VW Jetta Fuse Diagnosis
The symptoms seemed catastrophic: all interior lights went out; the key fob stopped working; the trunk and fuel doors could not be opened (at a time when fuel was running low). For a brief moment, I thought it was time for the Jetta to enter the Cliff Your Ride Contest. Wait a minute, the same thing happened to my house when I turned on my power-hogging server.
Bingo! The culprit was a blown fuse. I opened up the fuse panel located on the left side of the headlight switch. (the driver’s side door needs to be opened in order to see it.) With 40+ fuses in the fuse compartment, I thought, “if I pull out the blown fuse on the first try, I’m going to run out and buy a lottery ticket, like right now!” Well, I gave up guessing on the fifth attempt after getting a cut on my clumsy thumb. Ouch.
To avoid injury for readers of this post, I should mention that there is a pair of tweezers inside the Jetta’s fuse compartment. It is so much easier to pull out a fuse with the tool.
VW Jetta Fuse Diagram (Mark IV)
On the fuse panel door, there is a quick reference card with some ancient Egyptian-looking symbols that is supposed to tell you which fuse is for what. Frankly, the symbols are of no help.
Then I found this detailed fuse diagram from Google.
From the diagram, fuse number 14 says “interior lights, central locking system“. Ladies and gentlemen, we have the blown fuse.
The rest of the job was straight forward. I picked up two boxes (set of regular size fuses and a set of mini fuses) of mixed fuses from Walmart for $13. It’s a good idea to have a set of fuses handy in case other ones burn out in the future. Replacing the fuse took no more than 30 seconds and everything is back to normal. (Updates: There is another problem with the dome lights contact points. Information available here.)
For those who cannot find the fuse diagram, Walmart sells a fuse tester tool that can help you locate a blown fuse without having to pull them out one-by-one. It is sold as a value pack with a set of fuses. The price for the set is about $20.
Anyone had similar experience with your car?
Related Post: 2000 VW Jetta: Fuse Keep Burning Out (SOLVED)
@Tommy There’s a recall for the stoplight switch, Google it.
@taylor
Start by removing all the bulbs from their sockets (those that are for the signal lights, of course), and check that the contacts are clean, specially in the front since they are exposed, and the wires while you are at it. Don’t gorget the ones on the fenders. I had one headlamp with burned insulation, and the signal light for that side was very weak, had to replace the whole thing with a good used one.
@aaron
Check that the dome lights bulbs are there and if they are, that they aren’t blown. The whole thing is interconnected and won’t work if something is wrong with the dome lights.
excellent information, this helped a lot!!!!
How would I go about just changing the fuse for rear taillights? I didn’t see that on the list and have been having problems figuring it out.
I thought I was loosing my mind – it all makes sense now! To Wal-Mart in the AM! Looks like I can fix, the locks, the radio, the trunk AND the gas door. SWEET.