electrical short

hi all. I have some questions. i had a short the other night in behind the speedo. there was a wire soldered between the dash light dimmer and the power to the headlights. It has been there for as long as i have had the car and never any trouble. well it shorted and burned out. so i replaced it and it did it again. i then left the wires seperate and all seems to work ok. can anyone tell me why it was there in the first place, it was not done professionally nor is original.

2nd. my speedo has stopped working continually. the speed needle works ok, but the distance counter starts and stops. how can i fix this.

3rd. On the dash is the aircon switches, there are the two dials (fan and Temp) and two on/off switches. THe left one seems to be for a fan booster, but what is the right one for?

4th. The aircon compressor does not work when i switch on the dial. that is to say the compressor clutch does not engage to drive the compressor. where are the fuses for it to check?

Thanks for any help i getting this sorted.

Mark

the speedo issue will most likely be one of the gears that drive the odometer wheels - pinion gear usually cracks under full load. Other possibility is that the wheels are not located on the shaft correctly so dont make proper contact with their teeth to one another.
Have to pull it apart to check all the gears and wheels etc..

It may have been a bypass on the headlight switch around the rheostat to keep the dash lights going, they burn out often and the dash lights dont work.

THey are also unfused too so any short melts wiring cos there is no fuse to blow.....well done VW!


If the A/C hasn't worked since you got the car it will be low on charge and the LP safety switch is stopping the compressor running.

Automotive A/C loses it gas charge if they go for long periods without being used as the compressor shaft seal drys out and the gas escapes.
Thats why the manuals tell you run the A/C atleast monthly even through winter to keep the seals oiled.

blutopless2 wrote:the speedo issue will most likely be one of the gears that drive the odometer wheels - pinion gear usually cracks under full load. Other possibility is that the wheels are not located on the shaft correctly so dont make proper contact with their teeth to one another.
Have to pull it apart to check all the gears and wheels etc..

I had a beetle one that the gear used to move away from the pinion gear... so wouldn't drive... just moved the bracket slightly
sometimes the gears actually come apart so would need replacing

LEE