VW Jetta wiring mystery...

[JPB]

Posted here 'cos it's a modern car and a silver one at that!

There are 3 auxiliary sockets in there; one in the boot and two inside, one of which lives in the front armrest, the other in the ashtray.
The interior pair are on one fuse, which is present, the boot one on another, also in its correct place in the fuse box.
There's a supply at the incoming side of each fuse, and a cable present at all sockets, so somewhere, a connection needs to be made which connects the two front ones to their fuse and the boot one to its socket. Multiplug perhaps? I can't find a schematic for the car anywhere and VW themselves have been less than helpful as they didn't supply the car via a UK dealer.
It all looks hellish complicated behind the dash, so before I go wratching about testing for a suitable connection, does anyone on here own a Jetta or MK5 Golf 1.9 (non-PD) TDI 110 and know how to power their gadgets on the move please? In case it makes a difference, this is a DSG-equipped car and I'm sure that at least half of the entire loom is there purely to serve the needs of the gearbox and its ECUs, presumably the manual or auto versions would share the wiring that I'm trying to locate with the DSG cars though?

And lest anyone says the obvious; it was cheap, has done next to no miles and all works fine with the exception of the wretched aux socketry.


TIA,

[tractorman]

I've just been on the VW -Audi club site and now realise what you mean - the sockets are live only when ignition is off! Unfortunately, the experts say you have to rewire yourself!

BTW - without advertising or canvassing, it is a handy forum to join - even if I am an infrequent visitor! It has proved useful in things like where to get the software and leads for the diagnostics (not as expensive as you may think) as well as given sound technical advice!

http://www.vwaudiforum.co.uk/

It's taken me a while to realise who you were on the old forum - I recognised the style, but couldn't work out who it was!

[JPB]

Reply much appreciated, thank you. I've tried the sockets both with and without the ignition switched on and they're dead in both positions, so it's looking likely that I'm going to have to delve into the amazingly random mess that is the wiring behind the dashboard. A couple of local fellow Dolomite owners have questioned how I found removal of [the Dolly's] dashboard and parcel shelf - to remove, repair then replace their heaters - such an easy task. BL(1972) One, VAG(2008) Nil.

Funnily enough, I'm already a member at the VW/Audi forum. I did look there but (wrongly) assumed that I hadn't signed up already, then remembered that I'd joined a couple of years ago in the search for information about a source of a new, all-metal water pump impeller for the Passat that Dad owned then. One quick click on the "I'm a numpty and have forgotten my log in details" box and an email from the VAG board is with me, informing me of the relevant info. Funnily enough I have the same user name there as here. Must try to do stuff when I'm at least slightly awake.

RE the user name; yes, it seemed just as well to lose the old handle since it related to the registration number of a car that I haven't owned for three years.

Thanks again, I shall be delving into the silver modern's electrics later today, once I've given the Dolomite - the car with a working lighter socket - a quick wash and brush up.

[JPB]

Sorted!
Good old VW, they fit diodes in the supply to each socket, presumably that's why all 3 were down, even though there's a fuse for the boot one and another for the indoors ones.
I can just imagine someone plugging in a faulty charger, then trying it in the next socket, and the next, destroying all three diodes in the process.
Anyway, a suitably beefy stud diode has been fitted in place of each failed one and all seems to be well now.
Their original connections are indeed to a live that's on without the ignition supply, but it's permanently live so still works when the ignition's on too. Perhaps that's to prevent defrosting if someone uses the little fridge in the boot (same circuit as the boot socket) to keep their messages cool on the way home from the supermarket, then forgets that they have it running.

The diodes are actually located in each relay box, so easy to reach, I'm almost disappointed that I hadn't to take the interior all apart to do this. Almost....

[tractorman]

Glad it was an easy fix - few seem to be on my MkIV Golf! Mine's not such a high spec model though - one fag lighter and that's it!

The only problem I find with the VW/Audi forum is that there can be a lot of doom merchants there! I've read some responses and wonder if buying a Golf was wise - the injectors are about to fall out (and if they do get changed it always ruins the head), I'm on borrowed time with the DMF and so on! OTOH, it hasn't been the cheapest car to run - all sorts of niggling problems caused by poor (dealer) service in the past and things like track rod ends, lower ball joints etc that the MkII Golf and Passat never had replaced in their 200K miles. The MkIV has done 93K - but at least it is somewhat quicker than the old ones and has hardly any rust - two 10p-sized bits by the front mudflap and that's it in nearly nine years!

[bnicho]

I was having similar issues with my Pathfinder.

The socket in the dash and the socket in the boot were always live and the socket in the console was only live with the key.

That was until I accidentally shorted the boot socket and blew the fuse. But do you think I could find the fuse anywhere!?! It wasn't in any of the three fuse boxes shown in the owners manual. I even rang "Nissan Assist" and they couldn't help, just told me to take it to a Dealer. Very useful advice on Sunday afternoon when I wanted my portable fridge to work for a trip the next day!

I joined a Pathfinder forum and they told me about the "secret" fuse box under the bonnet. It looked like a computer but it was actually a fuse box mounted upside-down. You had to unclip basically the entire fuse box to get at the fuses. It was extremely awkward, but the blown fuse was in there. Very clever Nissan.