Problem! Need some help.

[kg4fku]

Just bought a 2001 Beetle and have some issues. First, the cruise control doesn't work. Turned the switch on the left stalk to on and pushed the button on the end and nothing happends. Second, the heated mirrors don't work. Are these possible related in the power distrobution area. i don't have a maint. manual. I pulled and checked every fuse including under the hood and non were blown. Anyone have any ideas? Something I'm not looking for. The car is a five speed manual with the winter package.

Thanks
Chuck

[73standard]

I had the same problem with my old '99. Well the cruise control part any way. I'll see what I can find out, mine was never fixed.

[Growler]

join the club on the heated mirrors my friend.. most people dont understand how they work, or cant give you a straight answer, and therefore they have burnt out.

from what I understand if yours do not work, you need to physically replace the mirrors themselves as the heating elements are embedded in them. then you are on your own to decipher the way they actually work. and hope you dont burn them out again.

the cruise control is a harder issue to detect the problem on.
your brake light switch might not be adjusted properly, you could have a faulty speed sensor.. the ECU could possibly need recoded for it to work properly. (VAG COM is your friend with this one) I would try to find someone in your area who has a VAG COM and see if they can tell you if your ECU is coded properly, then have them check the operation of your cruise switch with the car running. etc etc... lots of ways to troubleshoot this one.

there is an awesome area on the www.tdiclub.com forums where you could search on what to do to check these things. also ROSS TECH (maker of vag com) has excellent writeups as well.

good luck!

and welcome aboard.

[Buglover]

I've allways had the same problem with "Doobie" The cruise works only with the lights in the off position.During the day the cruise works fine At night when I turn the lights on....no cruise control.

[John Koch]

There is a fuse that protects the heated mirrors and washer nozzles. It is fuse #1 and is a 10 amp fuse. In order for our heated mirrors to operate, the mirror control switch must be in the middle position and should be changed back to the drivers side once the mirrors have defrosted, ect. The mirrors are easy to replace, they just pop out. Using protective tape on the very bottom of inside of outer mirror housing, use a semi-right angle tool to gently pry out bottom of mirror. It will release from the bottom and the upper portion of mirror usually pops out of the motorized frame that holds the mirror in by inserting all three small round plastic portions into the corosponding holes. Once the bottom is loose, the remaining holds can be pryed loose with your fingers. Disconnect the heated mirror leads, observing which side goes to which side. They are color coded. Switch on mirror heat with ignition in the on position and with a digital multi-meter, measure the current accross the 2 leads. If no current is detected, the heated mirror switch could be bad.. If current is detected, than replacing the mirror will fix the non-working mirror heat. Re-installing the new mirror is easy if you observe the correct attachement of the 2 leads to the correct terminals. Just snap mirror nack into place and that's all. The heated mirrors are a part of the comfort module that may need to be scanned to check out any probs. with the heated mirrors.
The cruise control system is controlled and protected by 2 relays located on the lower relay panel that is located under the dash just to the left of the steering wheel and behind the knee panels. These relays are in position 2, marked with a 100 and is the load reduction relay. The other relay that is part of this system is relay number 4, with 409 marked on the relay, this one controls the fuel pump. The cruise control system is scannable for fault detection. It is inter-faced with the engine control, brake light switch and brake switch, and many other sensors, ect. Your best bet for a fix is to let VW scan with VAG-COM for a diagnosis and a repair... Good Luck, JK

[Fowvay]

We used a multimeter to assertain exactly when the mirror is on (2000GLX) and no matter what position my mirror control knob was or if the rear defroster was turned on or not I have juice going to my mirrors... no wonder they burnt out.

I haven't as of yet tried it with anyone elses bug but I will eventually... maybe...

[Fowvay]

Originally Posted by John Koch

Your best bet for a fix is to let VW scan with VAG-COM for a diagnosis and a repair... Good Luck, JK

or just have a freind with a VAG COM do it for you and save yourself $50-$100.

[Fowvay]

Now if the cruise control question. It has been mentioned before that if the ECU for some reason gets disconected the cruise control function will not work and you need to do a reset on the ECU.

I was warned of this when I got chipped and I did a reset immediatly after plugging the ECU back in.


You may just want to give that a try.. first to see if its something easy.

[kg4fku]

Originally Posted by Fowvay

Now if the cruise control question. It has been mentioned before that if the ECU for some reason gets disconected the cruise control function will not work and you need to do a reset on the ECU.

I was warned of this when I got chipped and I did a reset immediatly after plugging the ECU back in.


You may just want to give that a try.. first to see if its something easy.

How do I accomplish an ECU reset?

[Fowvay]

Originally Posted by kg4fku

How do I accomplish an ECU reset?

If you know someone with a Vag Com they can do a reset for you but otherwise you will have to have the dealer do it for you.