CCM Issues (?) - Still none the wiser

[SilentBob]

I am at my wits end with this car now (1998 1.8T AEB). It has just been one thing after another this year.

As a bit of background, my alarm fob doesn't work and I have been using the key in the driver's door for what seems like forever.

Late last year unlocking from the driver's door became a bit flaky. Sometimes it'd work. Other times it'd just do that door. I then got into the habit of locking/unlocking from the boot as I walked round the car. IT was less hassle as it worked every time... for a while.

Eventually that stopped working too, and I had to start unlocking all the doors manually. I also noticed that the one touch up/down on the driver's window no longer worked, and I couldn't open/close any other windows from the driver's door control. Also, I was only able to move the driver's side wing mirror. Also, I don't believe the alarm is arming either. The light doesn't flash & I haven't been able to make it go off.

Whilst attacking the simple first, I decided to pull fuses one at a time. I soon found out that pulling fuse number 14 seemed to reset this behaviour, sort of. After pulling and re-fitting the fuse I would be able to perform one or two actions of those that otherwise no longer worked. After that, nothing again, unless I pulled the fuse.

A couple of days later my battery was flat. Car jumped ok, but was flat again the following morning. Charged the battery for about half hour with 11amp charger, and started to remove fuse 14 when parked for any length of time. No further battery issues.

After a fair amount of searching (here & Google), the likely culprit sounded like the CCM. Although, I have never noticed the carpet getting wet? When I pulled the carpet up & pulled the CCM out, everything was bone dry and there was no evidence of anything down there having been wet. Ther exposed wiring looked pristine. I didn't remove any of the cloth binding/tape, but that all looked good as new too. Pulled the CCM out of it's box. Again, PCB all looked remarkably good condition. No sign of age at all. No sign of damp, flux or cracked joints. So I put it all back and decided to dismantly the driver's door to see if there was any obvious deteriation in wiring. Again, from what I could see (including pulling back the rubber boot between door and body) all looked to be in good condition.

After putting all back together everything seemed to be dead past the driver's door. From that door I could wind its own window (no one touch still) and move that side's mirror. There was no control of any other doors/windows. Even when pulling fuse 14 to "reset". I still couldn't lock all from boot. The driver's door no longer activated interior lights. The driver's lock appeared to have no electrical function at all. You could not hear the actuator, and the key was extremely loose in the lock. Also, when unlocking the driver's door it wouldn't open on first pull. But it would open on second pull. This only happened following an unlock.

I had to put up with this for another week, but stopped pulling the fuse when parked. I figured that if some malfunction in the driver's door was causing the problems, then with nothing now working perhaps it'd be ok? Still no flat battery. That's something I suppose.

During the week I found an article that described removing & disassembling the locking module to check for and fix switch/solder issues. So this Saturday I stripped the door down again. I followed the guide, completely tearing down the lock. Again all looked ok. Joints were all fine. Nothing iffy looking on the board. So I then went through testing all the micro switches and circuits. Everything appeared to be fine. So, stumped, I proceeded to put everything back together.

Following that the situation was as follows...

The driver's door actuator was (is) working again. It can be heard when turning the key, and it is providing that resistance in turning the key again. The driver's door DOES now activate the interior lights again. I also had some function return again, but despite initially looking good (or rather, "better"), it soon started failing again, until pulling fuse 14 to "reset". Following a reset I could:
- Driver's window one touch up/down.
- Lock ALL doors from boot.
- Unlock ALL doors from boot & passenger door.
- Occasionally driver's door would unlock others.
However, I then had no mirror function at all for either side. The other windows could not be controlled from driver's door.

The next day (today - Sunday) it has got worse again. No one touch window, even after fuse pulling. Pulling the fuse will only allow ONE lock or unlock action. This doesn't work from the driver's door.

I am now at a complete loss as to what I should be doing next. It seems to me that the driver's door is key in this. Or could that be a red herring? Also fuse 14 is obviously very significant. But why?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

BTW, I really do not have the money to put it into a garage. If I did, then I would not be going through all this myself. If I could, I would buy a new/different car. But I just can't do that. I am stuck with this heap, and it is falling apart around my ears.

[SilentBob]

Oh, and a bit more info. I used VAG-COM 409.1 with an EBAY dumb cable and got the following results:

VAG-COM Version: Release 409.1-US


Chassis Type: 3B - VW Passat B5
Scan: 01,02,03,08,15,16,17,19,35,36,37,46,55,56,57,58,76
 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Address 01: Engine
   Controller: 8D0 907 558 E
   Component: 1.8L R4/5VT MOTR HS D02
   Coding: 04001
   Shop #: WSC 05314
2 Faults Found:
16500 - Engine Coolant Temp. Sensor (G62): Implausible Signal
            P0116 - 35-10 - - - Intermittent
16487 - Mass Air Flow Sensor (G70): Signal too High
            P0103 - 35-10 - - - Intermittent
Readiness: N/A

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Address 03: ABS Brakes
   Controller: 8E0 614 111 B
   Component: ABS/EDS 5.3 FRONT   D00
   Coding: 0273004283  
   Shop #: BB 24332
No fault code found.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Address 08: Auto HVAC
   Controller: 3B2 907 044 A
   Component: CLIMATRONIC     S 7.0  
   Coding: 02000
   Shop #: WSC 05314
No fault code found.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Skipping Address 15-Airbags

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Address 17: Instruments
   Controller: 3B0 919 930 P
   Component: B5-KOMBIINSTR. VDO V10 
   Coding: 04442
   Shop #: WSC 00000
   IMMO-IDENTNR: VWZ7Z0V0265775       
No fault code found.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Address 46: Central Conv.
   Controller: 1J0 959 799 J
   Component: 0F Zentral-SG Komf.0001
   Coding: 04097
   Shop #: WSC 05311
7 Faults Found:
01329 - Convenience System Data Bus in Emergency Mode
            35-10 - - - Intermittent
01334 - Door Control Module: Rear Right (J398)
            49-00 - No Communications
01333 - Door Control Module: Rear Left (J388)
            49-00 - No Communications
01332 - Door Control Module: Passenger Side (J387)
            49-00 - No Communications
01331 - Door Control Module: Driver Side (J386)
            49-00 - No Communications
00930 - Locking Module for Central Locking: Rear Left (F222)
            54-10 - Incorrectly Equipped - Intermittent
00929 - Locking Module for Central Locking: Front Passenger Side (F221)
            54-10 - Incorrectly Equipped - Intermittent

End   --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After clearing all the codes, and running the car for a bit and using as many functions as I could, I then got the following results:

VAG-COM Version: Release 409.1-US


Chassis Type: 3B - VW Passat B5
Scan: 01,02,03,08,15,16,17,19,35,36,37,46,55,56,57,58,76
 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Address 01: Engine
   Controller: 8D0 907 558 E
   Component: 1.8L R4/5VT MOTR HS D02
   Coding: 04001
   Shop #: WSC 05314
No fault code found.
Readiness: N/A

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Address 03: ABS Brakes
   Controller: 8E0 614 111 B
   Component: ABS/EDS 5.3 FRONT   D00
   Coding: 0273004283  
   Shop #: BB 24332
No fault code found.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Address 08: Auto HVAC
   Controller: 3B2 907 044 A
   Component: CLIMATRONIC     S 7.0  
   Coding: 02000
   Shop #: WSC 05314
No fault code found.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Skipping Address 15-Airbags

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Address 17: Instruments
   Controller: 3B0 919 930 P
   Component: B5-KOMBIINSTR. VDO V10 
   Coding: 04442
   Shop #: WSC 00000
   IMMO-IDENTNR: VWZ7Z0V0265775       
No fault code found.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Address 46: Central Conv.
   Controller: 1J0 959 799 J
   Component: 0F Zentral-SG Komf.0001
   Coding: 04097
   Shop #: WSC 05311
4 Faults Found:
01329 - Convenience System Data Bus in Emergency Mode
            35-00 - -
01334 - Door Control Module: Rear Right (J398)
            49-00 - No Communications
01331 - Door Control Module: Driver Side (J386)
            49-00 - No Communications
01334 - Door Control Module: Rear Right (J398)
            49-00 - No Communications

End   --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Going to specifically the Central Convenience module, repeated clearing the codes would then vary how many of the doors would immediately return a failure again. Sometimes without the emergency mode message.

[martin1810]

Sounds like you have a communication problem on the bus wires or a coule of faukty door controllers. Have you got electric windoes on all four doors. That is important to the wiring.
Check the door pillar connection blocks for any damage. Just follow the wires out of the door in the hinge area. There is a good chance you are looking for damaged bus wire. I think one is broken and the other is struggling. If you look at ccm on my site you will see the wire colours to check.

[Jamiem]

Take the drivers footwell kick trim off, unplug the 3 plugs that go to the loom in to the door, then remove the rubber boot between the door and a post and pull the loom through. Unwrap the loom tape and look at the wires. I had 5 broken ones at the beggining of December, which caused all manor of issues. If you find any broken, cut 3 or 4 inches either side of the break and solder new pieces in stops any fatigue on the solder joints and removes the brittle section of wire.

[SilentBob]

Thanks for your replies.

Yes, there are electric windows in all four doors. It seemed to me that the driver's door was the culprit. Is this not necessarily so then? Do I have 4 times the checking to do?

I did have the drivers door dismantled and also removed the footwell trim just for a quick visual. I didn't unwrap any of the tape, as everything that was visible looked perfect. Is there a particular point along the wiring where breakage is common? E.g. the section that travelsthruogh the rubber boot between the door & body?

Martin, which connection blocks are you referring to? How do I access these?

Thanks,
Simon

[Jamiem]

You have to unwrap the wiring, if it's damaged it will be a broken wire inside a bundle of about 13 wires, so you won't see it til you unwrap it. It could be the cause of a lot of your issues. It shouldn't take more than 45 minutes to strip the foot well trim out, take the door card off, then trace the wiring through to the footwell junction box and unplug the required 3 plugs. Then it's just a case of pulling it through and unwrapping. The wire will be broken where they pass in to the car body side (if there are any broken). My car had 5 broken, an it caused all sorts of wierdness, like doors not locking, the switch illumination was inopperative, windows not working, boot opening itself etc.

[SilentBob]

Ok, thanks. I shall stick with the driver's door for now and try to get some time to try this at the weekend.

If I have to cut out sections of wire and replace them, is there a specific grade of wire I need to use? I guess this is measured in amps. Also, once finished, presumably you re-wrap the wires with self amalgamating tape, or some such?

Thanks.

[SilentBob]

Thanks fellas. The problem was to do with the wiring from the driver's door as it passed into the car. All working great now. Thanks.

[Jamiem]

Looks very similar to mine, but I had way more broken wires! Simple but time consuming to fix, and a complete bitch to diagnose and trace if you don't know about the problem. Glad your sorted