deag

Hi, Having recently taken ownership of a much-fettled 16v C, I'm slowly putting it to right. One thing that became obvious over the weekend is that the susp is far from how it should be. At about 65 and above, the car feels very nervous, and seems to want to change direction at any bump in the road. This seems bloody strange for a german car, especially an ueber coupé, as they usually runs shed-loads of castor. When I loaded up with three mates and some luggage, the rear bottomed out, almost constantly. I knew the bumpstops looked dodgy, but now I reckon they're buggered. But I'm also concerned my C has had a botched ride-height mod. Does anyone know how I can measure the ride-height, or what the original spec would be? It's currently on some R17 205/45s, which I think will contribute to the crap handling, but anyone had similar experiences with either wheel changes or ride-height changes? Any advice/debate would be welcomed! Thanx, deag.

I need some advice. with the onset of cold weather I'm seeing some bubbles in my paintwork, on the front right fender. What can I do to rescue the situation. Don't want to spend too much, it's a pretty old car after all! deag.

any recommendations? Also where might I get it fitted in a morning (cheshire/manc area) A friend recommends "Magic Key", as it's simple, easy and to the necessary standard. Also, any advice on "Stop-Lock" devices? I'm told that anything less than the full-on disc-lock (covering the whole wheel) ain't worth it. Advice most appreciated, want to get these jobs done this weekend! Thanx, deag.

get one from scrappy, probably a passat will use the same part I've not removed one, but it looks pretty complex, because of the lack of access. deag.

don't run to garage just yet. Unless I'm mistaken, the central locking and the windows are entirely seperate on the '90 16v. At least they are on mine. Have you an aftermarket alarm or something on the car? deag.

Hi, I've a problem with my main beam indicator (blue bulb in dash) It doesn't light up fully when main beam is on (it's lit up, but very very faintly). It does however light up properly when the stalk is pulled back to turn main beam on or off. Happened to anyone else? I'm thinking it's something in the switch contacts? Any ideas? Is this an easy thing to fix? does it involve removal of the steering wheel? cheers, deag.

cheers mate, :) looks like I've a job lined up for this evening then! As for flushing, what's involved? a flushing agent? deag.

Hey, on a recent oil-change, I put about 4.5 to 4.75 into my 1.8 16v engine. It's now reading well over the max, just wondering how much the engine would normally hold? I thought about 4 litres, and was surprised to see it so far over the max. Is it worth draining the excess? deag.

do you know what type of window circuit it is? I think a 94 has an ECU, in which case can't help. But if it's the old-style, six pins to a switch, I might be of use... deag.

shouldn't the door open with the key anyways? I've had my battery disconnected for ages now, and can happily lock and unlock the doors. Although I think this is more to do with american "power-seatbelts" than central locking systems being down... Either way, the doors should open regardless of what the electrics want to do. Howelse would you get out if you went into a river/pond? deag.

Tis a smooth filter alright, and I've been crushing it with the strap. Will do some more crushing, f-ing and blinding tonight! Bloody halfords filters.... Thanks for the wise words. deag.

There must be something I'm missing.... How should the oil filter be removed? Presumabely just screws out, correct? So why is mine refusing to budge, even though I'm crushing the filter with the wrench? I am afraid of putting anymore force on it in case I either rip the cooler out, or pierce the filter, in which case the car is stuck until I can get it off! Someone please tell me I'm missing something here!!! :x :x :mad: deag.

oh yeah? I read recently the porsche cabon ceramic discs were cracking regularly, replacements every 5000 miles. They are cross-drilled, but just not in the right places, as you mentioned. Too many holes, in the wrong places... deag.

Can you try tightening those cables? "some slack" is allowable, but if it's excessive, that might explain the misalignment. can you see the motor working when the window gets to the top? Does it stop the window, or vice versa? Get an Amp-meter on the motor during running the window up, see if the load peaks near the top. if not, I think you know where the problem is... deag.

-something blocking the glass? - check the seals, guide rails etc. -window electronics mistake their position (I think this will depend on model, as mine doesn't have that complex a system, but I've known other cars where windows loose their position, due to elec faults) you've probably covered these already though... I'll keep thinking. deag.

Russ, by all means wire the motors up direct, but do it with the wiring into one of the switches (ie one of the red ones, and one of the brown returns). This way all you'll blow is the 20A fuse. :) So take one red wire, and one brown wire. Before you connect them to the motor, check there's 12V across them. Then take out the fuse, wire them in, put the fuse back in and see what happens. Even if the window is fully up, and you've wired it to go up, you'll hear it engage, and see the door frame flex slightly. If there's no life at this point, do the same wiring on the opposite motor (chances are both won't be blown). If at this point, you still have no life, I suggest trying a different motor (one you know is working), or some different actuator (for example the power mirrors) Also check the wiring along as much of it as can be seen. Make sure no other wires have been introduced along the lengths. Basically, the loom should be unbroken from each door to the fuse board (you may have to remove pass and driver's knee-rolls to do this). If someone's frigged with the wiring, you'll probably be able to see it, and hence put it right. I hope you can get something out of that, if not, keep posting.... deag.

check the following... are all switches wired in? did you check the 20A fuse (not on the fuse-board, but on a seperate wire)? do the switches light up when the vehicle lights are on? Do you have a multimeter? if so check the voltage between the red wire coming into a switch, and any brown or black/blue wire going into the switch (there are two of each). there should be a 12V difference. Also, check the same from the red/blue wire coming into the switch to the brown and blue/black wires.... what does the alarm do? Or, well, what should it do? Is it meant to close windows as well as lock doors? If so then this is most likely to be the problem. Don't despair, things can be put right! :lol: I've just been through the mill with my 1990 16v puppy, and if I can get them working, anyone can!!!! :) deag.

Sorry for the delay... I wanted to double check the details of the pass circuit... But here's how I think it should be from new for the six pin switch... driver's door; you have 8 leads coming to the pass window switch 2 red (12v feed for window motor switch circuit, 1 for drivers door switch, 1 for pass door) 2 brown (0v return for window motor switch circuit and switch illumination circuit) 2 red/blue (12V feed for illumination, one for driver's door switch, one for pass door switch) 1 green 1 black (green and black should be connected to the 2 blue/black wires on the switch, or basically the outer switch terminals. these take a switch signal from the driver's door, and transfer it to the pass door) There are four of these wires running directly to the pass door, 1 red, 1 blue/red, 1 black, 1 green Pass door; four wires from driver's door, 2 from pass window motor 1 red (12v feed, as above) 1 red/blue (12v feed, as above) 1 black (signal from driver's door, connect this to the brown wire from the switch, or one of two inner terminals on switch) 1 green (as for the black, connect to other brown wire from switch, or other inner terminal) 2 blue/black (connect to two outer switch terminals) the difficulty is which of the red and red/blue wires go to which of the middle terminals (considering the six terminals as two mirrored sets of three; outer, middle, inner..). you'll know if it's wrong when you turn on the lights (if the switch lights up or the window motor engages). also, on the driver's door pass window switch wiring, which of the green and black wire goes to which ot the inner terminals is not clear. Basically, if the window goes up when you press down, change these two.... and that's it.... any questions let me know, and I'll see if I can help. a new camera should be on it's way as I type, so expect a how-to or similar in a few weeks... deag.

kvwloon, I think your earlier assumptions are right. You can't fit five pin switches in place of six pin switches without the controller somewhere in the loop. So that means changing the wiring loom, as I think the controller has an extra fuse in the circuit. I can't say for sure, I'm only familiar with my car, which has the six-pin version. If bigpants or someone knows better, then maybe you can... deag.

Guys, I might be able to help!! I finally figured what was with my switches. :lol: The pass circuit is a bit strange... :roll: :roll: davidwort, the reason you have a wire coming in the live feed and straight back out again, is it is the live feed for the switch in the pass door. Have a look at the resistance between them (remove the fuse first). It should be 2 knats whiskers either side of 0. Basically, the driver's window switch is straight forward. To the switch from the car you have two 12V feeds (Red for the motor, red and blue for the switch light), and 2 GND wires (both brown in my car). Then you have two wires from the switch to the motor (both blue/black in my car). For a six-pin plug, the blue/black wires go to the two outer pins, then the two 12V feeds, then in the centre the returns. Not figured yet where each feed should go, or that it matters! Basically, if your windows go down when you switch the lights on, but the switch is permanently lit up, change the two feeds!!!! the pass circuit is a bit different. In the driver's door you have a switch with 10 wires coming to it, four of which go over to the switch in the pass door (two feeds, two GNDs). These four are where I was getting confused. And still am, a bit. Let me look at it tonight and I'll figure how it should be, and get back to you. might even do a "how 2" when I get a digital camera on the go! hope this has helped a bit, keep pestering me if I forget to fully explain this tomorrow!

......so look at the bottom of the grab handle, notice the slot for a flat-head screwdriver, or similar. Insert the screwdriver, and pull the front cover away from the grab handle. There you'll see the two major screws holding the panel in place (hope I'm not being too explicit, but it took me two days to figure this one out myself!!!) :oops: So screws (two at each end, two major behind grab handle), door lever, as mentioned, some poppers, and lift it away. deag.

neither switch works. I swapped the motors over, so ran the pass window off the driver's side switch circuit. So I know the glass moves, but I think the controller (if I have one) must be knackered for the pass window circuit! deag.

no controller? really? I'm a bit confused. I think I have a faulty controller, because I know my pass window switches have power, seem to make the appropriate contact, but they won't move the window. However, after a bit of messing last night, I get the pass window moving from the driver's window switch. So I think the controller for pass window is buggered. ...presuming I have one!!! Having moved the window for the first time in probably two years, it did need a good few gos to unjam itselt. Has anyone else had experience of sticky windows? Mine are very slow on the way up.... looking forward to the advice bigpants!! deag.

David, From my initial investigations, I think the windows are always live anyway, so can be operated without ignition. there's a 20A fuse you can remove, which will kill this feed, if it's really troubling you. kvwloon, I've a complete mix of switches, one with six wires to the back (which seems to have been the way for pre 1992 VWs), one with five plugs, which ain't wired in, and another unknown switch, with seven terminals (one wire serving two). I've never really noticed much of an improvement from six to five terminals, to be honest, but given the "love" my C has seen in it's life, this may be understandable! :roll: If I ever get the pass window working, I'll update.... cheers, deag.

If you could tell me how many pins/wires you have on your switch when you get a chance, I'd appreciate.... I'm having some similar issues myself :x :x :x :mad: thanks, deag.