[draco24433]

Hey guys and gals,

Neither of my reverse lights are working. I bought new bulbs and nothing. I am assumming that the backup light switch is bad. Does anyone know where it is located or have any idea why my reverse lights do not work?

Thanks

 

[draco24433]

No one has a clue as to where it is at?

 

[diabolique]

I have the same problem with my passenger side. I replaced it and it worked for like a week then it went dead again. I am taking it to the dealership next week to get it fixed. You might have better luck if you posted your question in a different forum rather then the engine one.


d

 

[gilligan]

Umm fuse box?

 

[draco24433]

Nope. That's the first place I checked. All fuses are good. I just don't know what's up. In most manual cars the back up light switch is located in the shifter and it is easy to locate.

Diabolique, let me know what the dealer tells you.

Thanks

 

[draco24433]

OK. Here we go. The backup light switch is placed on the tranny near the shift cables. I am going to work on it tomorrow and I'll post with whatever results I get. Wish me luck!

 

[draco24433]

OK. Here it goes. After much digging underneath the vehicle I found the backup light switch on the tranny. The switch is located underneath the battery tray. So you have to undo the power steering reservoir, remove the battery and the battery tray. It is a bit of a PITA. After removig those things and locating the switch, come to find out that someone cut the cables going to the switch. Why would someone do that is beyond my comprehension at this time. To make matters worse, the cables were cut right at the switch making it impossible to fix at site. I had to remove the switch form the vehicle and work some of my electrical magic. I had to solder new cables to the switch and then to the vehicle wiring. Once that was accomplished, everything works like a charm. Hope this helps someone.

 

[denisse]

Dear draco24433 I guess I have the same issue, I´ll have my husband remove the reservoir,battery and tray, but could you tell me how does the switch look like, or better yet do you have a picture, I failded my inspection because of it.
Thanks Denisse

 

[denisse]

Dear draco24433 My husband checked the situation with the reverse light, and here is the thing it does turn on sometimes depending on the possition you put the shifter(its standard)according to him, this has to be something in the base of the shifting stick, simira problem he had in his old 67 bug, now this is a 99. Coud it be the same, after 40 od development in cars!!!! Please help

 

[SilverSportNOLA]

Denisse .... it is better than the developement reached by 1985 .... my 85 Golf had reverse light problems during it's second year ... they never could fix it right and I am not much for taking a car to the dealer to get "fixed". I believe it was in the shifter, there was a plastic piece that locked reverse out unless you were holding the shifter down, if pushed down it would go into a groove and hit the light switch, that plastic lock broke and was probably the problem all along. At least back then I could get braketags at most places since reverse lights where not even on 20% of the cars on the road as standard equipment. The tranny switch is the better design, just don't drive in reverse so much and it won't break so often.

 

[draco24433]

Denisse,

I am sorry that I did not take a picture of it. When you remove the battery tray and look straight down at the tranny, you'll see the transmission shifter cables. At the end of the cables(the ones closes to the front of the car) you'll see something that looks like a huge black knob. On the other side of that knob looking thing there is a black switch. The color of the cables if I am not mistaken are red with brown or green and a brown with another color. The thing to remember is that the switch only has two wires going to it. When you unplug the switch, it kind of looks like a plunger. That's the back up light switch. You may have a bad switch or the know looking things is just not reaching the switch.

 

[draco24433]

Denisse,

Any word yet on how things are going?

 

[diabolique]

okay i know this sounds ridiculous but after two hours at the dealership they finally figured out that there is nothing wrong with the fuses on the reverse light or the brake light... the problem... a bad connector.

Solution: they bent the tongs of the connector in the base "up".. to give the bulb a better contact with the housing. All for the bargin price of 73 dollars.

 

[draco24433]

You know, I do wonder about dealerships sometimes. All of that work for something so small. Anyways, I am glad that you got it fixed.

 

[denisse]

I am back. The problem was the switch. it just have an screw lost so the screw was tight up and problem fix...no replacement necessary. The only problem is get there. ONE PROBLEM LESS

 

[draco24433]

Denisse,

I was wondering what happenned to you. I am glad that your problem is fixed.

 

[baddassbug]

i had the same prob in my 98 2.0. i found that the wires had broken off becuase the cover they put on bent the wires everytime i went into reverse that was at 50,000 left the cover off and soidered teh wires back on and at 125,000 no probs yet... just a bad design i guess but simple fix glads urs was as easy...

 

[[email protected]]

Help Please

I have a 1999 2.0 Gas Beetle. My back-up lights are not working. I removed the battery tray and exposed the switch. I had some trouble removing the electrical connection to the switch and finally removed the electrical connection, the wires (brittle with age) broke off at the housing.

Also I removed the transaxle housing with the switch attached. I do not see how to remove the switch.

In summary, I need advice on how to.

1) repair the snapped off wires to the electrical connection?
2) How do I remove the switch from the transaxle housing?

Thanks,

Harold

 

[[email protected]]

Need Help

I think I have answered my question. The switch is a boltin style and what I have in hand does not dissasemble.

Volkswagen New Beetle 2.0 > Lighting > Switches > ES#1895215 Back-Up Light Switch - Bolt In Style - 02A945413C

So I think my remaining question is how do I repair the wires that are broken off at the electrical connection that attached to this switch? They sheared off at the base. No nubs to solder.

 

[simonsi]

They sheared off at the base. No nubs to solder.

Then I think a new switch is the only option