'91 golf blowing fuse on turn signal, but not on 4 ways.....

[Patrick]

Anyone run into this before?

[erice1984]

maybe something within your turn signal switch?

[Patrick]

That's what we're looking for........

[erice1984]

Well have you found anything?  Have you tested the switch contacts to ground for a short?  When the signal is triggered?

[Vincent Waldon]

Fuse blows when activating either turn signal, or only one?

[Patrick]

Haven't noticed if it's left or right turn.....
Run the 4 ways for 10 minutes and everything is fine. All the lights work the way they're supposed to, so nothing's got a bad ground or a short to ground.
This thing has the 4 way switch on top of the signal switch, not up on the dash like my Jetta. Just getting a whole new switch assambly to try it. Only thing that makes sense to me is a short in the switch. 

[Patrick]

Changed out the switch, we'll see what happens.........

[Patrick]

Just got a call from my wife at work, lost the signals again.......
Guess I'll put a huge fuse in it and look for the smoke.

[Patrick]

Now it's frying relays on 4 way....

[macka]

short in the column?

[Patrick]

She took it to the dealership and dropped it on her way to work yesterday. Apparently they don't listen to women very well, because all they did was put in a new relay, charged her 130 bucks. It lasted for about 3 turns...... She went back to tell them what she thought, they said "bring it back Monday"

Got to be a short somewhere.... I disconnected an add on trailer plug (Reduces signal to 3 wires for a four pin flat plug) that I have never used and never intend to use. Now it looks like it's got no power to the left signals..... at least I have wiring to chase now.

[Patrick]

I think I found it, and this is really bizzare.
I got messwing with it today. I know I've had problems with front turn signals on this car before, so I started there.
Pulled the bulbs out of both, looked fine. Back ones would run all day at double speed with the front ones pulled. Put bulbs in one at a time, signals worked. put both front bulbs in. tried left, then right, left, then right. Figured out I had a big draw when the left signal flashed because the interior light would dim....
Pulled teh bulb and changed it, no more dimming of the interior light......
For some reason that 1157 bulb, even though it worked, was drawing major amounts of power. Replaced it with one out of the same box, end of problem. Box of bulbs came from UAP, but bulbs say made in china.

Bizzare!

[Patrick]

More of the same, except now it's signals and four ways. She took it back to the dealership where they proceeded to fry about 4 more relays that I sent with it... service manager seems like a great guy, but I don't have a lot of faith in whoever he's got working on the car. Claims he's not going to bill by the hour, wants one more shot at it.
I still think something's shorting out under the hood, they think it's in the column........

[Patrick]

Turns out it was in the harness beside the driver's seat. the cross member that the front of the seat hooks to is/was broken (rusted???) and was allowing the seat to move, so it cut the wire. I'll be replacing the cross member with another one out of a car with twice the miles on the weekend. Gone through about 6 mk2 cars and never seen this before. Floor looks great, just the cross member is an issue.........

Bizzare.

[theman53]

Thanks for posting. I welded a bunch on my MK2 and I don't think mine would have lived if I had not done it. Those x members were a pain and mostly gone on mine. Great job as those relays start to get X pensive