How can I disable the Brake pad wear warning - Wiring damaged.

**PTEK** · 22-03-2009,08:02 PM

Hi, Can anyone please tell me how to disable the Brake Pad Warning circuit on my Yr 2000 Passatt 115 TDI estate? The system is a two wire to each wheel system, and needs to sense a short to be present at each side to clear the warning.

Some back street 'butcher' fitted the wrong set of front brake pads at some time earlier in the car's life, and connected the wear indicator wires from the pads to the car loom with Scotch-Lock connectors. When these pads needed replacing I had the correct type fitted (ones that would mate to the original car loom connector); the Scotch-Locks were removed when this work was carried out.
A couple of months or so later and the pad wear warning has illuminated. Investigation has shown that the car loom was damaged by the use of Scotch-Locks and has resulted in broken wires to both wheels, the pads are still fine. Although the looms on both wheels have been re-terminated with replacement connectors, the wear indicator still lights. Even shorting out both wheel looms, and having the terminations re-made has had no effect. There does not appear to be any way to replace the exposed loom, so I am therefore considering how to do away with this warning system altogether and resort to the old faithfull method of regular physical checks for pad wear. But how?......

So far I have been unable to find an accurate wiring loom diagram for this system of the car. It would be great to find one that gives an indication where I might apply a short circuit to, within the dashboard for instance, that will replicate the signal of the pads being ok. Can you help?

**adamss24** · 22-03-2009,10:40 PM

Are you shure is not the ABS light you are talking about ? The brake pads wear sensor should go off if you bridge the conectors...

**snapdragon** · 23-03-2009,10:12 AM

You can either recode the instrument cluster using VAGCOM, or repair the wires and solder them to each other and put heat shrink tubing over (preferably the sort with hot melt glue inside that you can buy in Maplins)

**PTEK** · 23-03-2009,07:22 PM

Hi Adamss24. Thanks for your input however I am certain that I am not working an ABS fault, it is the brake pad wear warning that is the problem. Having had the wiring looms to the wheels under scrutiny, the previous repairs have been examined and re-made however there is still a high resistance between pins (58 ohms). Having seen the condition of the wires conductive cores, they appeared very blackened. This cleaned off at the repair point with large amounts of flux during the solder process, but has not improved the overall fault condition after re-termination.

**PTEK** · 23-03-2009,07:24 PM

Snapdragon. Thanks for responding. Do you know the process for re-coding my instrument cluster, and does it require to be at a VAG garage, or do other people have the required equipment?

**½cwt** · 24-03-2009,02:56 PM

I'd recommend repairing teh cable an then rather than recoding just but a piece of wire across the terminals at the plug end of the cable at the caliper end and wrap up to water proof. Worked a treat on wife's SEAT and avoids the need to recode again if you get pads with indicators in future.

**snapdragon** · 24-03-2009,03:13 PM

It sounds like you have the black wire syndrome, where water wicks up several feet from the punctures in the insulation because of the capilary action, and turns the copper into black copper oxide.

You need VAGCOM or the official VW Tool that the dealers have.
I think these USA Golf/Jetta instructions are what I used to try and activate seatbelt warning (but found there was no sensors) - it includes the brake sensor value.... You need to subtract 1 from the number made by the first two digits.

[Select]
[17 - Instruments]
[Recode - 07]
Write down the existing coding for future reference.
Enter 5-digit code from below
[Do It!]

Look at the first two digits in the coding. Add the values for the options together to get the correct coding.

00 - No available equipment
+01 - Brakepad wear sensor warning active
+02 - Seatbelt warning active
+04 - Washer fluid level warning active

Look at the third digit in the coding (Market version):

1 - "EU" 24 hour clock (may result in odometer in km in 2002+ clusters)
2 - "USA" 12 hour clock
3 - "Canada" 12 hour clock (may result in odometer in km in 2002+ clusters)
"The third digit in the code is the country code. The codes are:
4 - "UK" 24 hour clock (should result in odometer in miles)
5 - Japan
6 - Saudi Arabia
7 - Australia

Look at the fourth digit in the coding (Cylinders):

3 - No Service Interval (2002+ models)
4 - 4-cylinder (1999-2001 models)
6 - 6-cylinder (1999-2001 models)

Look at the fifth digit in the coding (Distance impulse multiplier):

2 - 3538
4 - 3648 (some 2002+ models)

So, if you want to have Seatbelt warning and washer fluid warning only in a 2001 Canadian 6-cylinder vehicle, (add 00+02+04 = 06),3,6,2 = 06362.

**PTEK** · 24-03-2009,11:14 PM

Snapdragon. This sounds a very viable solution to try, Thank you. Hopefully I will be able to see if fixes the problem soon; though work and other commitments will mean that it will some days yet before I can get to a garage with the right kit.

**martin1810** · 25-03-2009,11:08 AM

Right hand side. Connect the brown/green wire to earth. That will put the light out. If it doesn't work your way further up that wire and try again. You don't need to touch the other side.