VW Golf Mk2 Owners Club

horrible experience

April 01, 2023, 10:13:10 AM

Had the most awful experience yesterday... so most of you will know my project mk2 is very nearly done, just a few little bits of electrics to sort.
I posted on a few car groups asking if there is an auto electrician that could possibly help me with it.

So yesterday a guy messaged me from a company, part of the name is 'Remaps' so i assumed he was an electrical guy.
He said he could pop over to give me a price and take a look.
So he came over, in a battered old Transit recovery truck telling me he can take the car today!!   
At this point i still believed he knew what he was doing and it would be an easy job for him.

The bits i need help with are
1) Horn not working, problem with earth at the wheel
2) Rear fog not working
3) Dashboard lights not working
4) Washers not working at switch but do work when put power to

So anyway, he starts going round my car saying that the steering column is dangerous, it has the tiniest little bit if movement, like really tiny and he said the steering wheel would sheer off and impale the passenger in an accident!!
Then he says my brake light wiring that my mechanic friend did was so bad it will cause a fire. Said its choc bloc, which it isnt, and the power will melt the bloc!!
Then he said he needs the old fuse box, the completely rusty, water damaged one, because some fuse boxes have different pins. Then tells me the the bridge bit in one of my relays is a broken relay and going to cause a fire... its the bride thing for a poverty spec horn!

he tells me he can do it for £300 and can take the car tonight and it will be fine outside his house.
Bare in mind my car has no door handles on it. I said absolutely not no, my car is not sitting on the road under any circumstances.
he said he leaves all his cars outside his house and no-one will touch it, he leave them all unlocked apparently....

So at this point i was panicking and trying to get rid of him.
he sat there for about half an hour trying to convince me and then said he will come back sunday and do it on the drive but it will be more.

Honestly what is wrong with people. Im now scared my cars going to get stolen off my drive 

Re: horrible experience

Reply #1 – April 01, 2023, 10:18:20 AM

That’s a shocker. I can’t tolerate pushy people like that. I hope nothing more comes of it.

Re: horrible experience

Reply #2 – April 01, 2023, 10:34:15 AM

That’s awful

Re: horrible experience

Reply #3 – April 02, 2023, 12:00:10 PM

I havent heard anything from him yet, so i really hope he takes my silence as a polite 'go away'

Re: horrible experience

Reply #4 – April 02, 2023, 08:59:00 PM

first i thought he ruined the car and charged you a ton of money for it.

maybe a clear no, while tying to offend him as little as possible, would help.
you never know, if you don't still need him some day.

the issues, you have there, do not sound too complicated.
can't we sort it out somehow ?

Re: horrible experience

Reply #5 – April 03, 2023, 08:45:29 AM

Wow   How did you get on yesterday, did he come back?

Re: horrible experience

Reply #6 – April 03, 2023, 11:32:41 AM

no he didnt come back luckily!

there seems to be a problem with either the ring under the horn or the connection inside the horn for the earth, as if you touch the connector/tag bit on the column it works... this guys answer was to drill a hole through the steering wheel and wire in a new earth to the coulmn and wrap the wire round the wheel so it has enough wire when i turn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: horrible experience

Reply #7 – April 03, 2023, 02:20:41 PM

1) Horn not working, problem with earth at the wheel

Is it the original vw steering whee or an aftermarket one. When I bought my current mk2 the horn didn’t work. But it was a knockoff fake OMP wheel with a crappy Chinese boss. And the horn ring didn’t make contact. If it’s an OE wheel, which one is it. If it’s ate type I think they can have issue on the internal spring plate. Either way usually easily fixed.

Sorry if you’ve covered this elsewhere, assume you’ve applied power directly to the horn to check that works.

2) Rear fog not working

FYI although the lenses show both sides, one side is a dummy and the rear fog only works from factory for the drivers side. You can fit a bulb in the other side and wire it across if you fancy it.
 
Presume the bulb is ok and the terminal isn’t corroded in the lamp unit.


3) Dashboard lights not working

Just the instrument cluster or the entire dash lights; heater panel and switches too?

The dash illumination has a brightness roller switch on the main light switch. Just in case you’re not aware this has caught people out and just been turned down. Or potentially a faulty switch. Do they flash at all if you wiggle the switch.


4) Washers not working at switch but do work when put power to


Is the car dry inside, the fues box is unfortunately positioned in an area that is common for mk2s to leak water, so that the drip is directly above the box. This can be the single reason for multiple electrical issues.


But don’t worry, with a bit more info we can get to the bottom of it here collectively.

Re: horrible experience

Reply #8 – April 03, 2023, 03:20:12 PM

I agree with Tim, I'm sure we can solve this.
Just a shame you're not based in the south west, you could just bring it over and I could have a look.

Anyhow, can you get us a shot of the car with the steering wheel off, and the back of the steering wheel?
Like Tim said, it's just an issue with the contact there, might be an easy fix, might need a new wheel, either way, it'll be a better fix the a bloody piece of wire!!

Have you got a multimeter?
With a little bit of coaching, you can use it yourself and probably diagnose things better than that dodgy git!

Re: horrible experience

Reply #9 – April 03, 2023, 08:05:40 PM

Thanks guys,

So the steering wheel is this one... original i think...

296468275_10159533085053411_2163230753974469847_n by Michelle Hodder, on Flickr

As you can see it was in a real sorry state with the rest of the car so wouldnt surprise me if its corroded somewhere inside.
The back of the wheel makes contact with the tab but nothing when you push the horn. Strangely I have tried another original wheel and it also doesnt work?? If you touch the tab on the column bit with a power probe thing it does work so its the steering wheel with the issue i think.

The fog light i think will be a corroded wire, the car was full of water. the lights are in good shape internally and the switch has been replaced.

the dash illumination is the whole dash not just the clocks. ive replaced the light switch which helped the lights themselves to work but not the dash lights?

and lastly the washers....
the car is dry inside... now anyway. fuse box has been replaced, relays and fuses replaced, the washer pump makes a noise and has life if you put power directly to it with leads but nothing at the stalk. the stalks have also been replaced. which relay/fuse is it for the washer pump?

Re: horrible experience

Reply #10 – April 04, 2023, 03:47:49 AM

you may have a look at the library thread about the fusebox.

if i'm not mistaken:

hazard switch on the dashboard	->	ce1
hazard switch on the steering column	->	ce2

Re: horrible experience

Reply #11 – April 04, 2023, 08:17:30 AM

Ok, I have a feeling the power probe may be giving you a false positive on the horn.
Can you take a normal piece of wire and bridge between the tab and the metal of the steering column?
If it doesn't go off when the ignition is on, it's not your steering wheel.

Use this site for your fuse box information, at the bottom it has a description for the relays and fuses:
http://www.a2resource.com/electrical/CE2.html

You say you swapped the fuse box, did you do it, or did you get someone else to?
If you're happy pulling the box down and having a go, you could potentially use the above link to send test wires from the back of the fuse box (K/10 green/white) to the bulb holder itself. That'll tell you if you have a wire or something more wrong.

Re: horrible experience

Reply #12 – November 18, 2023, 08:37:46 AM

Hi,
I've not used the forum for a long while, was just having a quick look around.
Came across your horror story!!
Was just wondering if you got all your issues sorted out, I'm a old school auto electrician,  having done my apprenticeship on mk 2 golf's, jetta's, mk 1 caddy etc. Even remember pdi'ing brand new 16v golfs!!
If needed any help leave a reply.