mpd2510
4/27/2008 12:35:41 AM
I've owned a 1997 Golf 2.0 Automatic since new, and currently have approx. 125,000 miles on it. The car is well maintained, and I have had few problems with it. Recently the red BRAKE light will light up on the dash, but only at half brightness. When that happens, the HVAC won't work, and the wipers won't work. If you shut the engine down and restart, it might go back to normal. Sometimes I have to restart it 4 or 5 times to eliminate the problem. I've heard of electrical problems with VW, but I've never heard of anything like this. WTF?! Any ideas?
bagel
4/27/2008 10:23:56 AM
wow...no other dash lights come on, just that one? Something's going on behind your dash, chaffed wire somewhere. Any other elctrical problems happen, like a speaker system was fried, or some other electrical was overloaded. Have you checked your fuses??
mpd2510
4/27/2008 11:20:53 AM
Thanks for the reply. That is the only light that comes on. I've checked the fuses, to no avail. About 7 years ago the A/C would stop working on/off, until eventually the car shut off in traffic with no warning. It was FLAT dead from that point. The dealer replaced the starter?, and that fixed everything. Does that even make sense? Could it be related now? Thanks
Jrailer
4/27/2008 3:00:57 PM
check the fueses on top of the battery
the left one will burn not blow so pull them out and check the contacts
mpd2510
4/27/2008 4:38:54 PM
Thanks again, I'll give that a shot. I did just clean/wash the engine compartment about 3 months ago, maybe water got in there and corroded things out.
bagel
4/28/2008 5:13:58 PM
is there a lot of corrosion on your battery??? try to look up under your dash, maybe you'll need a mirror, just kinda poke around and look at the wires...see if any one of them are questionable integrity.
mpd2510
4/28/2008 5:42:11 PM
I think I got 'er figured out. When moving the car to my garage in the rain today, I noticed that when I was starting the engine (wipers were left on from before), the wipers would work. When I returned the key to the 'on' position, the wipers quit. I tried this several times with the same results. I then left it run with the wiper and fan switches 'on', and then jiggled the ignition key. Everything would then turn on and off. I've made an appointment for the dealer to replace the ignition. Thanks for everyone's help.
