<div dir="ltr"><div class="im"><div><div><div>I'll also add the following:<br></div>When I pull out the emergency flasher switch, all 4 blinkers work as they should and are at the proper (bright!) brightness level. This is true whether the headlights are turned on or off.<br>
<br></div>Based on this, I think I need to find out what pathway is different between emergency flash mode (in which all 4 blinkers work as they should whether headlights are on or off), connecting +49 of the relay to terminal 30 of the fuse box (in which all 4 blinkers work as they should whether headlights are on or off), and the normal turn signal pathway (in which the L side fast blinks all the time, and R side fast blinks when headlights are on).<br>
<br></div><div>One hypothesis is that the emergency switch is bad or the wiring is messed up there.<br></div><div><br></div>
<br>
</div><div class="gmail_extra"><div class="gmail_quote"><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">The fast blink indicates that the circuit is not drawing the expected<br>
amount of current. Usually this means a burned out bulb. The<br>
headlight affecting this indicates that the ground for those lights<br>
is not good. The ground goes to a screw under the cardboard at the<br>
front corner of the trunk, next to the front corner of the gas tank.<br>
Loosen that screw, clean it a bit, put some grease on it to slow down<br>
future corrosion, and retighten. While you're at it, do this on both<br>
sides.<br>
<div class="im"><br></div></blockquote><div><br>I looked at the grounds in the trunk and they look pretty crummy. In
fact, I had difficulty loosening either screw. I will put some
penetrating oil on those to see if I can loosen them without stripping
the heads. But, if my 4-way emergency blinkers work and the turn signals
work when +49 is connected to 30, wouldn't that indicate that there is
no ground problem?<br><br></div><div>One other reason which makes me think I may have a ground/wiring issue is that the needle on the fuel gauge "wiggles" slightly when the turn signals are acting up. This, of course, does not happen when using the emergency flashers or when +49 is connected to 30.<br>
</div><div><br> </div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div class="im">
> I performed the test in Bentley (with key off, connecting +49 terminal of<br>
> emergency flasher to terminal 30 of fuse box and test turn signals) and<br>
> both left and right work perfectly, at the correct speed, regardless of<br>
> whether my headlights are on or off. According to Bentley, this means my<br>
> switch and relay are OK.<br>
<br>
</div>I wasn't familiar with this test, but notice that the next sentence<br>
in the bentley says to check the switch if the TSs still do not work.<br>
<br></blockquote><div><br></div><div>Indeed, the issue I have is that, when performing this test, everything works great. According to Bentley, this means my flasher and relay are good. Do the switches ever go bad? <br>
</div><div><br> </div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">
The test I generally do is to check operation with the 4 way flasher.<br>
If all the bulbs light equally bright (test at night is best) then<br>
the bulbs, wiring and relay are okay. That just leaves the TS switch<br>
as the possible problem. If the headlights affect the test, the front<br>
grounds are the problem.<br>
<br>
If you do my test at night, I think you'll find that the RF TS bulb<br>
is dim, or maybe it just goes out completely when you turn the<br>
headlights on (or the R headlight flickers in time with the TS relay,<br>
and the RF TS bulb flashes out of phase with the RR bulb.)<br>
<br>
What's happening is that the headlight filaments are acting as a<br>
ground pathway for the RF TS bulb, when the headlights are off. But<br>
when you turn the headlights on, that path no longer leads to ground.<br>
<br></blockquote><div class="im"><br></div><div class="im">I'll give this test a shot later tonight and check. I did not note any dimming of the RF TS bulb, but I wasn't paying that close of attention to it either. I'll report if I find anything.<br>
</div><div class="im"><br><br>
> What is left? Presumably it is wiring, but what am I bypassing by directly<br>
> connecting +49 of the relay to terminal 30 of the fuse box? Why can't this<br>
> be a permanent fix?<br>
<br>
</div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">The + terminal normally gets power from the 4 way flasher switch,<br>
from different sources depending on that switch position. The allows<br>
that circuit to be off when the key is off, unless you pull out the 4<br>
way flasher switch. Bypassing this permanently could lead to a<br>
"surprise" at some future point when you're troubleshooting and not<br>
expecting that circuit to be hot. It could also lead to a dead<br>
battery if something when wrong with that circuit when the car was<br>
parked.<br>
<span class=""><font color="#888888"><br></font></span></blockquote><div><br></div><div>Your "surprise" point is well taken. I was, in fact, surprised when I connected +49 of the relay to terminal 30 on the fuse box. When I connected these, I heard the fuel pump relays click, which is not at all what I was expecting and, from looking at the wiring diagram, I cannot see why that happened. Any ideas?<br>
<br>After I clean up the grounds, I'm starting to think I need to pull my emergency switch and check all the connections. I am fairly certain that the PO installed a new wiring harness (unless VW used universal harnesses) because my wiring harness contains wiring for an AT car, even though mine is a MT. I also vaguely recall hearing about an engine fire, which may have necessitated a new harness.<br>
<br>I do not have the tool to pull the switches, is there a home-made solution I can use to perform this task?<br></div><div><br><br><br><br><br></div></div></div></div>