Airbag Fault light on 2006 Jetta & mysterious clunk in dashboard

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Chris - 08 Jan 2007 08:39 GMT

Hello all.

Ok, bought a 2006 Jetta 2.0T in August and yesterday got a "airbag
fault" warning on the MFD when I started it, and now the airbag light
is permanently lit. Called VW and taking it in for service on Tuesday
(gonna be "all day" according to them...at least there is a library
nearby...) and it is under warranty, so I am not worried about paying
(and no, I have not done anything out of the ordinary).

Just curious if anyone else has had a similar experience...

Also (and I am going to have them look for this gremlin in detail)
sometimes when I turn the car off (have not counted exactly, but feels
like about 1 time in 8) there is a *clunk* in the dashboard that sounds
exactly like the windshield wipers are being parked when you turn them
off. Now, the wipers were never turned on to begin with, so I dunno
what is going on here. When I went in for an oil change, they looked
at it a bit but could not duplicate it. Only common theme I have
noticed is that it usually happens when I come home at night (16 mile
drive, nothing out of the ordinary). The car does not have any
automatic light/wiper sensors or anything like that. Maybe something
to do with the headlight circuit, but again, there is no rhyme or
reason other than that.

Anyone had this happen to em?

I'm trying to be positive and think that these are little bugaboos and
that I am not getting bit by the notorious "poor VW electrical system"
but can't help but feel a bit concerned...

Any and all info is greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

-Chris

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JRE - 08 Jan 2007 11:03 GMT

<snip>

> Also (and I am going to have them look for this gremlin in detail)
> sometimes when I turn the car off (have not counted exactly, but feels
> like about 1 time in 8) there is a *clunk* in the dashboard that sounds
> exactly like the windshield wipers are being parked when you turn them
> off. <snip>

On some cars, the heating/cooling system flaps are driven by motors and
there are no position sensors. The computer drives them for a specified
interval and assumes they have reached the desired positions. The
computer will completely open or close them periodically when the car is
turned off to make sure they are where it thinks they are.

If one of the motors isn't working right, I can imagine that the
computer *might* drive it hard against the fully-opened or -closed
position and make a noise. But this is all speculation because (a) I've
no clue whether VW has this kind of system and (b) I have never seen one
that's not working right. Or--the system could be working perfectly,
but something meant to stop the sound (like a piece of foam rubber) was
not installed or fell off after manufacturing. This, of course, is
still more speculation.

Good luck,

JRE

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samstone@aol.com - 10 Jan 2007 09:54 GMT

><snip>
>> Also (and I am going to have them look for this gremlin in detail)
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
>computer will completely open or close them periodically when the car is
>turned off to make sure they are where it thinks they are.

JRE , you were very close given the clue ( in the dashboard ) .
The clunk was a system resetting itself. The 'groundfault ' error for
the airbag system leaves me wondering , how did the shop know it was
going to be an all day thing?

>If one of the motors isn't working right, I can imagine that the
>computer *might* drive it hard against the fully-opened or -closed
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
>
>JRE

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Chris - 10 Jan 2007 14:31 GMT

samst...@aol.com wrote:

> ><snip>
> >> Also (and I am going to have them look for this gremlin in detail)
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
> the airbag system leaves me wondering , how did the shop know it was
> going to be an all day thing?

Good question. The guesstimate came when I asked on the phone if they
had any idea how long it would be in the shop. The tech said "oh,
airbag fault? It'll be in all day". Could mean a bunch of things:
Labor intensive job to repair; a common problem; or just a stock
answer. I dunno. I dropped it off at 8.30 and they called at 1615 to
say it was ready.

-Chris

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Torky - 10 Jan 2007 05:21 GMT

I have a 2006 GTI that does exactly the same thing. I can see the
passenger side wiper move about 0.2" up or down. This happens
alternately; after bumping up, the next time it would bump down. I'm
thinking it's not a gremlin, but a feature! I think VW implemented it
to keep the wiper blades from taking a "set" during periods of non-use.
The movement is just enough to flip the blade in the opposite
direction. Of course, I could be all wet. Watch the blade a few times
to see if you can catch it in the act. It drove me nuts until I saw
what was happening.

Torky

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Chris - 10 Jan 2007 08:12 GMT

> > Also (and I am going to have them look for this gremlin in detail)
> > sometimes when I turn the car off (have not counted exactly, but feels
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
>
> Torky

You hit it right on the head. Took it in today, and when I got it back
they explained that the wipers can be in Position 0 (parked) or
Position 1 (about a cm up from parking location) where it is "ready" to
be deployed, as per the rain sensor. (kinda neat, did not realize the
car had one). Anyways, it does not always have to be raining to
activate the sensor, hence the move from position 0 to 1, and
converesely it going back to 0 when you turn it off. I watched for it
today when I shut it down and finally caught the movement.

So the mystery clunk is a mystery no more, and better yet, not an
indicator of a problem.

As for the airbag fault, there was a short in the wiring harness
somewhere that led to a ground fault. Evidently they had to yank the
entire seat before they could get to it, and had to replace a chunk of
the harness itself. What a mess. No wonder they had it all day.

So, back on the road and all seems well. Still the occasional clunk,
but no more airbag fault, so I guess I am happy on both counts!

Thanks for the replies.

-Chris

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