low battery... I don't want to have anything more on my hands as we sink into winter!
I didn't have time to check the headlights, and I will get to those later. Am I safe in my assumption about the module, or did I mess up royally?
Well, I just went out and bought a brand new battery with 900 CCAS and those problems I mentioned in the last post have stopped! It also holds a charge!
At least I won't be needing a new starter like I thought...
Anyway, I'm keeping my eyes out for another illumination control module, even though I'm not 100 percent sure it's the problem yet. I would love to be able to solve this, since so many of the other kinks are being ironed out!
Now the only thing looming over my head is my sunroof that I broke. I had it tilted up, and when I closed it, I heard a crunch which was the (cast iron...? From how it looks inside) Clips or whatever holding the sunroof to the motor. D'oh.
Turns out I was missing the "parking light" on my left-hand headlight. Now, they both flash when I hit the fob. Go figure. I'm still getting the "bulb fail" light, which I think is from some corrosion, probably on the rear markers next to the exhaust. The dash light is almost always on dimly, even on startup, so maybe the light itself has a problem--or even the bulb failure module, but these didn't turn out to be related to the interior lights.
The illumination control module is--I'm 95% sure--the issue. I am going to replace it and see if I can fix up the old one as a backup. I've been pulling the fuse in the meantime with no adverse effects. Thanks for your help, everyone!
For future reference to anyone else with this issue, I can confirm 100% that it was the illumination control module!! Easy fix just make sure you remove the cowl from both the top and bottom of the steering column. Thanks everyone for your help in this thread.
10-28-2015, 01:07 AM
