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Date:         Sat, 26 Aug 2006 16:15:37 -0700
Reply-To:     Mark Drillock <mdrillock@COX.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Mark Drillock <mdrillock@COX.NET>
Subject:      Re: Yet another turn signal L.E.D. data point...
Comments: To: Jim Felder <felder@KNOLOGY.NET>
In-Reply-To:  <E6A0A75C-5640-497E-9AF1-B3B0370DBD58@knology.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed

Bad ground, bad ground, bad ground......................

While the IC bulbs are mostly LEDs, the other dash bulbs are incandescent. Incandescent bulbs don't have polarity. If you apply the voltage to the ground leg and there is a reverse path backwards to ground, they can light up. Diodes won't do this, they only flow one direction. A bad ground further down stream can cause the voltage to backup in reverse flow. Like a plugged main sewer line can cause black water in the bathtub whenever the toilet is flushed.

VW screwed up the grounds for the dash as I have pointed out many times. Too many things share a single ground point. When the single point gets bad, the blocked voltage can try to flow current the wrong way in the other circuits.

Simply run an additional ground wire to the IC 14 pin connector. Be careful, different models are different. Some have 2 brown wires to the IC and later models have only 1. The ones with 2 brown wires are really screwy since one of the browns is just a continuation back out of the ground that came in on the other brown wire.

Peel back 1/4" of the insulation a few inches from the 14 pin connector on the brown wire that is supposed to be the real ground. Wrap the striped end of piece of wire around the now bare section and solder it on. Then screw the other end to bare metal.

Sorry for the plumbing analogy but it is almost right.

Mark

Jim Felder wrote: > While the turn signal light (proven to work in its circuit) doesn't > blink, the parking brake light DOES blink slightly, in sync with the > turn signal relay. > > ? > > Jim >


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