Dealer Tells Customer: "JUNK YOUR CAR!" (VW Beetle)

I got a call from the owner of this nice 2007 VW Beetle for a second opinion.
He said the local VW Dealer suggested that he JUNK HIS CAR, since they couldn't get the parts to fix it!!
WHAT?!?
Let's address the customer complaints:
-Parasitic Drain
-Melted Alternator Wire Terminal
-Check Engine Light caused by a P0411 Air Injection fault.
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Ivan

[@kastooMcFry]

Goes to show you that dealers don't have your best interest at heart. They want you to junk a car over a bad crimp. Thanks for taking us along, Ivan!

[@volvo09]

That "we have to replace X entire assembly cuz liability" is getting more and more common. Not a big deal for us, but really screws over unknowing people, and people that are stuck having to go somewhere.

[@billmoran3812]

The dealers, especially VW/ Audi etc will only “repair” with new factory parts. This is what you get when the lawyers rule a company. All the more reason why Right to Repair is a critical issue. More and more, it’s becoming questionable who actually owns your car. Do you own it, or are you just paying to use it?

[@kastooMcFry]

​ @Bill Moran Very good observation, Bill. Totally agree. Cars are almost like cellphones now, where you are forced to replace them after x number of years. I hate it and drive my cars until the wheels fall off. I have a VAG-com to service Audis. Its necessity proves your point as to the importance of the Right To Repair issue. Without that VAG-com tool, working on those cars outside of the dealership is pretty much impossible.

[@K.Kelly87]

@@kastooMcFry Truth.

[@rmckelvy15]

@@volvo09 yep have to replace that piece

[@terryharvey4811]

Dealer techs, especially the high end German badges, are trained to repair in a corporate approved manner. This means no terminal repair, but replace the entire harness with NEW factory part. If part is no longer available from factory, car is unrepairable. This is corporate's guidelines, not necessarily dealerships choice in the matter. Now an indy shop is different. I just replaced the battery fuse box and rewired the AC/cooling fan power supply on a 2000 Beetle. HAPPY CUSTOMER, his car was repaired, HAPPY TECH, he paid me.

[@brandonfriesen5389]

Finally a competent comment. I service advised for 7 years, mostly at Toyota. The techs always want to help the customer, but there’s so many operating procedure guidelines from the manufacturer, that they end up making people mad by just doing their jobs. It’s sad that nobody understands this. The way I put it when I had an outrageous estimate over something I knew could be fixed for so much less is I told the customer that the manufacturer supplies parts to put that component in your car in new/factory condition which isn’t always necessary. I would recommend a shop next door who was highly rated and I would always get a firm handshake for being honest and be done with it. Dealers really should stick to servicing and repairing newer cars because after that, the parts catalogue and pricing is unreasonable.

[@mikeschiavoni5973]

Funny thing is many buyers are going to japanese or american vehicles or going to euro repair shops for billions in net loss. I bet 95% of euro auto corp execs cant change a tire and get manucures. Hence why european cars are loosing thier apeal.

[@thatguy7085]

Agree, Lexus has told me the same thing. If their supply chain doesn’t provide the parts anymore, the car is unserviceable… even if someone else has the correct parts. You just need to find someone else to do the work.

[@shiivd]

Absolutely true, we aren't allowed to do repairs like this even if we want to, we have to "do it the right way" and replace the harness. The instrument cluster draw likely is only the cluster lighting up with the door open, it will turn off after some time causing no parasitic draw. Aftermarket radios are nice to solve radio involved parasitic draw problems until you start running into immobilizer problems, you can not do anything with these beetles(program keys, remote fob learning, adapting many parts) without disconnecting the aftermarket radio. If you don't know this you can end up chasing your tail into oblivion just trying to adapt simple components, just a heads up! Very good video.

[@dont-want-no-wrench]

that's just crazy, how do you think the customer will view the brand after an encounter like that?

[@garrettlindgren4626]

Too many dealerships try the 'your vehicle is unfix-able, but we'll make you a sweet trade in deal if you purchase a new car' scam. Recently, my neighbor (a female senior citizen) had brought her spotless 2006 Toyota Camery to the dealer for an oil change and a complaint of a braking issue. After the oil change, she was presented with a list of over $8,000.00 in "necessary repairs". They recommended she accept a trade in offer and purchase of a new car. Thankfully, she told them she would like to go home and think it over. She showed me the list which included among other things, major oil leaks (head gasket, rear main seal), all new front end parts, etc. (I crawled under her car and found no signs of any fluid leaks). They did note that there were no issues with her brakes (her only complaint) but that she would need the brake fluid flushed at her next oil change. I had her take her car to my mechanic for a complete inspection of her vehicle. The result? NONE of the items noted by the dealer were valid. The car needed front brakes and clean brake fluid. It cost her around $200.00 as opposed to over $8,000.00. Needless to say, she now is a regular customer of my mechanic.

[@PineHollowAutoDiagnostics]

Nice 👌

[@elephant1992]

That pretty cheap brakes and brake flush for $200 bucks

[@jays106]

@@elephant1992 brakes for a Camry are not all that expensive so depending on labor rate sounds about right

[@justanothertroll9476]

Somebody at the dealer wanted this car probably for their kid and thought I would just give this customer line of crap to get his car for nothing

[@mbasiletti]

Speculating that the parasitic drain caused a flat battery on several occasions- and the car was jumped and run with the alternator doing the job of charging a fully dead batter- hence very high current across that terminal connection. That was when it melted the insulation etc. If the battery has some charge remaining, it may get warm but not excessively hot. Lesson- charge a dead battery with a dedicated charger, don't rely on the car's systems to do that from a fully discharged state.

[@zochpeter]

no. that cable running from alternator + post and the crimp connector and nuts holding the fuses is VW issue since gen4. all golfs, jettas, audis, seats and skodas, basically all across the same platform that utilize the fuse fox on top of the battery. for the parasitic draw, my bet is on door lock mechanism micro switches, all dead and the car never goes to sleep.

[@davidburman451]

@@zochpeter Peter...you nailed it my 02 Beetle had a MAJOR meltdown and no one would even look at it. I decided I wanted to keep it as I have a pickup to daily drive ....I wound up spending 6 months sorting it all out. Spent hours on the forums learning what to do. But I narrowed it down to the drivers door latch begining the avalanche of problems. That wire from the alt to the battery is barely adequate at best mine melted at the alternator post as I had cleaned the fuse box side much earlier. The alt actually took fire while my son was driving ! Flames and everything. It was the dead of winter at night so maximum draw....everything was turned on. A new alt didnt fix it however much damage was done....the cluster malfuntioned...the body control module acted up and more. The battery grounds to the body under the battery box ! Out of sight its rarely considered...on an older car its always corroded bad. The is also a major junction in the footwell behind trim by your left foot. On mine the sunroof drains were clogged and and water was getting behind the dash and down there. Those connectors were badly corroded too. The list goes on and on but I had zero to lose except my time and eventually located and cleaned ALL the grounds under the dash....replaced the ECU with a used but immoblizer deleted. With the used replacement cluster the keys dont work....an pirate VagTac was unable to extract my pin codes. I even built a proper ECU test bench for it.....no luck. Now its just purring...never ran better....really enjoyable little car because I've gone through it completely upgrading and fixing.. But I believe the door module was at least the trigger for all this

[@stuartbear922]

@@davidburman451, you could get a job training VW techs. Or, fix up Beetles as a hobby business. You learned the car, the system and the faults!

[@davidburman451]

@@stuartbear922 Thanks Stuart...I've been around machinery and vehiches all my life. This one was almost out of my reach trying to figure it out. Thats why there are so many really nice Beetles in the wrecking yards. People are not to bother repairing them. Its a shame because up and running its a fun car. Just full of "bugs" .

[@panzerveps]

Nope. This is a common fault on ALL VAG with that fuse box over the battery.

[@OzFrog48Z]

I worked at a Nissan dealer in the early two thousands. If a car came in under warranty with a bad ABS sensor connector we were not allowed to repair or splice in a new connector. The entire ABS wiring harness had to be replaced because of liability concerns. Dealers are fair game for law suits because they have deep pockets. Unfortunately that's one reason they want to replace rather than repair components.

[@Garth2011]

Also, attorneys tend to find that most folks on a jury have no idea about fair auto repair procedures, OEM or not which allows those same attorneys to make up stories and situations that will sway them into thinking the car dealership is god and didn't do gods work. Brakes are never an area to skimp on, ever.

[@JeffDeWitt]

Ahh... the blood sucking liars... er lawyers strike again.

[@captaindunsell8568]

That’s a BS line from the dealer… Dealer can always give you the option to repair and a release of any liability waiver for the repair. The repair portion of dealers are usually a separate business from the sales side. The real issue is that the dealer makes a ton of money for the parts and the hours to repair.

[@OzFrog48Z]

@@captaindunsell8568 I was referring to warranty work. I'm sure Nissan would rather pay one half hour to repair a harness connector but we had to replace the whole harness and it cost them 6 hours of labor. Liability waivers aren't worth the paper they're printed on. A court will always side with the consumer. Our current shop (not a dealer) installed a customer supplied used transmission. It failed after 6 months. We were forced to fix it even though the customer signed a so called waiver stating we weren't responsible for a customer supplied part. He took us to small claims court and said he didn't understand the document he signed. The shop is always at fault in the real world. Judges don't have a clue.

[@jeremyhanna3852]

That's actually federal law no repairs on abs harness

[@conrailfan6277]

The Dealership saw you Ivan and was like Damn, we can't Bull Crap this guy!!!! Nice fix and no parts required!!!

[@rrmech11]

Haha

[@InsideOfMyOwnMind]

Correction...radio.😋 seriously though I'm surprised he could just put in an aftermarket unit because some late model cars now integrate critical vehicle functions into the radio.

[@rrmech11]

@@InsideOfMyOwnMind yes your right. Heard stories about BMW. ( Bring My Wallet ) Cars. Replacement of factory radios will give you a no crank or no start.

[@dcomputers]

Sometimes you have to be careful with some shops and salvage yards. I went to a salvage yard looking for a used head. This salvage yard does not allow you to pull part so you need to wait in lobby. The guy comes out with a head with bent valves and tried telling me it's not bent and questioning if your a mechanic.

[@a.j.rainey3024]

With the economy in the tank, novice backyard mechanics appreciate your videos. Not everyone can afford dealership or independent shop rates. You take time to explain your troubleshooting thought process which helps owners understand the dozens of complicate stems in our vehicles.

[@williamsanders6092]

complicated systems in our vehicles?

[@michaeldunagan8268]

It's just not the financial cost-it's also about competency or negligent or intentional low morale screwing over the repair. I've seen many videos on KZbin's where the channel has found a bolt that was replaced or a wire was broken in half for this and that was loose after another mechanic worked on the vehicle.

[@TonyRule]

That "liability" is a cop out. They may have thought there was a short to ground somewhere else that caused the insulation burn at the terminal. That shows how little they understand about circuits or how outright dodgy they are - neither is a good look.

[@averyalexander2303]

I agree. Although to be fair, I do see how they wouldn't want to risk replacing the terminal especially if the tech didn't have a good understanding of what caused it to burn up. While you or I or Ivan would have realized the connection was simply bad and got overloaded when the alternator was trying to recharge the dead battery, the tech may have been thinking "if I modify the wiring (potentially against policy?) and for some reason the car burns down and burns down someone's house or garage, I will probably lose my job". Legally, replacing the entire harness with a new, unmodified one is a much safer bet because then if something happened the liability would fall on the manufacturer of the harness rather than the tech unless it could be proven that the tech didn't install it properly. Of course it's also totally possible that they were just being shady assholes.

[@volpswagen_marco]

They didn’t think there was a short to ground. They knew exactly what caused that wire to melt. In the early 2000’s we were replacing those wires weekly, including the fuse box. What they could have offered was to get a used wire from a pull apart scrap yard. Either way, a dealer can’t perform sub par repairs due to liability issues.

[@MrRShoaf]

@@volpswagen_marco Looks like that particular harness had about 6 wires. Even if VW sold the harness, they would probably want somewhere around $750 plus for a new one. Probably replace all the wires and and fittings for less than the labor to R&R the thing.

[@volpswagen_marco]

@@MrRShoaf actually it’s 1 direct wire to the alternator, so 749$ lol. On some later models they put a fusible link in the wiring…. That wasn’t replaceable, so the whole wire still had to be replaced.

[@MrRShoaf]

@@volpswagen_marco Easy enough to add one or even a regular fuse. It ain't rocket science.

[@pantherplatform]

I've had nothing but drive ability issues lately that seemed like simple fixes but the systematic diagnostic troubleshooting procedure found the problems much faster and saved the customer and me time and money not having to replace a fuel pump or drop a tank on these totally rusted to F Northwoods vehicles. You have helped me become so much better at accurately diagnosing crank no starts and driveability issues by making it fun to go thru the procedure because its a surefire way to find the problem and repair it vs firing the parts cannon, especially when it comes to anything under the vehicle, like fuel pumps. Always check for power to the pump BEFORE opening that Pandora's box of rusted straps, lines, rust in the eye, etc. Thanks a lot Ivan!

[@PineHollowAutoDiagnostics]

Great comment, glad you are using the scientific diagnostic method with great success :))

[@pantherplatform]

@@PineHollowAutoDiagnostics I can't afford not to. Even if the parts cannon seemed to fix the problem, it could still come back if the root cause isn't found and repaired. It's a road map to success and no come backs.

[@donaldmiller8629]

@@PineHollowAutoDiagnostics No

[@drewthompson7457]

Not sure I need to add this, but also, as well as power, check the grounds. I Was surprised to find an alternator with a bad ground. You would think those large mounting bolts would do, but not on 1 car I worked on. And a fuel pump. The pump was bad, but so was the grounding wire to the frame. ( the pump did draw 10 amps continusly, a good ground was important.) A friend bought a used truck. Lots of paperwork in the glove box for misfiring, from several service stations. It was a bad ground, engine to frame. Bad grounds don't usually smell or taste bad, some don't even look bad, but they sure effect electrics.

[@BlueHaze7024]

Seeing melted wires on the fuse box on top of the battery is fairly common with these and something they tell you to look for when diagnosing electrical problems and that dealer knows this. I used to trust dealers until I started watching KZbin repair videos.

[@dinupopa7805]

Hey Ivan! Always nice to watch your videos! I had exactly the same thing happening on my car,also based on mark 4 Vw Golf. I caught it before destroying my fuse panel. My way of fixing it was to cut the cable at the end of the insulation,as it was long enough and crimping another style of lug for 400V industrial applications, a tube style beefy copper lug,crimped with a hidraulic crimper.Everithing done on the car. It did not make sense to me to reuse the old and flawed connector.

[@oldbiker9739]

the Toyota stealership tried that with my wife , you need a new car your 86 Celica blew a timing belt all the valves are bent , so I went in there and asked for varsol , I flipped the head over and poured varsol on all the cylinders they didn't leak through , they put it back together free of charge , I never showed them my HD and auto red seal mechanics license ,I was going to save that for court , lol.

[@PineHollowAutoDiagnostics]

Was it non interference? 😂

[@n9wox]

My '88 Camry was non interference.

[@busman7228]

You were a mechanic but did not replace the timing belt when it was due for replacement?

[@oldbiker9739]

@@busman7228 I just bought it , had no history on it ,not a big deal .it ran ten more years my son owned it for 5 more years .

[@stealthg35infiniti94]

Great Job Ivan! You saved another car from an incompetent stealership. I have also fixed multi strand high current cables for similar issues. Multi strand does not like worrking near its limits in harsh environments. Corrosion will develop between strands and resistance causes heating to the point of failure. The best Fix I've found is: Uncrimp the wire. Separate and clean each individual strand. Clean crimp. Recrimp wire. Using a high wattage soldering iron or torch, use flux and solder so the solder wicks inside the crimp. Apply liquid insulation to any strands exposed to air. The goal is to make that area airtight to minimize the environmental effects.

[@TheCrakkle]

Nice to see other diagnosticians are still out there and making a difference :) keep up the honourable ethos of our trade.

[@baxrok2.]

Well done Ivan. I really enjoy hearing your thought process as you diagnose. Thanks!

[@jcbecker2800]

haha...if you have a crack pipe, you will get a lot of sensors reading incorrectly...that's what I heard anyway!

[@stevewalker412]

You gotta go go go on zee cracky rock

[@mikeisgonz0]

Crack pipe! LMAO

[@jamesfitzsimmons5218]

Crackalac

[@mitchellbarnow1709]

My parents bought me a brand new 1977 VW Rabbit with a 4 speed manual when I graduated High School. That car was made so cheaply that I was always fixing something. New car warranties were only 12 months or 12,000 miles back then. I was out of warranty and my car started overheating on the way home from work one day. I thought that it might be the sending unit, but the fuse panel was so cheap that it melted a little bit from the fan's current load and caused the fuse not to make contact. I purchased an entire new fuse box. I also noticed that the radiator was bulging at the end and it turned out that the cheap plastic split inside and now was leaking. I really loved my Rabbit and I drove it for just over 5 years. I next purchased a new 1982 Honda Accord sedan with a 5 speed manual. In the 6 years that I owned that car I needed an interior lightbulb and a water pump that an extended Warranty paid for.

[@metoon3092]

Great video Ivan ! On the instrument cluster, maybe it has some sort of electrical issue; you know, a _Bug_ of some type.🤣

[@PineHollowAutoDiagnostics]

👌😂🤣

[@blueskiesmobileauto4253]

I had a call recently for a no-start on a beetle with a 2.5. The factory exciter wire to the starter was barely on. I read up finding it’s a common issue with these particular cars. Fix was running a new female connector for the trigger wire. Fyi in case you run into a no crank no start!

[@saucercrabzero]

One of the best things about this channel is good comments like this! Thank you for putting the tip out there for everyone

[@windward2818]

You don't usually see this kind of high resistance terminal failure in cars, you see it more in residential AC breaker panels. Specifically, the actual connection has failed (overloaded, high heat) and melted the cable insulation. NEC (AC power distribution) refers to the mechanical connections as terminal ratings and it has to be compatible with the wire insulating rating. The term terminal in this case includes all connections and device ratings (may be a fuse, breaker or a bus bar with a housing, and the materials they are mounted in, like plastic, etc.). The wire insulation and all the "Terminal" connections must meet the required ampacity of the circuit including any derating. Derating (an NEC term) addresses unique conditions in which the wire (insulation) and terminals (and by extension devices) reside. For example, there would be a derating for a cable and terminal that operate at an elevated ambient temperature, like in the engine compartment. To me, It looks like this is actually a terminal design flaw from the factory. You could measure the overall resistance on the circuit accurately if you had a high current digital low resistance ohmmeter like the Megger DLRO100X (100 Amps), which is unfortunately very expensive. To do the test you would have to disconnect the battery and alternator and test the resistance (momentarily) of the compete circuit (wire + terminals (fuse)) at an amperage below the fuse rating representing normal operation, perhaps 60 Amps. I think in this case what you would find is the overall resistance (heat generated) of the circuit will exceeded the temperature rating of the "Terminals". So, what does this mean. It means that, in the long run, replacing the factory harness, as suggested by the dealer, will not fix the problem. The dealer's concern about liability (meaning vehicle catching fire) is probably prudent. You would have to replace the cable and the terminals, which would mean upgrading to a new fuse block for this circuit. The fuse rating would be the same but the "Terminals" will have the proper ampacity so as to not over-temp the connection.

[@weshawkins7165]

Thank you. Another excellent video on electronics diagnosis. Dealerships, always looking out for themselves.

[@EM-bp5zv]

It is sad that so many repairable vehicles get scrapped. Often the owner just needs one reason to get rid of it. Thanks for renewing my faith in humans being able to fix mechanical and electrical problems.

[@annpeerkat2020]

Yeah, but remember it's important that we devote enough resources to keep manufacturers making cars that dealers can tell owners are crap after 10 years. Oh, and to employ dealer mechanics who seem to think their job description is something different from the dictionary definition.

[@AP9311]

Haha, dealer says junk the car, client says i got ivan on speed dial, dealer says shit, that's money gone for him! Ivan chuckles, gets the deal with almost no NPR fixes saves client money and saves car from going Landfill. Fixes all the client complaints and client is happy, great video!! 👍 many thumbs up!! I hate air injection stuff! Always leaks! Speaking from experience!! Wow that is one toasty wire! I remember seeing Humble Mechanic's video about being a common problem with poor connection at the crimps. Vw suffered from it.

[@davakil]

We all need Ivan on speed dial 😁

[@AP9311]

@@davakil absolutely! 💯💯

[@bobbydelamar606]

Customer: Can you replace my signal bulb? Dealer: We no longer carry that. Lets get you in a new car.

[@briantii]

Great job and great video. This car actually seemed quite nice as well so good to see it saved.

[@robertbell525]

My mom has an old rusty Gran prix and she always took it to the dealer until they told her it needed $7K in repairs and suggested she drove it to the junkyard. She finally came to her senses and now goes to the guy down the street who fixed what needed fixing and it runs fine.

[@philmapockitz8216]

Congrats on your troubleshooting skills. You're thorough & conscientious...hard to find now days. Truth be told it's a numbers game (time/$$$) for the most part, the love & the art is gone...we are conditioned to have a disposable mentallity. The dealership work on flat rate pay scale that will convert a hungry young tech into a parts chamger or a butcher.. .sad really. Process of elimination is 🔑 to success. My wife own a VDub Beetle vert. 2.5L calls me on way home that the check engine light was flashing & the car was running rough...told her it's misfiring you'll make it home...sure enough 2 & 4 misfiring cause brittle connectors & the hose that runs front - back to the evac valve was cracked off. Replaced hose & depinned the coil harness & installed new connectors. Unfortunately these cars are designed to run at certain temps & all the plastics break apart like clock work right after you pay them off : ( it's an engineering marvel & ingenious marketing. Congrats again on your channel..wish you contimued success.

[@TheWagonDude]

I hate the crooks at the dealership. They wanted a free car. For an easy fix. Your a very knowledgeable guy. Good work.

[@hpelisr]

Well done Ivan, you have become the euro repair man. I do believe you will be the go to man. That dealer sounds like my local dealer. My dealer couldn't change the spider gears in my GM truck rear-end. I said, do they sale replacement gears? He said yes, but we don't know how to get them out. What? Long story cut short. After I got them out, I took to his counter and he said, oh you got them out. How did you do that? I said what's it worth to you? Long story short, I got a discount for info.

[@2nickles647]

I guess them so called TECHS are not techs. If they cannot disassemble a rear diff. It's simple task.

[@christophermarshall5765]

Spider gears in a GM rear axle? Seriously? Get me something more difficult!! If those dealer "techs" can't get them out, they shouldn't be working on cars & similar vehicles!!!

[@TheWagonDude]

I would have reported them to GM

[@abdul-kabiralegbe5660]

At least they were willing to pay for the info you gave. They may have been ignorant but fair.

[@sanctealphonse4510]

Thanks for making all your videos - very good stuff!

[@rsanchez5676]

In all fairness, you are greatly appreciated for your sharing of knowledge.

[@craiggoodwin9704]

Ivan, I was going to sound off on this but it looks like everyone else already has. Thanks for showing us how to keep a cool head and systematically finding and fixing the problem. Love how you used that camera as part of the process. Pretty cool, I mean hot, well you know what I mean! Thanks for Sharing!

[@greg778123]

Love the way you show them up with a no parts required including the crimp connector

[@jorgesanchez-lk6cn]

Great work, there’s always something to learn from you

[@justsumguy2u]

"Engine is in a state of extinction"---was that really a poor choice of wording? After all, it IS a VW. And is repairing a bad connector really a dealer liability issue? I think it's more of a "there's no money in it for us" issue....

[@n9wox]

I call it "Chinglish", odd Chinese to English translation.

[@MTLeopold]

Sounds accurate, that model is discontinued. :P

[@halleffect1]

that 2.5 is the best modern VW engine in terms of reliability.

[@ziggystardust6856]

@@MTLeopold But that engine is in a ton of VWS. They can go 20 years using the same engines!

[@michelleberry_mikef8552]

@@ziggystardust6856 Like anything else, if it´s maintained properly it will last. But I seen a few too many timing chains stretch on properly maintained vehicles in general. And that timing chain on that VW 2.5, expensive parts and expensive time. Timing chain is on the back of the engine on the 2.5 so remove transmission or engine to service timing chains. I would much rather VW´s 1.8N/A engines over the 2.5 and I'm not even a VW fan.

[@chriskolar]

VW had that design for a long time and it still GETS BURNED UP. GREAT Repair and demo on the voltage drop. Thanks

[@jaygold4467]

This is outstanding diagnostics. Bravo.

[@johnclamshellsp1969]

Great videos as always. For the headlights at 13 amp power usage, I would go with LED headlights to kill off some amps used.

[@soil-aint-dirt4903]

Thoroughly enjoyed the video…Thanks, Ivan!

[@johnmitchell2741]

I've been binge-watching this morning

[@TheHengeProphet]

Amusing, power draw from the radio and vacuum/intake leak from loose intake hoses is the exact issue I have on my '06 2.5L beetle.

[@andrewturchan6065]

Don't slam dealers yet , I worked for few dealerships . You in your own garage can do whatever you want , dealer makes repair , anything happens to the car /even NOT related/ and hordes of lawyers are on your door steps because you're BIG dealer and they know that you will loose . Imagine if this car caught on fire , "door might've not open" , see where I'm going with this ? Could give you crazy examples of that . What bothers me is that dealer "offered" to take the title of this vehicle . Hmmm , perfectly good car for someone ? As for your logical and very smart thinking , fantastic channel !!!

[@rustystubbs242]

Dealer take it on trade and it gets sent off to an auction house. And the cycle continues.

[@canadatransistor]

I would love to have seen more about secondary air injection pump. I haven't owned anything like that. I also had no idea the bug was 5cyl.

[@johnaclark1]

It's a common problem on those. They get moisture in them and seize up. Replace the motor and it's good to go.

[@PatricioGarcia1973]

Sometimes the valve gets stuck open and hot exhaust gas goes to the pump killing it. That is why all the test for Secondary Air Pump should be done with engine cold and not run the car too long. Valve is $60 and pump is like $400. So you don’t want to kill the pump while testing it. Also the vacuum solenoid goes bad and causes a failure. But that is even cheaper. Bavauto used to have a testing how to on their website.

[@aslant9246]

@@johnaclark1 i had one exactly like this, same year, 0171 and 0411 codes. Ended up the air pump was good, however the plastic air pipe was corroded and broken underneath the battery. Makes me question if this air injection system actually helped reduce these cars' emissions in the long run, as they're all broken now, running lean!

[@testi2025]

The pump is there to heat the catalytic converter faster. And they tend to fill with moisture that turns in to water, and especially in cold climates they froze and broke. On one car that broke the new pump in one year, I drilled a small hole to the housing of the replacement pump to let it drain.

[@100SteveB]

I find it sad that technicians at dealers like this are not even allowed to perform simply repairs like this. To tell a customer they should junk their car simply because of a bad wire connection is madness. A repair like that is just basic stuff that every tech should be capable of doing. And I don't buy the liability excuse they gave for not being able to do the repair without a new wire, surely a competent tech should be more than capable of making good such a repair safely? Of course they should disclose the facts to the customer - cannot source a new wire, but we could repair your old one, the customer would be happy. And even if a new cable was available, it would have been yet another example of the throw away mentality - why fix something when you can just throw it away and buy a new one. And if you think things are bad now, just wait until EV's rule the road, cars being junked early will be the norm. I live in the UK, and i would guess that well over half the cars on our roads at the moment are over 10 years old, and still going strong. Can not see that happening with EV's. Car production rates will at least double.

[@jessicav2031]

But think of the boost to the economy from replacing all the broken windows! I mean, EVs.

[@jusb1066]

They are but the dealer wants to make more of a profit by selling parts

[@1pcfred]

It is easy to do if you have a hydraulic cable crimper.

[@andrewrobinson2869]

Just started following you a few episodes back. I like the way you think . Thankyou. Very enjoyable. Regards Andy Australia

[@upload15613]

Also, make sure you got the right adapter for the radio so you don’t put voltage on the K line and fry your or anyone else’s scan tool!

[@antilogism]

At 11:29 that's a fuse. They get hot, often VERY hot, in normal use. Thermal cycling can work joints and develop fretting corrosion over time, just like vibration. Deoxit was a great call. A fresh terminal and a proper crimper would have been even better but I'm so glad you avoided solder!

[@goodxrvn2053]

Car looks freshly detailed. Nice vehicle. Thanks for the video

[@randomschmo5778]

Great work Ivan, and please keep it up. I learn a huge amount of good info from your methodical diagnoses. Don’t pay too much attention to the obnoxious commenters like the one you pinned….some people are just angry and miserable and want to drag everyone else down with them.

[@MrJoey1570]

Shout out to Crutcfield for the radio and harness?

[@PineHollowAutoDiagnostics]

Yup!

[@MarcHord-mk5ff]

That’s awesome, I used to use a infrared non contact thermometer in place of the flir.

[@fryreartechnology7611]

Resistance to infinity and beyond! That was I heard when you said resistance to infinity but I'm seeing Buzz Lightyear flying away in my head holding the meter. Lol

[@kevinhill5596]

Excellent diagnostic procedures!

[@richardtaylor2449]

Thanks Ivan i hope you are having a nice Christmas off diagnosing 🔧🔧HAPPY NEW YEAR to you and your family 😷🥳🥳🎉🎉☃🍻🍻

[@2nickles647]

Ivan. On the cluster. I'm willing to say it's where the cluster is connected to the harness. Remember the Chevy clusters had those issues?

[@AcmeRacing]

My wife had a 1999 Jetta that was throwing a code for the mass airflow sensor. I found a cracked plastic vacuum line that ran behind the intake to the brake booster The lines were sold as an assembly for about $200.00 at the dealer. An L-shaped 5/8" molded hose from NAPA fit the barb fittings nicely, and I added two zip ties as "clamps" for insurance. It was still working great when we sold the car six years later. $13.00. The $40.00 scan tool and some Internet searches have saved me a fortune.

[@kpdvw]

There are no parts for VW Beetles that can NOT be had.... As for "Dealers" and HOA's ,avoid them like the plague!

[@SerenoOunce]

Kenwoods are usually pretty decent but particularly on the budget Chinese radios they also have a high parasitic draw. Seen some go as high as 20mA. That's about the same as an aftermarket remote starter. A quality aftermarket radio shouldn't be higher than 5mA. As for the cluster, maybe something takes time to go to sleep? And don't forget to lock the doors, BCM typically goes to sleep sooner when car is locked.

[@robpeabo509]

Very sad the dealer determined the lug was an "unrepairable" item. That is disgusting! To suggest that was a reason to write-off the car is abhorrent. If as you said they said they would take the vehicle off the customer, I can see what was going to happen next, and none of that would involve going to the crushers. This should be an reportable matter to VW head office in America & Germany, as well as your consumer protection authority. I am sure they would like another dig at VW, especially after the diesel-gate issue.

[@InsideOfMyOwnMind]

We all have known since the beginning of time about dealerships but it's still sad to see it reconfirmed over and over and over........

[@arnobruynen6073]

Lol, calling the head office they will probably be laughing at you. The more new cars a dealership sells the higher the bonus they get from the mothership. Selling you a new car makes them more money than the repairs. I think that's obvious and although I don't agree that the car should be written off for a bad connection unfortunately it's something you'll see across dealerships of any brand because that's how most dealerships operate. Their incentive for selling you a new car rather than fixing it is that simple.

[@larrybe2900]

@@arnobruynen6073 But "old" is only a three letter word.

[@Cowboy_Ash]

Reporting it to VW head office is useless. They are just as corrupt.

[@hightttech]

PHAD is exposing a time-honored, 'stealership' conspiracy. SA convinces customer the car is hopeless, and introduces him/her to salesman. Sales offers "more than fair 😊" (NOT) credit for the "junker" because, of course, they are all a bunch of philanthropists. Dealership sells a car to sucker AND gets a trade-in dirt cheap. Trade-in gets prepped by same shop that said it was junk, and it's on the used car lot in 1-4 weeks priced in KBB retail excellent range.

[@shinersan6081]

Good job, no guess work, easy to follow what your saying. Well done.

[@basshunter428]

When I clean burnt/corroded wires like that I use a fine wire wheel in a drill. It (+deox) will get every side of every strand. You just have to use the side of the wheel spinning away from the wire. Another great vid, Ivan!

[@kroberts5698]

I helped a friend at work with this style beetle, had same issue at that main fuse box. As I recall we crimped in a new copper lug at the block on the lead from the alternator put in non oem replacement fuse box. It was good for a while but issue came back. In the end went to a VW specialist who replaced the cable from the alternator and replaced fuse box with used oem box which seemed to fix the issue.

[@hook86]

Nice job, brother! You nicely outline the difference between crook dealership part swappers and a real old school trouble shooting mechanic!

[@tolgabasarr3091]

You have to lock the car and close the hood and everything and wait for half an hour to check the amp draw. Leave the meter connected all along. The European cars take some time to into sleep mode, once they are take the reading again.

[@Paul1958R]

Ivan, Great video - thank you! What happened with the CEL/DTCs? Did you install a new air pump? ps could they have made the tach any smaller? Paul (in MA)

[@jasonhughes1156]

It's very common on this era of VWs for the charge cable to corrode and heat up at the fuse connection. I usually replace it with welding ground cable wire. I also recommend adding aluminum paste to the connection when you replace the cable. The cluster also stays on until the time hits or you lock it. The immobiler also lives in the cluster and tells the ecu to unlock and run the car. 0.02 for what you are doing is normal. When you close everything and lock it it will drop more.

[@richard1835]

Thank you. Great Video

[@thomasmurphy5906]

Excellent work Ivan

[@Midwest116]

Very sharp! Great video

[@richolishis94]

I worked at vw from 2015-2020 and saw tons of alternator harnesses melt the fuse tray. Usually due to age and oxidation throughout the whole harness, it was cheaper and better in the long run to just replace the harness. There are tons of aftermarket options for this. I see aftermarket ones installed all the time. Also the clusters are common to have a poor connection via data-bus to the radio and ecm. If that connection is disturbed, it will cause an indefinite power draw at the cluster will never completely go to sleep due to missing data-bus signal from radio that is used for security/immobilizer.

[@matthewhenry6797]

Hell of a mechanic!! Guys like you are few are far between.

[@jameseberstein]

I just received a code reader like you where using in this video and looks like it works great. We also have a VW like this one too. Going to need all the help I can get

[@BillSmith-ut5li]

You definitely should have made that a good solder joint and shrink-wrap to prevent re oxidation at that point. This will definitely come back due to electrolysis

[@annpeerkat2020]

Solder joints in a hot vibrating environment could be a bit questionable compared to a joint held by pressure (crimp). Something about solder being brittle, and once the solder cracks then a quick electrical open circuit or a hot one. Not saying no solder joints are ever used in aircraft, but there is a popular mantra - the proper way to use solder in an aircraft is to use none...

[@jedidiah4004]

Yeah most automotive manufacturers do not recommend solder joints, a good crimp will outlast a solder.

[@Javelin3o4]

I remember on some of these older VW's that installing an aftermarket radio would cause them to fail emissions cause scanners couldn't communicate because a K wire being hooked up with the radio harness.

[@gfccbgjxvhd874]

Super vidéo thanks 😁👍

[@paulstein7369]

I was just gifted a beautiful low mileage S500 4matic from my nephew due to dealer labor rate to install a self purchased shipped from Germany Airmatic system 4 corner, pump, valve body, relays, air tank. Thanks Stearlership!

[@michaeldunagan8268]

The last time I drove the Volkswagen Beetle was in the early 1980s. Air-cooled, chain-drive, rear engine, manual transmission, and no power steering.

[@ollie1464]

So glad I kept my old bugs. 74 and 79. Very basic and very easy to maintain. Having a good and honest mechanic makes a big difference

[@michaeljohnson1006]

Amazing what they will tell customers.I think i watched a video it might have been a golf or Audi and the plastic battery link thing always melts but that could be the bolts coming loose you would think they would use locktite if they come loose that much! You would still get the electrical connection under the crimp.

[@acetobon1320]

Great video!!! Parasitic draws are a pest, close enough!!!

[@shaneharrison4775]

Very excellent work well done

[@mrbmp09]

I have that exact thermal camera. Good specs at a good price, He did some research before buying.

[@aldrinalmario1513]

Another great diagnosis and fix Ivan! Typical to hear from the dealer that they don't carry parts for older vehicles and up sell you to get a new car. Thankfully there's the likes of Ivan that can get these old cars running again. Cheers!

[@pantherplatform]

Dealerships sell disposable cars with lifetime oil since they can't get anyone to work in the shop. Bet a salesman condemned that car but even they'll be gone for good soon enough. Fascinating.

[@aslant9246]

awesome diagnosis Ivan. These beetles are not easy to work on, in my experience.

[@lioneloconnor4785]

Pine Hollow Auto Diagnostics.....You remind me of a CSI!!!🤔 Where there is a Will there is a Way! Keep 'em Coming! 🕵

[@bobwilson758]

Good job man !

[@slocavky]

That fuse box thing on top of the battery is SUPER common on VW's I have a mk4 golf and they are known to do this when the ac is on with the fans on and a ton of current draw. Pretty junk design but it is what it is. They're available everywhere online. Good job on fixing this one man.

[@kornami8678]

Good work! Did you think about soldering that crimp connector?

[@jamesatkinson6480]

A very thorough diagnosis. At the dealer level, and had the new wiring harness been available (for whatever money), as well as the competent technician to install it (for whatever money), after a time, the same result would ensue, as the actual diagnosis came to a parasitic current draw from the radio... Much to be said for the electrical analysis showing power dissipation V(in Volts) x I(current, in Amps) before repair, then after. It would seem the radio might have been faulty for some time that led to a battery replacement.. From this point, how did the repair/replacement of the air pump go? Was it back to the dealer?

[@willf5768]

Great video Ivan 😁👍

[@billgarrett1673]

Be careful, I had an 02 Beetle with a parasitic draw caused by an aftermarket radio not letting the computers go to sleep. This is a common problem on VW sound systems.

[@johnleinen9409]

The New Beetles had same issues when new in 98- 99, I've fixed so many of these same issues especially the fuse box on top of battery gets corroded from batt acid fumes! and air pump falls apart inside too on these and jettas!

[@omaristephens2143]

Ivan: I bought that thermal camera on your recommendation; thanks! Quick tip: if you hit the trigger once to take a picture, it asks if you want to save. You can just hit the trigger again to confirm, without having to use the "enter" button on the back. Simplifies things, and it's particularly helpful if you're using it in the dark, where you can't see the button labels or locations that well.

[@PineHollowAutoDiagnostics]

Cool!

[@m476nycity]

If for whatever reason it comes back and you are still having issues. Check the cluster itself, I had odd issues and it was a very odd problem. I disconnected the cluster and the terminals were wet. Believe it or not, it was a bad coolant bottle that would send coolant to the cluster through the wiring while the coolant was pressurized. The fix was a new bottle because the old one had failed at the coolant level sensor. There was no obvious leak at the sensor. Mine was to the point that coolant was starting to occasionally drip onto the floor mat. I have seen odd stuff before but I think that was up there on the list for me.

[@PineHollowAutoDiagnostics]

Wow that's nuts lol!

[@zevsgarage7257]

I deal with these alternator wires all of the time. I pull the harness out, separate the alternator cable from the a/c and alternator signal wires, and I make a new cable, wrap everything back up with tessa tape. Very simple.

[@ronwade5646]

I worked as a line mechanic at the local VW-Audi dealership on the used, Domestic side and they did this when new, under warranty!

[@jamesanderson4014]

The dealer was lazy and practiced their laziness . Good work figuring out and fixing several key problems . In the process of replacing starter , alternator and battery cables with 2 gauge and grounding straps with 4 or 6 gauge wiring in the engine compartment . This is in a 1999 Chrysler Concorde . The only corrosion I have found has been on battery cables . Thanks a lot for your video

[@rexhepmalometa1417]

thank you bro