Faulty Electrics (immobiliser issue)

[Mobo]

Has anyone had the problem of the dash reseting when you take the key. like the clock going back to 0:00

 

[cowtc]

oh dear the immobiliser issue just happened to me again after filling up at a petrol station with big queues behind

Luckily I remembered Pete5956's message on the 'annoying intermittent immobiliser fault' thread and pressed the 120mph point on the speedo whilst putting the key in and it worked! Glad I've found a quick fix and now know for definite it does need soldering to fix it.

Wonder how many times I can keep pressing the 120mph when it happens to quick fix it

 

[cowtc]

bigdave and bondiblu...

you mentioned that a star shaped screw is involved instead of the usual +, what type of screwdriver would be needed for this? as I don't have a star shaped screwdriver, thanks

 

[bald_eagle]

bigdave and bondiblu...

you mentioned that a star shaped screw is involved instead of the usual +, what type of screwdriver would be needed for this? as I don't have a star shaped screwdriver, thanks

probably mean torx screws which are star shaped.

 

[Bondiblu]

probably mean torx screws which are star shaped.

Yip, torx driver would be correct and IIRC its the T20 torx you need.

 

[cowtc]

thanks for getting back to me, I'm gonna tackle it on Monday. I've had the flashing immobiliser another two times now, although 120mph trick has worked to cure them instantly so far

 

[cowtc]

Using Bondiblu's diagram, I've got to the stage of taking out the dash panel frame shade, will be unscrewing the dash out tomorrow. Do you actually have to put you hand through the driver little glove box and reach round to unplug it or would unscrewing and taking out the dash panel give me enough slack to unplug it there?

 

[peteryates]

I've read quite a few related threads on here about immobiliser issues.
I have this problem with the starting... when the yello light stops flashing i know it will start.. and this all happens as soon as the weather starts to get warmer.. at worse when the weather is humid... Its a fantastic winter car!!

The car has been to Seat, VW and independents.. The independent took out the chip in the ecu... put it in the fridge and popped it under a hairdryer to try and emulate the fault... the fau could not be emulated. The car was actually with seat for 5 weeks two summers ago... key fob changed, antenna in steering column replaced...

Might this also be a soldering issue? We have tried everything else? My partner resorts to thumping the dash... and this sometimes cures it... but at this rate the car will be beaten to death before being fixed...

Your wisdom and advice would be very much appreciated...

Peter

I've got an 02 TDI 130 Pd. Recently I've started getting some random electrical faults. Fuel gauge works erratically, immobiliser warning light came on the other night. Had to get out, lock and then unlock to get the car started. Climate control is also playing up and working erratically giving me a reading of -10 the other night and blasting hot air in. Oil temp gauge back light flashing constantly, trip computer giving stupid figures, like 2000 mile to fill up.

These all seem to be happening at the same time. Any idea's??? I hope the ECU is not packing in.

 

[cowtc]

Peteryates it sounds like you have this issue since thumping it sometimes fixes it, I think if u want to make sure then the next time the immobiliser light flashes try what I did (see post number 62 on this thread). this will prove it is electrical connection issue ie needs resoldering

 

[Bondiblu]

Using Bondiblu's diagram, I've got to the stage of taking out the dash panel frame shade, will be unscrewing the dash out tomorrow. Do you actually have to put you hand through the driver little glove box and reach round to unplug it or would unscrewing and taking out the dash panel give me enough slack to unplug it there?

The slack in the cable is limited, but can be done from the top with a bit of fiddling.

 

[cowtc]

I've finally done mine last week, all the screws bar the top two were the torx screw type. I would recommend (although not mandatory) anyone attempting to get a magnetic torx screwdriver (size 15 or 20, I used 15) that has a slim shaft and not very long lol. Also when taking the dash panel shade cover off, to start pulling it out at the bottom, then the sides then the top, I nearly broke it because I was trying to pull it out from the top! I also used the plastic lifters from my iphone battery removal kit, since if you use a flat head screwdriver to lift bits you can scratch/scar the plastics.



Plug when connected:


I disconnected my battery before unplugging the dash panel in case of getting the airbag light.

Dashboard with panel out, left plug is power plug, right plug is the green connector


Back of dash panel, you can see where the green connector is


dash panel unscrewed and taken out



Also when putting the dash panel together after soldering, make sure the side gauges are back to zero/empty before screwing it back together lol

 

[alexbailey12]

here is a bit more information:

32-pin connector, green

1 - Reading coil for electronic immobiliser.....17 - Reading coil for electronic immobiliser
2 - Warning lamp for main beam..................18 - Rear fog lamp warning light
3 - Warning lamp for dip beam.....................19 - Front fog lamp warning light
4 - Oil level gauge sender............................20 - Seat belt warning system warning lamp
5 - Speed signal, output...............................21 - Hand brake switch
6 - Speed signal, input.................................22 - Brake system warning lamp
7 - CAN L (motor).......................................23 - Oil pressure switch
8 - CAN H (motor)......................................24 - CAN Activation mode
9 - CAN L (comfort)....................................25 - CAN (motor), insulating shield
10 - CAN H (comfort)..................................26 - CAN (comfort), insulating shield
11 - Multi-functional indicator.......................27 - Multi-function indicator - Reset
12 - Multi-functional indicator.......................28 - Free
13 - Brake system fault indicator light...........29 - Warning lamp for tail lights
14 - Free....................................................30 - Windscreen washer fluid level sender
15 - Fuel level gauge sender........................31 - Exterior temperature sensor
16 - Coolant level warning sender................32 - Terminal 31




so for fuel and temp gauges its the bottom rows i.e. the ones you cant get to without taking the pointers of the dials!!!

what way does the numbering go on the green plug? is it:

left to right
1 2
3 4
5 6
etc

down
1 16
2 17
3 18
. .
. .
15 32
etc

down then up
1 32
2 31
3 30

 

[air121005]

had this problem arise last summer.....remove the small drop down drawer, hand up the back of the dash, wedge cable in there some how.....and problem went away.......until 2 weeks ago...........now i have it everytime i try to start it up

so i'm going to be doing this next weekend when i've got some holiday booked....fingers crossed ....

 

[air121005]

had this problem arise last summer.....remove the small drop down drawer, hand up the back of the dash, wedge cable in there some how.....and problem went away.......until 2 weeks ago...........now i have it everytime i try to start it up

so i'm going to be doing this next weekend when i've got some holiday booked....fingers crossed ....

took the clocks out Friday night......practiced a bit of soldering on an old radios circuit board first .....then reflowed and added more solder to as many of the connectors i could reach (surprisingly quite a lot after i'd filed the tip of the soldering iron long and thin ).......re-assembled and refitted Saturday morning.......so far, so good!! first time, every time!!

cheers fellas for this excellent guide as without it i doubt i would have tackled this!!

 

[fuzzy232]

Im considering doing this. So you just solder all the pins that relate to the green connecter bus ?. I have been having the immobiliser problem but every time I play with the key it works again... the only reason im suspecting a dash problem is my fuel gauge. It was on 3/4 the other day I did 8 miles andwhen I came back to the car, it dropped to half way, seems pretty dodgey to me

 

[cowtc]

Yup, I got my solder iron from maplins (one of the cheap ones although they had a buy two lead-free solders get the solder iron free deal at the time). Like Air121005 says above you could do the same and file it so the tip is fine, fine tip ones are usually more expensive. There are pictures of the pins to solder earlier on in this thread to give you an idea what needs soldering (if you click on my pictures I posted up it takes you to webshots where there are more pics I took).

 

[fuzzy232]

cheers Ill just solder them all I guess. Could my fuel guage playing up be todo with this ?

 

[Bondiblu]

Could my fuel guage playing up be todo with this ?

Yes, read the above pinout for the connector, any of the above mentioned items could be affected.

 

[air121005]

took the clocks out Friday night......practiced a bit of soldering on an old radios circuit board first .....then reflowed and added more solder to as many of the connectors i could reach (surprisingly quite a lot after i'd filed the tip of the soldering iron long and thin ).......re-assembled and refitted Saturday morning.......so far, so good!! first time, every time!!

cheers fellas for this excellent guide as without it i doubt i would have tackled this!!

still not had any issues

 

[moggytom]

managed to mess my dash up even more. car wornt start and when it does it wornt run for very long. what habit done wrong ?
cheers