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Engine Specific Info and Questions => IDI Engine => Topic started by: Smokey Eddy on July 29, 2010, 01:07:32 am
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So I just got pulled over and got a VI ticket. Which means i need to fix my turn signals and high beams or the car gets scrapped (i think?).
I know for a fact that my light switch needs to be replaced.
Im not sure about turn signals though as they are unrelated
so far trying to fix the turn signals i have
changed the bulbs
changed switch in the steering wheel
changed the flasher relay
changed the "X" relay
I desperately want to change the pigtails for the front signals as they have both broken but even with them detached i still get the slightly lit green LED and solid when the switch is up or down.
And now for the shameless begging,
PLEASE anyone who HAS or knows where to buy new front signal pig tails for BIG pumpers... please please let me know! i tried germanautoparts.com but they dont have any pig tails only for the "eurospec' pumpers which is different from mine.
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If you were in ON I would give them to you. Try NAPA/Altrom PN 165 971 123...
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So I just got pulled over and got a VI ticket. Which means i need to fix my turn signals and high beams or the car gets scrapped (i think?).
What world are we living in where a government can do this?
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How long do you have to get it inspected? If you want, I'll grab my multimeter and see if I can figure out what's going on there...
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PLEASE anyone who HAS or knows where to buy new front signal pig tails for BIG pumpers... please please let me know! i tried germanautoparts.com but they dont have any pig tails only for the "eurospec' pumpers which is different from mine.
What vehicle? And when you say pig tail...do you just mean the part that plugs into the fuse box, the part that plugs into tail light, or the whole damn thing?
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What world are we living in where a government can do this?
dont they make you replace your engine & tranny at 50k regardless of weather or not theres anything wrong with them if you live in Japan?
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What world are we living in where a government can do this?
dont they make you replace your engine & tranny at 50k regardless of weather or not theres anything wrong with them if you live in Japan?
Cathode, i beleive its 10 years or 50,000k you're supposed to either recycle your car or export it to the ricers in NA.
PLEASE anyone who HAS or knows where to buy new front signal pig tails for BIG pumpers... please please let me know! i tried germanautoparts.com but they dont have any pig tails only for the "eurospec' pumpers which is different from mine.
What vehicle? And when you say pig tail...do you just mean the part that plugs into the fuse box, the part that plugs into tail light, or the whole damn thing?
I mean the part that holds the bulb and has about 12 inches of wire to a connector that plugs in at the locations near the pumper. (similar "pig tails" are your side marker lights)
How long do you have to get it inspected? If you want, I'll grab my multimeter and see if I can figure out what's going on there...
30 days as of yesterday.
So I just got pulled over and got a VI ticket. Which means i need to fix my turn signals and high beams or the car gets scrapped (i think?).
What world are we living in where a government can do this?
The auto insurance is monopolised (spelling?) in British Columbia. there is only 1 provider and its government operated. Just last year (or 2) it was discovered that the Insurance Corperation of British Columbia had almost a half billion extra dollars it shouldn't have. My ticket says that if i choose not to repair the defects i can get a "refund" for the car...
If you were in ON I would give them to you. Try NAPA/Altrom PN 165 971 123...
thanks BAM I'll try getting them tomorrow on my day off at NAPA. I really appreciate that.
Could the turn signal problem be related to my headlight switch? because with the fraying pigtails removed i still have the same problem. Dimmly lit green LED in the dash and when the switch is in the ON possition it's solid. Signal lights do not glow at all.
I just bought a bunch of stuff last night from germanautoparts.com. one of which was the correct light switch. I pulled mine out and found it was used it's self from a wrecker. I wonder if i have some serious wiring problems somewhere. (corrosion in the engine bay)
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How well are the emergency flashers working?
The turns run through that switch,
and I've seen the same problem when the flasher switch is not plugged in.
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the high beam switch and turn signal switch are all in the same assy IIRC?
maybe thats all your problems? maybe its time to pull the steering wheel and check it out.
also, do you have the RIGHT headlight switch? they made about 15 different styles..
90-92 cars had a weird style switch. isnt yours a 90?
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How well are the emergency flashers working?
The turns run through that switch,
and I've seen the same problem when the flasher switch is not plugged in.
I remember trouble shooting this problem a couple months ago. The Hazard switch still worked fine and the rear signal lights would flash but the front ones would not. But i will double check this when i get home from work.
the high beam switch and turn signal switch are all in the same assy IIRC?
maybe thats all your problems? maybe its time to pull the steering wheel and check it out.
also, do you have the RIGHT headlight switch? they made about 15 different styles..
90-92 cars had a weird style switch. isnt yours a 90?
Kevin your memory astounds me.
Yes it's a 90. I pulled my switch out last night and sifted through the different ones listed on the site until i found the one that had the same pins as mine and matched the correct year. it's for a 1990 but only a specific chassis range... and mine is in that range.
I DID replace the switch in the steering wheel as i thought that was the issue also because i was getting highbeam problems at the same time. But when i pull the switch towards me to turn on the highbeams the headlights go out entirely - no highs. I wonder if it's the headlight bulbs that are causing all this grief? They were pretty cheap.
Right now the turn signal LED and the high beam LED are dimly lit. I'm going to try disconnecting my head lights when i get home and see if the dash LEDs go out when i do that. The highbeam light goes out when i disconnect the headlight switch so there must be a short somewhere. Either in the switch or the bulbs.
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that's awful bud, I hope you can figure out the problem
doesn't sound like it should take too much though, at least they didn't call you out on being too low, or too loud, or too awesome
i didn't even think they could give you a VI for having faulty lights
whenever i've had issues like that i've always just said it was something i was aware of and I was troubleshooting to fix it
i don't think my reverse lights have ever worked :P
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How well are the emergency flashers working?
The turns run through that switch,
and I've seen the same problem when the flasher switch is not plugged in.
I remember trouble shooting this problem a couple months ago. The Hazard switch still worked fine and the rear signal lights would flash but the front ones would not. But i will double check this when i get home from work.
the high beam switch and turn signal switch are all in the same assy IIRC?
maybe thats all your problems? maybe its time to pull the steering wheel and check it out.
also, do you have the RIGHT headlight switch? they made about 15 different styles..
90-92 cars had a weird style switch. isnt yours a 90?
Kevin your memory astounds me.
Yes it's a 90. I pulled my switch out last night and sifted through the different ones listed on the site until i found the one that had the same pins as mine and matched the correct year. it's for a 1990 but only a specific chassis range... and mine is in that range.
I DID replace the switch in the steering wheel as i thought that was the issue also because i was getting highbeam problems at the same time. But when i pull the switch towards me to turn on the highbeams the headlights go out entirely - no highs. I wonder if it's the headlight bulbs that are causing all this grief? They were pretty cheap.
Right now the turn signal LED and the high beam LED are dimly lit. I'm going to try disconnecting my head lights when i get home and see if the dash LEDs go out when i do that. The highbeam light goes out when i disconnect the headlight switch so there must be a short somewhere. Either in the switch or the bulbs.
you mean "whats left of my memory"...lmao
and it almost sounds like you have a short somewhere, and its backfeeding somehow. i would look into the bulbs functionality, and any wires grounded out.
the weird thing is, VW turn signal circuits work with burned out bulbs. i have no front turn signals on my GTI, and a burned out front one on my rabbit, and both cars blink like the bulbs are fine..
the headlight switch thing can be fixed better after you get the wiring prob sorted out, throw a relay on the high beam side, and a relay on the low beam side. the lights will be almost 2x brighter. not kidding.
god damn VW wiring...
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Yeah I told him I was trying to figure it out. I think it was mostly because my windshield has obviously been cracked for years (ive never had it not cracked) and i don't have turn signals at all what so ever.
but he wrote on the ticket "full inspection required" but only ticked "head lights, turn signals" and "windshield".
Kevin, where specifically do you think i should look for a short/ground problem?
when my bulbs burnt out it would switch on and off really fast.
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Yeah I told him I was trying to figure it out. I think it was mostly because my windshield has obviously been cracked for years (ive never had it not cracked) and i don't have turn signals at all what so ever.
but he wrote on the ticket "full inspection required" but only ticked "head lights, turn signals" and "windshield".
Kevin, where specifically do you think i should look for a short/ground problem?
when my bulbs burnt out it would switch on and off really fast.
mk2 w/ CE2 wiring right? i run far far away from those.. makes my head hurt to work on them. i would imagine maybe up behind the fuse panel? or i could be completely wrong. maybe your turn signal switch (the one with the wiper switch, high beam switch, and turn signals) but didnt you already replace that? idk Ed, im not much help on wiring without being there, and having a diagram in front of me, and having a test light and multi-meter.
i prefer mk2 w/ CE1 wiring, or mk1 cars..
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Hahahahah
yeah. I'll likely have to take the dash off and inspect everything. I wonder if i grounded my switches (like for glow plugs) to somewhere i shouldn't have.
There is this panel right close to the hood release that has several locations for butt connectors to slip onto. I used about 3 of those as grounds for :
1 switch
1 relay
4 gauges
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Maybe try mechanically grounding the turn signal itself. That is what I do to all my old Ford's and the Chevy's I used to have. Just run a ground wire to the battery or body with good connection.
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Maybe try mechanically grounding the turn signal itself. That is what I do to all my old Ford's and the Chevy's I used to have. Just run a ground wire to the battery or body with good connection.
Well I unplugged them entirely and I still have the problem. Although I will be adding grounds to the body like crazy i think...
as of right now the battery has a very good ground to the tranny to block bolt and an old ground (2ga wire though) that goes to the body right beside the battery. I want to run a couple 12ga wires all over the car and ground the battery & lights everywhere.
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What world are we living in where a government can do this?
dont they make you replace your engine & tranny at 50k regardless of weather or not theres anything wrong with them if you live in Japan?
Don't think so. I'm at around 150k Kilometers, and they haven't said anything. And they do have quite rigorous inspection stations for cars where they check all suspension components and body integrity. They also don't like any leaks, and all rubber sealing boots much be in perfect condition. Fortunately this doesn't apply to shift boots :)
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Be happy the fine officer didn't give you a box 1! Sounds like he was having a good day...
A box 1 vehicle inspection automatically gets you the tow truck....
BC4x4.com has a "talk to the rcmp" section where you can pose questions about this sort of thing. There is also a vehicle inspector that frequents the board. Yes, that board is geared more to the 4X4 community, but Skidmark (the retired traffic officer) frequents a couple other boards for BC car clubs and provides limited advice.
Actually, sounds kind of cut and dry...
I think I might have a front bumper complete with lights left over from when I parted an '87 jetta. I'll have to check though as it's out in Maple Ridge and I'm in Surrey....
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87 probably has small bumpers.. it was the crossover year IIRC..
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the pigtails aren't vital right yet. I can duct tape the ones i've got to the bumpers if need be. I really need to sort out why the system is shorting.
i noticed when i turn my headlamp switch on and off through the two stages, one click makes no difference (my dash lights are on ALL the time by the way...) two clicks makes the green light flicker (as it is half lit) ... perhaps changing the switch will solve things?
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Good call on that headlight switch. When I read your first post I thought that was the switch you replaced and was going to say to do the turn switch. I guess I need to read better :D
I would think that if you replaced that switch and did the grounds the only thing left would be the connectors and wiring itself to and from those switches. Good luck.
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this is a long shot but check the headlight switch isn't shorting out on one of the hidden screws for the dash watchyamacallit. There is a screw that can only be accessed with headlight switch removed. It is right under the connection with the switch and can short out spectacularly right there. I have a Zigzag pack ripped in half under mine so it won't short, works awesome!
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zigzag pack, love it ;)
i think its shorting somewhere between the fuse box and the end of the wiring to the light.
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Just so you know, I had Jezebel through an inspection just after I got her after smoking out an unmarked RCMP commercial vehicle inspector who was apparently right behind me (oops)...
The electrical stuff will definitely be tested, but regardless of what the officer checked as deficiencies you will have to undergo a full provincial inspection. They just tick off what they found at the time that resulted in them ordering the inspection. I'm pretty sure the cracked windshield will be a fail so don't even bother going any further unless you intend to replace it.
Other stuff they will check includes brakes, all your suspension components (I ended up having to replace my tie rods), backup lights, seat belts, driver's seat (needs to be firmly attached) and condition of your tires. Not an exhaustive list by any means - I think I might still have my inspection report around somewhere that has the complete list of what they go through, I'll see if I can find it later today.
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oh that would be fanTASTIC if you could!!!
i wish i had the stock springs lying around. they likely wont like my short ones and nylon blocks for spacers...
the passenger side caliper had a sheared off bleeder too.... thankfully i managed to drill it out without destroying the caliper.
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Can't find my inspection report... it MIGHT be buried somewhere in the car...
My springs were pretty shot when I got checked out, they had no issue with that. For brakes all they care about is the condition of hoses and how much is left on your pads/shoes... Suspension they just don't want to see any slop in the steering but shot shocks won't cause issues.
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follow the wires in the trunk that come from your tail lights, should be bolted just underneath your trunk latch. if that bolt comes loose you will get those symptoms. hope that helped
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okay, what about weird stuff in the suspension like nylon spacers?
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Don't think they would care... I had a few things on my car (like missing the proper clip to lock the accelerator cable to the pump) but those aren't checked at all. My strut bearings were pretty toasted too, no issues.
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i had the same problem on my mk1, hopefully this helps you, but i kept blowing the fuse and the light was dim then when youd turn on the turn signal itd get brighter, but the flashers worked fine, the problem was that i hadn't connected 2 of the wires on the back of the flasher
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ooooooooo reaaaally. why did you get the inspection.
What about my exhaust? it's straight pipes ...
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As long as it's "safe" it should be fine... IE no holes in the pipes leaking exhaust in to the cabin.
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For the record, all my lights have been fixed :)
vanbcguy, thanks for all the info. Very encouraging. I thought my car was going to be pop cans.