Continuing Electrical Issue - 1.6 205 Gti

[Bex 1]

hello 205 lovers,

so my beautiful sexy j reg 1.6 standard gti has (surprise!) a continuing electrical problem/set of problems. latest and greatest has left me stuck in st albans juicing my AA call-out limit. maybe i can describe to you all and you can tell me your feelings. many thanks in advance of any info. i love my car so. but jesus she's costly.

there are 3 electrical problems. i'm hoping it may be possible all of them have been caused by the same 2 central brown wires' connection into the fuse board, which i'm told is the main earth. jiggling it has occasionally solved the most constantly visible of the problems - the indicators. can you tell me if it's possible/likely that it could cause the others too? any info you can lend on any of them would be massively appreciated of course.

 

problem 1 - starting failure. put down to distributor pick up or amplifier initially, when diagnosed by the aa guy. there was no ht spark to the distributor from the ignition coil. he recommended i fit a different second hand distributor. did this and it's been better for a while. yesterday, problem back just the same. lights are on, no engine turnover at all. car had been running just fine and i only pulled in to look at the map. then it wouldn't start. moved it a bit to turn the distributor, which had worked in the past. it did get going again thank god.

 

problem 2 - indicators not working after periods of rain, despite no sign of water in the fuse board area. indicators make a horrible connection crackle instead of working, then after a wiggle of the 2 brown cables behind the flicker unit, sometimes start. or sometimes start again after having all the heaters on in the car for a while. this problem's been going on for a good couple of months. changed the flicker unit, same problem back again after rain. it's worth mentioning that while the indicators have been horribly sporadic, the hazards have never had a problem.

 

problem 3 - central locking. likes to randomly activate itself for no reason over and over in bursts - also seems to happen after lots of rain.

 

long post - thank you for reading. i am a 205 gti obsessive with a large hole in my wallet!

; ) x

[Slo 283 1 Cars]

Hi have you had any issues with the heater? Only reason i ask is,it sounds like water in the fusebox and ive just swapped a mark 1 dash and heater for a mark 2. The mark 2 didnt work but when i removed the blower and heater rheostat it had about an inch of white scale from the bottom upwards so car wash/rain water had obviously got in. Have you rattled the hazard switch rapidly when the indicators stop working? No idea on the dizzy sorry must be just worn out points???

 

EDIT: When you drop down the fusebox there is a bunch of earth connections directly above it you could check that too???

Edited April 29, 2012 by Slo

[Paul_13 212 1 Cars]

Sounds like a dodgy earth for some of it.

Replace the earth cable from the body/battery/gearbox with new cable and that may sort some of your problems

[Bex 1]

hi slo,

thanks for reading. nothing up with the heaters that i've noticed. once car wash gets in, could it keep causing problems even after it's dried? i do live down a farm track in wales and had no choice but to take a few big puddles last year. is there anything i can do if that's the case, do you think? i'll take it to my star mechanic but it's good to get everyone's thoughts. just out of interest, do you know if a loose connection in those earth wires could cause a dizzy/starting issue?

i'll defo have a look above. couldn't see anything there but a nest of wires but will check it out.

[Bex 1]

Sounds like a dodgy earth for some of it.

Replace the earth cable from the body/battery/gearbox with new cable and that may sort some of your problems

is that the cable that ends up with two brown central fuse wires?

thanks paul

[Slo 283 1 Cars]

there arent any earths in the fusebox the brown wires you refer too that go into the fusebox are actually lives/positives that run straight from the battery via a tiny junction box next to the battery, you might want to check this out too as it contains fuses on some cars as well

[Bex 1]

and which of the probs sounds like the earth? could it be all of them?

[Bex 1]

there arent any earths in the fusebox the brown wires you refer too that go into the fusebox are actually lives/positives that run straight from the battery via a tiny junction box next to the battery, you might want to check this out too as it contains fuses on some cars as well

yeah we opened and looked in today - nothing obvious. but maybe worth checking immediately after serious rain. do you think those lives could cause it then - or is it just coincidence if i jiggle em and it improves? Edited April 29, 2012 by Bex

[Slo 283 1 Cars]

hmm well without seeing it hands on its a little hard to diagnose but in a nutshell id say it was more than likely the battery feed altho the indicator problem i had once and i cured that by pulling out the hazard switch with its multiplug spinning it round 360 degrees to distrub the wires then pop it back in and press it in a few dozen times rapidly, the brown wires plug into the little box underneath on big plugs you could try unplugging em all one by one and greasing the ends up could be the answer to your problems,the fuses in the tiny fusebox are for the electric fan, fusebox and stuff like abs where fitted etc

 

 

Just had an idea does your car have remote central locking or just the key job central locking?

Edited April 29, 2012 by Slo

[Bex 1]

the indicator problem i had once and i cured that by pulling out the hazard switch with its multiplug spinning it round 360 degrees to distrub the wires then pop it back in and press it in a few dozen times rapidly

you mean the actual circular button, right? even though i've had no prob with the hazards? had you had probs with the hazards or just your indicators? thanks slo!

and my central locking isn't remote. just independent. lol.

[Paul_13 212 1 Cars]

A lot of people have a problem with the inidicators when there is an earth fault.

 

The earth cable goes from the gearbox (towards the back of it) ===> battery ===> body (near the screenwash bottle)

 

Positive Battery ===> Alternator/Starter (Also a 12v feed to the shunt box the small black box) This is where the 2 brown wires enter it

 

The hazard switch controls the indicators

Edited April 29, 2012 by Paul_13

[Slo 283 1 Cars]

If you have independent locking that rules out water leaking through the aerial and into the roof control box causing the central locking to operate at random since you wont have one. It sounding more and more like an earth problem every post and as paul says the hazard switch controls the indicators without it they wont work at all

[Paul_13 212 1 Cars]

Another thing worth checking is the area under the scuttle panel. The entrance for the heater blower is there and normally there is a rubber seal present which stops water from entering the cabin.

Mine was dislodged and was causing the fusebox to get wet and the glove box to fill up with water.

[Paul_13 212 1 Cars]

I was in Hereford earlier, should of posted it yesterday

[Bex 1]

wicked guys, thank you. : ) will let you know how we go. any other thoughts, please don't hesitate.

[Bex 1]

just wanted to say a big thanks guys. aa man removed and twisted the hazards switch 360 degrees this morning and the problem's gone. drove home from st albans and can only blame my own driving for any other pissed off road users, cos it certainly wasn't the car's fault.

she drove like hot silk.

cheers m'dears!!

[Slo 283 1 Cars]

your welcome and thats great to hear if a little puzzling how it fixed the central locking and none starting lol glad you got it sorted anyways

[Bex 1]

ha. no i'll wait for the next heavy rainfall to see how they turn out.

was definitely the switch for the indicators tho. as soon as he started messing with the panel they went nutsoid (what a horrible noise. wow.) and was sorted for 6 hours of beautiful driving back.

thanks mr!

xxx