None of the lights inside the car is working

[Paulst]

The filter itself doesn't look capable of stopping much water, as it is a paper type. It sits in a rectangular frame, with only a small plastic clip holding it down lightly on one side. I wonder if it's missing a cover or something?
Does anyone have a photo of how the pollen filter housing should look?

There isn't a cover over the filter. The filter just sits in. You'll need to take the housing out to reveal the seal, unfortunately I haven't got any photos, sorry.

[JohnPierpoint]

Still no luck with our CCM.
We think that some of the female contacts in the connector block need replacing, so are trying to source these. Another round of pulling at the wire joints shows that they're all sound. Not convinced that the CCM itself is faulty.
Just spotted that earlier post about checking another loom in the back footwell too, so that's on the menu for tomorrow.

But I've managed to gain access to the fuel cap release solenoid at last. The access was blocked by a plastic shell that holds the tools and bits in the first aid hatch. As usual, there was no easy way to remove this: only one almost inaccessible screw at the top, removed that, still held at the bottom - unable to see or feel what might be holding this down, would have to remove the whole trim panel, and it wasn't clear how to even start that process. . . But we managed to apply enough brute force to bend the plastic and pop it out at the top. It's staying like that until we get the electrics fixed!

[fleamoo]

Just a quick word of caution when replacing the trim under the wipers. I have done this twice in the past, no problem. The last time i tried it, a few days later a nice big crack in the screen appeared from that area. I had been cautious enough (so i thought) as usual, and very little effort was needed to shift and replace it, probably because it had been removed and replaced only a few months earlier.
However,the nice chap from autoglass informed me that he had seen this before, and that the most likely cause was grit scoring the screen when the trim was replaced.
He advised thoroughly cleaning the groove in the screen, and the corresponding part of the trim, before applying grease to the joint and gently pushing on the trim to relocate it (as opposed to tapping it in).

[Crasher]

a few days later a nice big crack in the screen appeared from that area. the corresponding part of the trim, before applying grease to the joint and gently pushing on the trim to relocate it (as opposed to tapping it in).

This has happened to me once and once to one of my mechanics when he was working on a car at home. In my case it was a Passat, in his case in was an A4. Unfortunately it can happen and is no fault of the mechanic.

[caldirun]

Just a couple of points, have you removed the ccm circuit board and connector? wash and dry them it throughly, I have seen green deposits on the board connections in the past. You do not need to remove the window trim to remove your battery, have you now removed the plenum chamber duck-billed valves as these are almost certainly the cause of you troubles (I cleaned them the first time and suffered another flood months later, get em out!). There is a gutter that fits over the filter tray to catch drips from off the window trim, it is very narrow and is really difficult to remove, so my guess is someone has ripped it off and thrown it away (pity they did not throw the valves at the same time). Don't worry if the gutter is missing its not a problem.

[JohnPierpoint]

Thanks for the warning, fleamoo. The last thing I need right now is the cost of a windscreen replacement too!
I was unable to get the driver side wiper off - too firmly rusted onto the spline. Any tips on (safely) getting this off? I was thinking about making up something wedge-like out of wood to slide under the wiper and around the shaft and apply upward pressure, so I could hit the thing with a hammer to crack the rust on the spline (which is how we got the other one off).
It's had a good soak with WD40, but no joy.
Again, shame on VW for designing such a stupid system: fancy having to take the windscreen wipers off just to change the battery!

Caldirun, I definitely need to remove the wiper trim to get the battery out - unless it can be bent upwards enough to squeeze the battery past. Some models seem to have a smaller battery or different layout, so only need the rubbery conduit in front of the battery lifting out. If I do that, it makes no difference, as there are some metal pipes in front of the battery too, and these can't be moved. This leaves about 1mm clearance, which is not remotely enough. I think diesels like mine have a bigger battery.
You're right about the connectors: I've dealt with severe verdigris on the connectors, but some of them may be too corroded. One has broken entirely, but as this is to the interior lights, I'm not too fussed at this stage. The next step is to get some replacement female terminals and wire those in. I found a site selling all types of connectors, but it wasn't clear which types I need. I'm hoping they'll reply to my e-mailed questions.

[yaman]

fancy having to take the windscreen wipers off just to change the battery!

Caldirun, I definitely need to remove the wiper trim to get the battery out - unless it can be bent upwards enough to squeeze the battery past.

Even the biggest batteries come out without removing the trim;

If your standing at the front n/s wing, lift the end of the battery closest
to you at an angle of 45 degrees while tilting it forward and sliding it out
towards you, in one movement. It goes back in the same way.

Regards
Jim

[caldirun]

I have removed OEM batteries from both the 100bhp and 130bhp TDIs, you do not need to remove the trim, just unclip the foam insulation and pull the pipes out of the way, slide the battery to the right and lift the right corner before the left, it will come out!!
Sorry jim, I replied without checking your post, Snap!
P.S. If you are convinced you need to remove the trim (super-sized battery!!) use a small ball joint splitter to take wiper arms off.

[JohnPierpoint]

Ball-joint splitter - that looks like the perfect solution! I think I know someone who has one. . .

Regarding the electrics, I have found a video on YouTube that shows how to unlock the connector before attempting to push the terminals out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OQevVIglTE

I still haven't managed to extract any terminals with my home-made tool. This may be because they are too corroded now. So my best bet is to get the bits to build a new connector.
I just need to get the plastic connector shell (part no. 1J0962623) and some of the right terminals (both large and small, female). I can get these from my local VW dealer, but it will cost over £70 for a new connector and enough terminals!
There are some much cheaper terminals at http://www.vehicle-wiring-products.eu, but I have no way of knowing which are the right ones for this connector block.

Does anyone have a link or number for a good supplier of terminals, or the type or part numbers of these terminals?

[JohnPierpoint]

Here's an update:

We got a ball-joint splitter, which (with some modification) allowed us to get the wiper off. The thread end had to be re-cut and dressed to get the nut back on afterwards, due to all the grief I gave it before I had the splitter.

We bought a new connector block moulding and a set of wires from our local VW dealer. After checking a variety of sources, this (surprisingly) turned out to be the cheapest.
There was a massive difference in price between all the suppliers that responded. Some were cheaper on the plastic block, some were cheaper on the large terminals than on the small terminals. Quite bizarre! In the end, getting all the bits from the dealer worked out to be the best bet.
The terminals come pre-crimped onto yellow wires IN PAIRS. Not sure why they are supplied like this. So it's important to remember that you only need to buy half the number of "terminals" that you need. Then cut the wires in half to get sets of terminals on short wires (actually, they are plenty long enough for most repairs). For this connector block, there are two sizes of terminal.
I took photos of the components and various stages as we did the work, so I'll post these when I get some time.

We cut the old connector block from the wires, popped the new terminal/wire sets into the plastic connector block, then soldered the new wires to the cut ends of the original wires. The joins were protected with black heat-shrink tubing.

This didn't get us anywhere though - we still had the same behaviour from the electronics. We left it for a few weeks (due to bad weather and ill health), as at least the car was still driveable.

This week, we went back to check the star-points in the loom. These were perfect - nice bright shiny connectors visible through the sealed, transparent tubes that protect the joints. Then we found the main cause of the problem: the incoming red/blue 12V on pin 23/22 of the CCM was intermittent and low. Tracing the wire back past the star point, we found that one connector block in the array that is clipped to the passenger footwell was corroded. 12V on one side of the connector, hardly anything on the other.

So we now need to source this connector block and terminals and start again. It's a completely different style of block, with clips that can't be released by hand pressure.
I'll bet the terminals inside are completely different too!

I'll probably go straight to our dealer for the parts this time, to save time and hassle. I'll post more news as it occurs. . .