Today I had the joy of covering 200+ miles on my W12 today. While I was out and about there were 3-4 times I went around a right hand turn somewhat quickly and a "check please lights" warning appeared on the instrument cluster. At the end of the day I inspected the exterior lights with all working or so it seems. I found it odd that this only appeared during sharp turns to the right.
View 10 RepliesMy Escape is starting to have starting problems. I go to start it and all of the instrument cluster warning lights come on, but the truck doesn't start. If I wait a little while, all of the sudden it starts but all of the sudden the cluster lights start flashing, the various warning beeps sound off, the emergency flashers go off, etc. This lasts anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes until everything resets and goes back to normal. What is causing this?
View 1 RepliesI have a 2004 f 450 cab and chassis truck that the problem started out with the radio not coming on. So I asked the local dealer and he gave me a wiring diagram. I pulled the fuse box out and checked the wire from the fuse box to the radio and it works. Great. But he also said I could take the fuse box apart and check to see if their was a broken connection in it. So I did and could only get so far with it. It has a lot of pin on one side that go all the always through and are soldered on both ends. So I put it all back together and reinstalled it. Now the instrument cluster does not work. Not even the warning lights. The interior light doesn't come on either or the door chime. Is it possible to melt the solder off and open the fuse box completely and check all the connections.
View 1 RepliesWhen I choose the screen on my instrument cluster that is suppose to show speed I do not get a reading. It shows 0 mph. The average speed shows correctly, but nothing else. The correct readings are displayed on the center console unit including speed and average speed so I think the sensors are good. Is this something that can be corrected using VAGcom.
View 4 RepliesJust wanted to check my memory / mode of operation of instrument cluster illumination... I seem to recall that the main instrument cluster dials were illuminated at all times, ie full brightness during the day with the headlights off and with variable brightness at night with the headlights on - is this correct?
Reason for asking is that the main dials, speedo / rev counter are now dark when the headlights are off - this does not seem right as, in other than bright sunlight, the dials are very hard to read - centre LCD display remains back lit OK.
With headlights on, illumination works as expected - when headlights go off, the main dials stay illuminated for a fraction of a second and then dim to off.
In the past few days, I've noticed that when my headlights are on the white backlighting of the speedometer, tachometer, and other gauges in the instrument cluster fail to illuminate, however the red needles within each gauge do illuminate properly. Furthermore, the rheostat adjustment does successfully brighten and dim the red needles, but the faces of the gauges remain dark. I checked fuses 23 and 27 and both are fine.
View 24 RepliesThe information screen is out on my '04 instrument cluster, and I hear that I have to replace the whole cluster. Can I replace it with a used cluster, or does it have to be new. The dealer is telling me that it needs to be new in order to do the reprogramming of the keys, etc.
View 5 RepliesThe instrument cluster screen in my 2004 phaeton suddenly stopped displaying anything today, I've tried removing and replacing fuses but still nothing, not even the backlight for the display is on, everything else is working fine its just the display. I need the car for a 600mi trip in 2 days.
View 3 RepliesMy car lives in a parking garage which by nature is well shaded. In the last few weeks, when I start the car, the orange hands on the instrument cluster come on at full brightness (which I think is normal), but the rest of the normally "on" panel fails to light up meaning, that the white digits on the speedometer range are dark, the ones in the tachometer, etc.
The dash looks like something from science fiction, which is cool, but is nearly useless when all you see is a bunch of glowing orange pointers! After a few minutes, the back light turns on through no action of mine and all is well in the analog instrument cluster area.
In the past few days, I've noticed that when my headlights are on the white backlighting of the speedometer, tachometer, and other gauges in the instrument cluster fail to illuminate, however the red needles within each gauge do illuminate properly. Furthermore, the rheostat adjustment does successfully brighten and dim the red needles, but the faces of the gauges remain dark. I checked fuses 23 and 27 and both are fine.
View 24 RepliesYesterday the dreaded "car too low" warning appeared. I got out, saw the front end was low and could hear (i think) the sound of air hissing. had it towed to the dealer and am cursing myself for no extended warranty. Sure hope it's only one strut (tow driver said both front sides were low) and that vw will pick up the tab for non failing struts and the controller.
View 24 RepliesLast weekend, while i was replacing a brake light bulb on my daughters car (!) , i had to use my car to get the bulb from the local store and guess what my "check lights" warning came on and since then a broken light bulb is showing on the left side of the center display and it does not go away anymore.
I have now at least checked every (visible) light bulb on the car twice and I can not find any bad one. Yesterday I checked the fuses and again all are fine.
Looking through the owners handbook (section 3 and 4), i can not even find any mentioning of the "bad light bulb" symbol.
So, here are my questions:
Is the orange (turnsignal) bar under the headlights used for anything else ?
Every few days I get an orange warning that says "check lights" for about 2 seconds. I am assuming that soon I will have to replace some of the bulbs. I understand that doing it at the dealer its a very expansive item, and that is not covered by warranty.
View 9 RepliesI've had a Phaeton since January and love it. I noticed yesterday that the "distance remaining" figure in the small nav screen in the instrument cluster has disappeared: it now shows "---" instead of, say, "150 mi." Refilling the gas tank hasn't made a difference. Why the car has started refusing to estimate? Since that's the display that shows all the time while driving, it's particularly noticeable.
View 4 RepliesI am on occasion getting a warning on my instrument cluster regarding my locking diff. System Fault!! Workshop!! is displayed. As well the adjustment knob on the center console flashes yellow.
View 11 RepliesSo I'm driving my kids to school, and this light pops up on the dash (with a chime, of course). So for fun, I had my son pull out the owners manual and look for it.
It isn't in the manual.. In fact, the book shows NOTHING in that cluster location.
Luckily I got a picture of it, 'cause it disappeared after about 20 minutes.
I have experienced a strange error 3 times now in the last few weeks. It appears that one or both of the headlights go out for a second or two; this if followed by a audible "beep" and a warning indication flashes over the center dash screen that states "check lights" or similar. A second or two later the front light(s) are back on. The warning is orange or yellow in color. My Phaeton has just over 37k miles.
View 6 RepliesSomeone mentioned that the lighting on the speedo/revs came on after a delay instead of slowly getting brighter. Anyway mines now doing this, the needles light up red then maybe 15 seconds later the background lights come on.
View 24 RepliesThe lighting on the speedo/revs came on after a delay instead of slowly getting brighter. Any way mines now doing this, the needles light up red then maybe 15 seconds later the background lights come on.
View 24 RepliesMy 2004 Phaeton with a little over 100k miles on it has been giving me a problem with the air ride suspension. When starting the vehicle, a "Level Fault - Workshop" message is displayed on the instrument cluster, and the car has been slowly sinking as the air ride (I presume) slowly deflates. Around 10,000 miles ago, I had a problem with the suspension, but that time the car immediately and actively sank; this was solved by replacing the air ride computer (it is the B, not C-type). I've tried replacing the computer with another B-type computer, but to no avail. The local VW dealer and an independent import car garage have told me some things, and I would like to learn more about this problem and possible ways to try and solve it.
1. I have been told that no voltage is making it from the computer to the left front sensor. Dealer says its the computer, but could this possibly be the wiring harness or a bad connection? If so, how do I get into the wheel well in order to test this hypothesis? My best guess is it isn't the computer, as the car never actively sank (this happened when the original computer went bad).
2. I have also been told that the right rear sensor is bad. Is this a part I can replace with a modest amount of auto knowledge? I do my own oil, replace brake pads/rotors, etc. If so, any drawing/maintenance manual parts list available?
3. I have heard conflicting reports as to a freshly-ordered sensor being and not being compatible with the B-type computer. Dealer told me new sensors will only speak to a C-computer; independent garage told me new sensors will speak to my B computer. Who is correct?
From a few hours of internet browsing from the first instance and this second instance of failure, it seems this is a somewhat common issue with the 2004 Phaeton.
The other day I saw this message (or something similar) in the instrument cluster display for the first time. I was parked, car unladen, engine not running, parking brake on, facing somewhat uphill, when I attempted to change to the higher ride height.
The Handbook doesn't refer to conditions for ride height adjustments.
I'm pretty confident my batteries are fine. I attributed the reluctance to the fact that the car was pointing uphill, though on reflection may that not be exactly a time when you do need to change ride height?
A few minutes later, driving on the level, the ride height adjusted perfectly well, and it has done so since whether moving or at rest.