Anybody good with Vag Com???

[P Arkus]

So the MK4 is having some issues (as usual...) and the brake sensore light is now on (amber light, circle with 3 little brake pads on each side of it). so I took the wheel off tonight to check the wiring and the brake pads. I changed the brake pads and rotors back in june this year so I knew that would not be the problem. The wiring seems to be fine and appears to be connected properly. But the stupid light is still on.

I plugged in my Vag Com to get a scan of all the fault codes and this brake code didnt even appear. So I have no clue on how to get rid of it. I have read on Vortex that I can cut the wires and connect them together to get rid of this light perminently but I dont want to take that approach at this time.

Does anybody have a clue on how I could get rid of this light????

Thanks in advance!!!!!

[MrDave]

Re: Anybody good with Vag Com???

One solution: you could recode your cluster to deactivate/disable the brake pad warnings.

See rosstech:
http://www.ross-tech.com/vag-com/cars/vwmkIV.html

quote:
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Look at the first two digits in the coding. Add the values for the options together to get the correct coding.

00 - No available equipment
+01 - Brakepad wear sensor warning active
+02 - Seatbelt warning active
+04 - Washer fluid level warning active

------

-Dave

[shconer]

Re: Anybody good with Vag Com???

Is your brake fluid low?

[P Arkus]

Re: Anybody good with Vag Com???

All the probable causes have been checked and are ok. Brake pads are good, fluid it to the top, handbrake is ok (even tho I dont think that would cause this light to go on). I want to recode the cluster to de-activate the light but i'm not exactly sure which numbers to recode. I'll try again tomorrow and post some screen shots.

[Kane]

Re: Anybody good with Vag Com???

Not to worry its just the Brake switch recall. Take it to a dealership.

"Volkswagen recalls 790,000 U.S. vehicles
WASHINGTON - Volkswagen of America Inc. said Monday it would recall 790,000 vehicles because of problems with the brake light switch.

The recall involves several vehicles: 1999-2006 model years of the Golf and GTI, 2001-2005 Jettas, 2001-2007 New Beetles and the 2004 R32. It expands upon a recall announced last year of some Jettas and New Beetles because of the same defect.

Volkswagen told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that the brake light switches in the vehicles could malfunction if they were improperly installed.

The automaker said the light could either remain on or not function, which would fail to provide other motorists with the proper braking signal and potentially lead to a crash.

In some vehicles with automatic transmissions, a faulty brake light could work in tandem with the shift interlock to immobilize the vehicle and require towing, said VW spokesman Keith Price."

[P Arkus]

Re: Anybody good with Vag Com???

Kane, isnt that the "brake light switch"? because the MK4 is an automatic, and that happened last year where the brake light switch was faulty and the car would not recognize when the brakes were on, and we couldn't get the car out of park. That brake light switch was replaced.

Now i'm pretty sure the warning light is a "brake sensor light" which lights up when the brake pads or brake fluid are running low. but as mentioned above, I checked both and they were good. now I just want to get rid of the code so the light isnt there anymore.

[Kane]

Re: Anybody good with Vag Com???

I'm not entirely sure. I remember reading on vortex there were two issues with the mk4 brake system. I would call a dealership as I can't remember

[P Arkus]

Re: Anybody good with Vag Com???

Yeah I guess a call never hurt. I'll see what they say.

[Satnam]

Re: Anybody good with Vag Com???

if you do decide to short out some wires....
cut wires on the brake pad side after the connector and connect them together, so the next time it will still be functional with new pads.

did you check both sides on the front?

To test pad's wear indicator, connect multimeter into connector on the pad side (both pins), and measure ohms/continuity. If it's 0, or beeps, then the pad sensor is good, and fault is somewhere else.


EDIT:
as far as coding, read value (4 digit), if it's even - don't change it, and if it's odd - reprogram new value = (old value - 1)

[turbomeyers]

Re: Anybody good with Vag Com???

your connector is the issue i am guessing i have seen this alot . make sure the connector is good inside , also you can run a temp overlay harness at the back of the connector (join the two wires together and see if the harness is good up to the dash ) if they are good its your connector

[P Arkus]

Re: Anybody good with Vag Com???

If it happens to be the connector, how much would that cost to replace? This is assuming it can be replaced...