Spoiler sluggish going down & blows fuses

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Due to the search being absolutely t0ss, I thought I'd run this by you....

 

After 4 years, my spoiler has decided to misbehave. It occassionally blows fuses on the way up and on the way down, it's really slow and juddery.

 

I'm guessing there is some mechanical resistance. I've lubed the tubes, no joy. I suppose it's pointing to a new mech and motor, are they uber pricey? I guess they're sealed units and non servicable? Just asking now as I'm going to the dealer soon and will just order the parts unless anyone has an alternative plan?

 

Cheers

[Jim 2]

You can actually totally strip the spoiler mech and clean it mate. There is a really good guide on Vortex.. i'll dig it out for you.

 

I reckon thats all it needs.

[Jim 2]

Here you go cheesy!

 

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=3085588

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Ah you absolute star (again!).....

 

Just aswell too because get this....

 

Spoiler motor - £175 + VAT - Obsolete

 

Gearbox + motor assembly - £620+ VAT!!

 

VW are cheeky w@nkers for obsoleting the motor as a seperate part....

[Jim 2]

I think I have an old spoiler mech somewhere in case yours is broke and / or needs some parts.. just let me know and i'll try and find it!

[Yandards 0]

Ah you absolute star (again!).....

 

Just aswell too because get this....

 

Spoiler motor - £175 + VAT - Obsolete

 

Gearbox + motor assembly - £620+ VAT!!

 

VW are cheeky w@nkers for obsoleting the motor as a seperate part....

 

Not suprising though, just another potential hurdle in long term C ownership :cry:

[dinkus 10]

Spooky - mine's started doing exactly the same thing in the last week.

 

It's munched through 2 fuses already, so might be stripping the damned spoiler mech at the weekend...

[Kevin Bacon 5]

OK, I stripped it all down and both cables / tubes and the motor were rusted up. As per the Vortex thread, my motor also started smoking and smelling bad when using the manual switch, so it was under a lot of strain.

 

Basically all you need to do is strip it all down, clean all the moving parts, grease her up and it's back to full health again :-)

 

Jim, yes please to the mech mate if it's complete?

[double-6s 0]

I've noticed mine wobbling up and down like a good un at the moment. Something else destroyed by the RSS's me thinks :(

[Kevin Bacon 5]

The spolier panel itself is wobbly or just a jerky action as it goes up and down?

 

If the latter, it's strip down and regrease time!

 

If the former, raise the spoiler manually (with the crank under the tailgate cover or the electric switch) and check the 5mm allen bolt in each spoiler strut, they could be loose. Every bolt related to the spoiler is factory loctited for obvious reasons, so go easy when undoing / tightening them!

[double-6s 0]

Cheers Kev.

 

It's the former. Goes up and down smooth as you like, but wobbles when it's up as if it's loose.

 

I'll have a look for those allen bolts. Surely something on my car isn't going to turn out to be the cheap/easy fix?!!! :)

[Kevin Bacon 5]

It could also be the little black plastic struts themselves, they sometimes wear out!

 

It's a very simple system mate, I reckon you'll find the cause soon enough!

[StuartFZR400 0]

Useful thread for future reference guys - thanks Jim & kev

[double-6s 0]

Is the spoiler on a seperate fuse (lost page 100 out of my book!) or does it share with other bits and bobs?

[Kevin Bacon 5]

It shares the fuse with the sunroof, immobiliser (on CP ECUs) and some of the dashboard gubbins.

 

VW were a bit daft sharing the fuse because if you've got a Storm or 95 VR6, if the spoiler blows the fuse, you can't start the car again :lol:

 

I can't remember the fuse position but it's 15A and about 3/4 the way along from the left.

[ben16v 0]

dunno if this will be of any use

[dinkus 10]

Fuse 16 I believe, but it's written on the back of the fusebox cover anyway...

[double-6s 0]

Fuse box cover? Think i've got one somewhere but didn't bother putting it back on as fuses blow so often!

[mattkh 0]

VW were a bit daft sharing the fuse because if you've got a Storm or 95 VR6, if the spoiler blows the fuse, you can't start the car again :lol:.

 

Dead right.

It is fuse 16.

Given that the fuse blows due to the spoiler while the car is on the road, how come the engine keeps runnning BUT if you stop, turn the engine off then it wont start until fuse 16 is replaced.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Cheers Ben, good pic!

 

It's the cables that push the spoiler struts up that sieze and also the motor itself, it gets a lot of rust and carbon inside itself, making it difficult to turn. Quite a few people think the struts are the cause of jamming, but they're not, they slide very easily, even when covered in grime and dirt.

 

The engine runs when fuse 16 blows because the ECU to immobiliser "handshake" only takes place during engine start. Once the engine is running, the ECU doesn't care..... it's a saftey mechansim.

 

On a different note, I took the tuning resistor out of my spoiler control module last night and it now goes up at 65mph, which is a bit more like it.

I'd like it to drop at 40mph aswell, but it's quite a [overly]complicated controller so I haven't worked it out yet.....