1st breakdown, help would be appreciated

[Chrispb]

Ah you found them.
So having proved it's not the tail gate, there's no other connector between the rear quarter and the dash.

[marinabrid]

hi
moved on to dash,   checked fusebox  etc  nothing

put vcds on and again got  01236   gear lever locking solenoid   open or short intermittent.   though it blows every time R is engaged

could this be the actual solenoid at fault even though it works  i can hear it click when the ignition on and i press the button on the gear knob ,  then as soon as it hits R     it blows the fuse

i unplugged the lock solenoid but still blows. the wires to it seems to be routed to somewhere i can't see, so could it still blow with this unplugged   as insanity said with the rev lights ?
need then to find where this supply wire comes from but looks like it needs the console out and maybe the gear lever assembly ?  any ideas on this Chris. theres a large plastic cover under the gear lever,  hiding a screw to remove the console,   can't see how this lifts up to remove.

[Chrispb]

Relay 175 is the auto box relay and is in the circuit to the lights but not sure if this relay has another purpose or only the lights.

[marinabrid]

dismantled the console area and found the solenoid,   can't see though how to get it out  or how to test it .  any ideas, the wiring to it is 2 wires   when i turn ig on   there is 9v to the supply wire.   this seems low but i don't know  ,,, still blows the fuse though when i engage reverse. so does this mean the solenoid could be faulty   or the wire to it !
Are you thinking maybe the relay 175 could be dodgy ?
I'm getting short of ideas now.

[marinabrid]

dismantled the console area and found the solenoid,   can't see though how to get it out  or how to test it .  any ideas, the wiring to it is 2 wires   when i turn ig on   there is 9v to the supply wire.   this seems low but i don't know  ,,, still blows the fuse though when i engage reverse. so does this mean the solenoid could be faulty   or the wire to it !
Are you thinking maybe the relay 175 could be dodgy ?
I'm getting short of ideas now.

the supply wire to the solenoid goes under the carpet somewhere,    any ideas how to test this or find out where it goes,  theres nothing in the wiring diagrams in the haynes book. can't fathom why the fault is intermittent when it blows the fuse every time

[marinabrid]

the supply wire to the solenoid goes under the carpet somewhere,    any ideas how to test this or find out where it goes,  theres nothing in the wiring diagrams in the haynes book. can't fathom why the fault is intermittent when it blows the fuse every time

now got a flat battery !   car only been stood 2 weeks,   started it a bout 3 times while i been testing it,   wonder if something is draining it related to this problem ?   

[marinabrid]

now got a flat battery !   car only been stood 2 weeks,   started it a bout 3 times while i been testing it,   wonder if something is draining it related to this problem ?

would pulling the 175 relay prove something ?

[Chrispb]

The haynes only shows manual box the auto is far more complicated, there are two seperate switches in relay 175 , one is for the starter circuit the other for reverse lights.
It may help to remove relay, I don't think the solenoid on the gear lever is an issue as this is controlled by the footbrake and lever button.
Would it help you if I sent you the TIS diagram

[marinabrid]

hi chris
Hope we onto something ,   i have removed the 175 relay  and all lights on dash work, put into R   no repeat no fuse blow.   what does this mean then  ?   still a supply wire to the relay problem or a faulty relay ?
anything is welcome !  any diagrams,  i am trying to test the wire from ecu to the solenoid switch  as this is the logged fault.   what else can i go on !
when no key in and blown fuse  and continuity test on the supply at the solenoid ,  unplugged from solenoid,   i am getting a continuos noise from the meter and a reading of 012 which fluctuates a little,

does this indicate something ? when i turn ignition on the reading goes to just a 1 on the meter and the noise stops. 

[Chrispb]

[attachimg=1]
[attachimg=2]
[attachimg=3]

good luck with this

[marinabrid]

thanks
so this is the wiring from the ecu to everywhere else is it chris ?

i presume that pulling the relay simply eliminates the wiring from the solenoid to the relay does it ?  or is there a way to test the solenoid

[Chrispb]

everything from fuse 5

I wouldn't say the relay is associated directly with solenoid, you can now check continuity with solenoid and ecu and gearbox if you need too.

[marinabrid]

must say I'm getting a bit baffled    not an expert in wiring  so finding it hard to follow
wonder if its time to find a an auto electrician

[insanitybeard]

The fact that it seems to be happening only when you select reverse gear could indicate a fault with something like the gearbox range sensor (which is a moving part), it's not necessarily a wiring fault. For the same reason if it was a fault with the solenoid I would expect it to occur not just when you select reverse, although electrical faults can cause all sorts of crazy symptoms. Looking at the wiring diagrams it does look plausible that an internal short in the relay could cause the fuse to blow when selecting reverse gear, though that needs confirming by somebody more specialised in electrics than I.

[marinabrid]

i took a chance  and found a spare 175 relay on ebay,   loads of them with same part number only Ã,£4   so its worth a try,   may turn up tomorrow.

i am uses to seeing haynes manual type wiring   not this type

[marinabrid]

sadly    new relay made no diff   but only a few quid gamble.

Chris  or any sparks out there,  on the helpful diagram sent it shows all the pins on the relay 175   there is one pin   no. 7   in the middle of the diagram  that just shows a short black dotted line and G1
would anyone know what that is ?
at least now have colours of wires to trace to rear,and where ever else.

[Chrispb]

Ground or earth

[marinabrid]

thanks Chris
found me a helpful mobile sparky  but lives a long way off but he gonna help over phone for a few quid

got me a power probe and short circuit finder for Ã,£30   so hopefully may find it soon with his help  still cheaper than Ã,£50 an hour at local garage,  no doubt spending some of the hours scratching their head and ball supping tea !

said something about remove rev bulb and put power probe onto positive and send current toward the fuse to see if it blows.   not sure yet what that will prove !

he seems to think its in the wiring to the rev lights,   we shall see.

[SilverBeast]

I suspect he's right.

If you have found the connector for the reversing lights in the rear quarter panel I would
(i) Disconnect that connector
(ii) Remove Relay R175
(iii) Check the resistance to ground with a multimeter of the switched live to the lights (looks like it is either BK/RD [Black/Red] or BK/BU [Black/Blue?]) on the cabin side (ie not the hatch wiring).

If this is shorted/low resistance then the problem is in the wiring from the relay to the connector as this should be completely isolated from ground.  You then need to trace this wire from the relay to the rear connector (or run another one and cut out the "Bad bit").

You could also check the hatch harness the same way by probing on the other connector with the bulbs removed, though it doesn't sound as though this is your problem as I believe you said it still blew fuses with the connectors disconnected.

[marinabrid]

oh i see   am getting the idea of current now,, not just in buns !

yours is a simpler way than cutting the wire,  do you know which of the 3 block conns in the rear storage panel area is the rev lights ?

so to be clear, as I'm not a multi meter expert,  i put it on ohms   and put the black probe to earth and red to the blue black wire in the block connector  and read the meter,     so how do i tell with the meter it is shorted or low resistance    is this when it beeps    what readings should be on the meter if shorted,

[marinabrid]

SUCCESS SUCCESS SUCCESS    MANY MANY THANKS FOR ALL HELP

finally cracked it    just about

got a power probe and started at back every time probed 12v pos to reverse light  indicated short,,  had to work up the car got to a foot from fuse box.

probed the rear conns and lights worked   so   cut loom half way and probed same wire      still worked.,

got up to front , cut wire from rear of relay output bk bl wire about 6 inches, probed again and short again.
very big loom of wires under dash   so isolated the dodgy bit and put a new piece in.   job done

HOWEVER,     don't know now   but  the rear parking sensors do not come on when R is selected.    they do if i press the button on dash, also  while the back is beeping the front is as well

any ideas on this one !   could this be all related. 
other thing .  i took for test drive   all ok  no probs at all.  when came back left ig on to test with vcds,   after  a few mins or so  the ABS light starts to flash. joined then by the EPS light.   then heard a relay click and they went off.   seems if left on a while they do this.   is it i test mode or something

no faults in ABS module with vcds ,  no faults anywhere   .
any ideas  to finally put this to bed.

[SilverBeast]

The parking sensors obviously take a signal from the reverse switch as this usually activates them automatically. It may even come from the reverse light signal. (Possibly the S68 on the second circuit diagram).  It's possible you have isolated the feed to this now and the short was in the wire to the parking sensors module, or in the module itself. VCDS Lite/VAG-COM will report any faults with the "Park Assist".  It also reports distance for each sensor (down to about 10cm if I recall) and more than likely the status of the Reverse switch/lights and the dash button.

Just looked on TIS and it appears the Park Control module (don't you love the way VCDS/TIS use different names for the same thing) may also be fed from Fuse 5 and is supposedly located behind the rear luggage compartment trim on the Drivers side.

[marinabrid]

Hi
I did unplug the 3 plugs on the module under the seat   but as before this seems to prove nothing if the short is active on its way to the module
i wonder if i could apply a new splice from the new wire i put in if that would work    but where would i connect it to ?
Chris.,    the marvellous chap,  do you have other wiring plans also for the parking module sensors.
not a big problem but useful for the wife.   

i have retested and the fronts are ok  but the rears are on off,a long tone   but no beeping as it gets close to object behind  so something amiss

there are no faults logged in vcds for park assist

[insanitybeard]

Here. (at the bottom of the article)

Like Silverbeast says, by bypassing some of the wiring you may have inadvertently removed/ cut off a feed or signal wire relating to the parking sensor system. Either that or there's still a short present somewhere which isn't bad enough to keep blowing the fuse but is now causing trouble with the parking sensors.

[marinabrid]

thanks for that
after 3 weeks of no car a parking sensor isn't much of a problem considering it hardly gets used.
will have a potter around
where i cut and spliced the wire in,  if that send a signal    it must be easy enough to splice a new piece in to feed the rev module ,   or isn't it that easy.

[marinabrid]

from looking at diagrams for 175 relay from Chris and the parking sensor one  i see there is a wire from s68 on the bk bl wire after it leaves the relay power supply to rev lights and is listed as bk rd     this then seems to re appear at the module block    so will try and connect there and see what happens.  fingers crossed
does this sound like the right thing to try ?

[Chrispb]

This is the auto one showing the parking module[attachimg=1]

[marinabrid]

JOB DONE
Many thanks to all,,   spliced in new wire,  isolated original feed..
without this forum  i would have spent no doubt hundreds at a garage,  i got me some new tools and skills
one fully functioning car again

mot monday   fingers crossed.

[Chrispb]

Well done mate 

[insanitybeard]

    Result!

[marinabrid]

yes,  its a good feeling when something goes right ,   maybe i shall turn my hand to brain surgery ââ,¬Â¦..    any volunteers ?