illinifrever
Probationary Member
- 26
- 0
- Mar 3, 2009
-
Bloomington,
Illinois
Alright, so this isn't your standard DSM vehicle issue, so i'm not totally sure what kind of responses to expect. I've had my 2g 96 Tsi for almost a year now. The guy I bought the car from last August is an electrical engineer who works for the University of Illinois. He used to live in San Francisco and installed an anti theft device into the car... Himself. I have absolutely no idea what kind of system it is and I haven't been able to get a hold of the guy to ask some questions.
He showed me how to work it when I first bought the car and everything seemed pretty standard. Click the remote once to arm it, click it again to disarm it. The only part of the system visible inside the car is a small black box with a red light that blinks when it's armed and is solid when it's disarmed.
In hindsight however, the system is a joke. I can shut it down w/o the remote by hitting a button located behind the red light on the back of the box. I think it's on the brink of crapping out too seeing as it will occasionally turn on without me activating it, blink rapidly, then slowly and sometimes blink slowly and dully like it's not getting enough power. It's also (and most importantly) royally screwed up the wiring in my car.
ISSUES:
- First and most importantly. Likely due to the system, I don't have to press in the clutch to start the car. It's the only 5 speed i've ever driven that hasn't needed that. Am I stupid and is that normal for DSM's? Or is that directly linked to the system?
- About 3 months ago, one of my fog lights stopped working, I assumed it was a bulb, so I replaced it. Then neither fog light worked. I checked the fuse for them, it was bad, so I replaced it. Still nothing. Got the car up on a lift and started checking it out underneath, i've got raw, spliced, wiring running all throughout the undercarriage around the lights. Still haven't figured out what's wrong with them, checked the fuses yesterday and the new fuse I put in is now blown too.
- My left rear brake light had been dull since I bought the car, replaced the bulb, same thing. The reverse lights will only work on occasion and usually take a couple seconds to turn on after I throw it into reverse. I put the car up on a lift and ended up taking the entire back lighting panel apart. My left brake lights would rotate. One side of the brake light would be lit when my lights were either off. When i'd turn on my flares or regular beams, that side would go out and the other side would light up (dully). I got the brake lights to work, but the reverse lights appear to have a short in them.
- My automatic overhead lights are inconsistent. Sometimes when I open the car door, they're normal. Other times, they won't come on at all or will randomly pop on after a minute or two. Similar issues w/my power mirrors. They'll move away from the car, but they won't come back in. Recently too, my car won't alert me if I try and leave with my headlights still on.
Yesterday, my car was dead. We assumed and later confirmed that it was the starter that was bad, but we were exploring other options at the time. My friend who is a technician, my girlfriends dad who used to prep show cars for a living and has a lot of car electrician experience and I were working on it, trying to find a way to get the car started. we got underneath the steering column and found tons of raw wiring running through the car. From what we can tell, the system is wired to the ignition and to the starter and can kill both. Long story short, i'm pretty sure the system assisted in shorting out my starter.
We found the fuse to the system and pulled it, that shut the entire car down (we could hear the fuel pump and occasionally the starter clicking before). My girlfriends dad ended up screwing around with it for nearly two hours until the tow truck showed up.
My biggest question to everyone is this. He wants to try and pull the whole system out of the car in hopes that I can start getting the rest of my electrical working again. Should we even try doing that on our own? I've heard horror stories about screwing with anti-theft devices. I could take it to an electrical shop or Best Buy and see if they can trace the wires back to wherever they're based at and find the shorts in the system, but I really don't want to blow the money unless I have too. Should I try to get this thing out on my own? Should I take it somewhere? Should I just suck it up and deal with it, because it's too risky otherwise?
Sorry it's such a long read, figured i'd be as through as possible. Any suggestions would help.
He showed me how to work it when I first bought the car and everything seemed pretty standard. Click the remote once to arm it, click it again to disarm it. The only part of the system visible inside the car is a small black box with a red light that blinks when it's armed and is solid when it's disarmed.
In hindsight however, the system is a joke. I can shut it down w/o the remote by hitting a button located behind the red light on the back of the box. I think it's on the brink of crapping out too seeing as it will occasionally turn on without me activating it, blink rapidly, then slowly and sometimes blink slowly and dully like it's not getting enough power. It's also (and most importantly) royally screwed up the wiring in my car.
ISSUES:
- First and most importantly. Likely due to the system, I don't have to press in the clutch to start the car. It's the only 5 speed i've ever driven that hasn't needed that. Am I stupid and is that normal for DSM's? Or is that directly linked to the system?
- About 3 months ago, one of my fog lights stopped working, I assumed it was a bulb, so I replaced it. Then neither fog light worked. I checked the fuse for them, it was bad, so I replaced it. Still nothing. Got the car up on a lift and started checking it out underneath, i've got raw, spliced, wiring running all throughout the undercarriage around the lights. Still haven't figured out what's wrong with them, checked the fuses yesterday and the new fuse I put in is now blown too.
- My left rear brake light had been dull since I bought the car, replaced the bulb, same thing. The reverse lights will only work on occasion and usually take a couple seconds to turn on after I throw it into reverse. I put the car up on a lift and ended up taking the entire back lighting panel apart. My left brake lights would rotate. One side of the brake light would be lit when my lights were either off. When i'd turn on my flares or regular beams, that side would go out and the other side would light up (dully). I got the brake lights to work, but the reverse lights appear to have a short in them.
- My automatic overhead lights are inconsistent. Sometimes when I open the car door, they're normal. Other times, they won't come on at all or will randomly pop on after a minute or two. Similar issues w/my power mirrors. They'll move away from the car, but they won't come back in. Recently too, my car won't alert me if I try and leave with my headlights still on.
Yesterday, my car was dead. We assumed and later confirmed that it was the starter that was bad, but we were exploring other options at the time. My friend who is a technician, my girlfriends dad who used to prep show cars for a living and has a lot of car electrician experience and I were working on it, trying to find a way to get the car started. we got underneath the steering column and found tons of raw wiring running through the car. From what we can tell, the system is wired to the ignition and to the starter and can kill both. Long story short, i'm pretty sure the system assisted in shorting out my starter.
We found the fuse to the system and pulled it, that shut the entire car down (we could hear the fuel pump and occasionally the starter clicking before). My girlfriends dad ended up screwing around with it for nearly two hours until the tow truck showed up.
My biggest question to everyone is this. He wants to try and pull the whole system out of the car in hopes that I can start getting the rest of my electrical working again. Should we even try doing that on our own? I've heard horror stories about screwing with anti-theft devices. I could take it to an electrical shop or Best Buy and see if they can trace the wires back to wherever they're based at and find the shorts in the system, but I really don't want to blow the money unless I have too. Should I try to get this thing out on my own? Should I take it somewhere? Should I just suck it up and deal with it, because it's too risky otherwise?
Sorry it's such a long read, figured i'd be as through as possible. Any suggestions would help.
