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Modern cars are basically rolling computer storage. As with all computers, vehicle computers get fussy from time to time. A computer acting fussy can lead to strange electrical problems in our cars. One easy way to reset the entire car system is to perform battery voodoo. In the VW repair world this is also called a Cap Discharge, or Capacitive Discharge. That is a fine thing to call it, but it’s not exactly what we are doing.
This hard reset on the car has fixed a lot of strange issues for me. Everything from radio and lighting issues, to gauges reading funny, and electrical components not working. This is a relatively safe process, but you will always want to take extra precautions to keep yourself safe and not damage your car.
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Today we are looking at how the harness for all the rear lighting in a VW CC fails. If you have rear lighting not working, it may be due to the harness being split in the trunk. I have seen this issue give some techs a run for their money. Even though a light out is generally the bulb, you can’t discount the wiring too.
The first picture come to us by way of a complete hack mechanic. You are looking at the the cowl panel of a VW Beetle. That is the trim right at the bottom of the windshield. You will notice that someone has drilled a hole in the trim. Talk about a hack move.
This type of picture makes me feel a bit like a curios kid. When ever I see an engine or a transmission taken apart, I get excited. Especially when I am not the one taking it apart. 😉 Not that I mind doing this type of work, it just doesn’t pay that well.
I feel like this is the things that mechanics have nightmares about. You are looking at a wiring harness in a 2014 Tiguan. The customer had about 400 miles on their car. They brought it in because the 12v outlet wouldn’t work. When I got the car the fuse was blown. Each time a new fuse was installed, it would pop. That could mean the power wire was shorted to ground(which is the brown wire in the picture).
We have heard that all VWs have electrical problems or wiring problems. This one was a good one. This Jetta came from one of the rental car companies. I think the original concern was rear lights not working. The tech went round and round with chasing wires, and he even replaced the main electrics module(Body control module). The car was blowing 1 certain fuse in a strange way.
This might be one of my all time favorite Shop Shot picture of all time. This customer brought their car in for a minor service. On this service we add a fuel treatment. I was working on something else when I hear the tech next to me laughing. I walked over to see what was up, and this is what he found.
Next up is something that seems to be a plague these days, bent wheels. It seems to be worse this time of year. My guess is the increase in potholes and bad driving that winter brings. I tried to shoot a video of this wheel spinning on the balancer. It came out terrible. 🙂 It is strange to me that someone could not feel they had a bent wheel. Many times a small bent in a wheel will be fine. This is a major bend. If you find out you have a bent wheel, most of the time they can be repaired. From what I have seen, the cost is around $120 or so. That is not cheap, but it’s better than $350 for a new wheel