Passat 2002 electrical 'issues'

[deadnapster]

Hi

I'm new to the site so please bear with me. I have recently purchased a 2002 Passat 2.0 20v Estate (52 plate) and have some electrical oddities that I'd like to try and get some help with if possible.

The heated rear window doesn't work (though the switch lights when pressed).
When the lights are switched on and the car is moving, the ESP warning light on the dashboard flashes up occasionally, particularly if the dashboard display dimmer is adjusted.
Pressing the ESP switch has no effect (ie. the warning light should come up to tell you the system is switched off, but doesn't).
The switch in the driver's door to release the tailgate doesn't work.

I'm hoping that these issues are related. Does anyone have any bright ideas as to where I should start looking please?

Many thanks

[VR5_Lee]

Lift the carpets where you can,


Start in the boot that's much easier, just lifting the carpets away can ofter reveal a manufacturers shoddy joint. Check for dampness / puddles too - but I'm inclined to think it's probably something that's been loaded into the boot and pushed a plastic panel into the loom and sheered a wire.

Try checking (by looking at your open tailgate hinge area) where the loom comes out of the tailgate and into the body - that should tell you which side the harness is routed. and which carpets / plastic panels to look behind to trace the wire.
I've had the interior out of my 2000 saloon and the switch for the petrol goes left and forward (I believe down the left hand side of the trunk) into the harness - that I suppose makes tracking for a break a little difficult.

Still recommend starting from the back and working forward - there's less wires to start with.

Don't want to state obvious but have you checked the fuses?

[deadnapster]

Thanks for the reply. I decided to have someone take a look at the car yesterday (based on your comments and those of several others) and he found a large puddle of water under the passenger side footwell carpet, "a common problem with this model etc..."

A chunk of wiring has been sitting in water for some time (though fortunately the control unit is bone dry) so it looks like we've identified the area of concern. The blocked up bung holes have been cleared to stop it happening again. It's now a case of repairing the damage which we couldn't do yesterday due to time constraints.

I'll let you know how we get on.

[VR5_Lee]

I had exactly the same problem...


http://www.passatworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=212738&highlight=leak

Make sure you dry out the carpets as best you can, I'm getting foggy windscreens on these winter mornings.

[deadnapster]

My Auto Electrician was back yesterday armed with wiring diagrams and also had the car hooked up for diagnostics. It appears that someone may have been looking at the wiring previously, as it turns out someone had incorrectly connected a couple of plugs - basically crossing the ESP and heated rear window wiring....

This was put right and now both work as they should. Cool.

There is still no tailgate release from the driver's door switch, but that's not the end of the world. One remaining question - if the electric mirror switch has the option to fold (by turning it to point forwards in effect), is it safe to assume they should or could this be an 'optional extra'?

If they should, then I'll start digging around behind the door panel for both issues. If not, I'll live with it.