Power-latching Woes

[williecba]

2 Mondays ago I took my 14 month old T32 kombi into my local dealers because the electric tailgate Soft Close mechanism wasn't working. This has been an intermittent problem for half its life and I shall be posting a full write up with 8 by 10 coloured glossy photographs and explanation of work-around when all is resolved. I delivered it with both control module and mechanism still disconnected since I had been dealing with Thames Water over the weekend on the repair to a broken sewer pipe from my daughters' flats which after 2 years they had suddenly decided to mend.

By Thursday afternoon last week I had heard nothing from the dealers so I rang and asked what's up. They told me that the control module and mechanism were both unplugged so they had plugged them in and couldn't find a problem! Door closing fine.
So they had scheduled a test drive.

This Monday I phoned again. How was test drive? Hadn't done it. Would call me back. They didn't!
Phoned today, they said no rattle from back door, (which is a symptom of Soft Close not working) and would I like to come and pick it up.
Over 2 hours later, (walk, bus, train, tram and further walk) I arrived at dealers and went straight to look at van. Tailgate fully closed. Good. Open tailgate and soft close mechanism not moving. Still in closed position which is how I had left it. Problem NOT solved. Go in and report. Head mechanic comes out, show him tailgate opening and shutting. He doesn't know how it is supposed to operate. Show him soft close mechanism not moving. He says they told him door was loose and rattling and he hadn't known why things had been unplugged. Nobody had mentioned Soft Close mechanism. Told me to leave it with them.

Went back home. over 2 hours. Walk, tram, train, bus, walk, home. Anybody notice the weather today?
Open bottle of Tequila and bottle of Cointreau. Squeezed the life out of a lime and plunged into a large icy Margarita or two.
Sigh!
OK. Rant over!
Carry on with what you were doing.

 

[jimc91]

Which garage are you using?

 

[williecba]

Southern Motor Group, Croydon.

 

[jimc91]

Be interested in your feedback on them if and when they fix your tailgate, they are my nearest Vw garage so will probably have to use them for any warranty work whereas I’m happy to use @BognorMotors for non warranty work (my in-laws live in Bognor so handy for a visit)

 

[Ali-G]

That’s shocking, what a shambles.

 

[cgtmiles]

You must be of a fairly calm disposition as that rant was no where near ranty enough! I would have been spitting feathers, a race car in the red etc etc.

Fair play to you for your control

(or maybe the margaritas have mellowed your response already)

 

[VanDamMan]

@williecba Seems thats the way Vw commercial treat people ( don’t know arse from there elbow) when dealing with a dealer up hear...
had to write it down give one copy to reception and stick one on van window

hang in there .,.

 

[Insert Coin]

There would be war if that happened to me, I’m seething for you

 

[williecba]

Unfortunately or not I don’t really do ANGRY. I tend to get irritated but that being said it was too hot to work and having got home a couple of willie-made Margarita’s did have a very calming if not soporific effect.

If I am honest, knowing that they hadn’t found anything to repair, I was about 80% sure that they had not understood the problem or had not known how to diagnose the fault. There was a small chance that leaving everything unplugged for 2 months might have caused a reset but I didn’t think that was very likely.

As far as I can make out, if the Soft Close doesn’t work, it not only doesn’t register the tailgate as not properly closed and flash a warning light but it doesn’t register the fault on the OBD2 system. I am hoping to find this out on my next visit.

So this was just a dance I had to go through in order to get them to make a proper effort to fix the problem. They should have sent the engineer out to the vehicle with me to explain the fault to him directly when I dropped it off, not rely upon what some 20 year old kid receptionist had understood when I handed him the keys. The bit about the rattling door was why I had had to disconnect the module and mechanism when I got it into the fully closed position. Ho Hum!

 

[Jimb]

Hi
Understand your frustration. This happened on my velle at the start of lockdown. Was not working for weeks. I read various threads on here about how it is supposed to work. Unplugged the connector to the soft close servo after removing the threshold cover. Reconnected- still not working.

However as a very last ditch attempt. I started the engine with the tailgate open. Left the engine on and tried to close it and bingo it worked and touch wood has been ok since.
Not sure if I’ve just been lucky or worked some voodoo on it to cause a reset with the engine on.

Maybe worth a try

 

[williecba]

Hey! You've stolen my thunder. Disconnect Control Module, Open Tailgate, Start Engine Reconnect Control Module, Press Close Button, - worked for one closing of the tailgate but I had to go through the whole process every time I wanted the tailgate to close properly. So I did this last thing before leaving home and last thing before leaving work. In between, getting access to tools and parts I'd just leave it locked. Worked like that for about a month then it stopped working completely. However, trying to get it to work again one time when I connected the control module the Soft Close hoop went 'click, click, click' and stopped in the closed position. That was when I took the cover off the Soft Close mechanism and unplugged it. And the Control Module as well which meant the tailgate motors didn't work but I preferred opening and closing by hand to faffing around plugging and unplugging. Also it meant I could put the LHS rear trim panel back in place.

 

[williecba]

Power-latching Woes
I got my kombi back today after only 3 ½ weeks. Soft close was working yesterday but I let them keep it an extra day so that the service guy could do a 100 mile round trip to see if he could break it. He didn’t.
So what did they do? As far as I can gather they:

Plugged it all back in – and it didn’t work.

Plugged in whatever smart box they use and cleared all faults - and it didn’t work.

Swapped both Soft Close Mechanism and Control Module for others which were known to work - and it didn’t work.

Put the original parts back in - and it didn’t work.

Did what I think they call a ‘system reset’ but you or I call disconnecting the battery and leaving it to sit for a couple of hours – It worked!!!

I checked the tailgate shut properly when they handed it over, which it did, but it is exhibiting some strange behaviour in that on releasing the tailgate the soft close mechanism does a 4 beat clatter, ie it pulls in and releases a couple of extra times. It makes a lot of noise but I don’t know if it will do any harm.

So I am going to keep it and drive it until it stops working again and then before doing anything else I will drive back to them so they can plug in the scanner immediately and see if any error codes come up. After that who knows?

And if I am hundreds of miles from home I can always try undoing the battery for a couple of hours.

Sigh!


Something somebody else wrote about this on the forum gave me an idea. I had assumed that the control module or the soft close mechanism would be at fault but the way the closing works this is all about a sequence of events: the struts lower the tailgate and presumably stop at their limit, the latch grabs the soft close hoop, the soft close mechanism then moves the hoop and pulls the tailgate firmly shut. The soft close must wait until the tailgate is latched before it activates. Is it the signal from the latch mechanism that the soft close is failing to receive? If I recall rightly when I was first faffing around with this in late March I had the tailgate trim off and I could reach in the door and pull up on the wire link from handle to latch. That was enough to release the latch, release the soft close and start the tailgate lifting. Anyhow this seems like it may be a software glitch so who on earth knows if it will ever be sorted?

 

[mattbryson]

Hi
Understand your frustration. This happened on my velle at the start of lockdown. Was not working for weeks. I read various threads on here about how it is supposed to work. Unplugged the connector to the soft close servo after removing the threshold cover. Reconnected- still not working.

However as a very last ditch attempt. I started the engine with the tailgate open. Left the engine on and tried to close it and bingo it worked and touch wood has been ok since.
Not sure if I’ve just been lucky or worked some voodoo on it to cause a reset with the engine on.

Maybe worth a try

You would not believe the saga I have been through with this - and after a 5 min search this post solved it! Cheers @Jimb !


I wont get into the full rant, but VW Cordwallis Heathrow had my van for 8 full days (under warranty) to look at failed power closing. They then told me there was nothing wrong with it and that my van DIDN'T have power closing - hence why it didn't work. AND they wanted to charge me £100 for the privilege.

After getting it back home, I found this thread, and a simple open tailgate, turn on engine, and close it solved the whole thing.

All working fine.

Don't ever use Cordwallis Heathrow if your in that area.

They are nobs.

 

[Jimb]

You would not believe the saga I have been through with this - and after a 5 min search this post solved it! Cheers @Jimb !


I wont get into the full rant, but VW Cordwallis Heathrow had my van for 8 full days (under warranty) to look at failed power closing. They then told me there was nothing wrong with it and that my van DIDN'T have power closing - hence why it didn't work. AND they wanted to charge me £100 for the privilege.

After getting it back home, I found this thread, and a simple open tailgate, turn on engine, and close it solved the whole thing.

All working fine.

Don't ever use Cordwallis Heathrow if your in that area.

They are nobs.

Hi

Glad have helped. That’s what’s great about this forum. Mine went during the thick of lockdown. Contacted Vw but never got much response but appreciated it wasn’t a major issue during those times. It was really annoying as it felt like the boot was insecure. When I started leaping around on the drive having fixed it the neighbours thought I’d lost it!

I feel your frustration with the dealers. They should be aware of this.

 

[mattbryson]

I spoke too soon.

It's packed up again!

It now only works when the engine is running.

Going back to VW (but a different franchise/garage) tomorrow.

 

[mattbryson]

Just a quick update for anyone else experiencing this.

Apparently that module only works when there is 10.5v and above coming from battery.

So if your battery is a bit knackered, that can cause it to stop working (and explains why it works when engine is running).

However, mine still not solved. Strong volts from battery, but when the boot lock engages, the volts drop to 10 - thus the power latch wont kick in.

Technician is investigating as to what is sapping all the voltage when it closes.....

 

[Boric99]

Also got issues with the Power close on my boot seems to be the year for things going wrong on my vehicle. So i have looked at most the htreads on this issue across the internet and what i have identified so far is as following.

1. Opening the tail gate and starting the engine and stopping it does not clear the issue. he motor by hand no issue at all
2. When i close the read tailgate the warning light on the dash goes and so i dont think the issue is with the microswitch in the tailgate, based on what other people have said i assume the same switch to actuate the motor in the soft close unit is the same switch to control the warning light on the dash to say the boot is still open.
3. I opened up the motor on striker plate and like many people it was full of rubbish and so i have cleaned this out and applied a bit more Greese. I can turn the motor no issue at all.
4. I have power doors on the side as well and they are working as expected and so it does not seem to be a fuse issue.
5. My battery does need replacing as it is a bit down but i check the voltage and it is over 10.5V and when the engine is running the soft close still does not work.

Can anyone explain how i can test the motor in the striker plate or out of the three cables going to the motor what wires you be like on opening or closing the tailgate so i can try and test this to make sure it is getting power / the motor is still working.

Any guidance really appreciated as starting to loss the will if i am honest with this one.

Thanks a lot.

 

[Scottish Scrutineer]

1. Opening the tail gate and starting the engine and stopping it does not clear the issue. he motor by hand no issue at all
2. When i close the read tailgate the warning light on the dash goes and so i dont think the issue is with the microswitch in the tailgate, based on what other people have said i assume the same switch to actuate the motor in the soft close unit is the same switch to control the warning light on the dash to say the boot is still open.
3. I opened up the motor on striker plate and like many people it was full of rubbish and so i have cleaned this out and applied a bit more Greese. I can turn the motor no issue at all.
4. I have power doors on the side as well and they are working as expected and so it does not seem to be a fuse issue.
5. My battery does need replacing as it is a bit down but i check the voltage and it is over 10.5V and when the engine is running the soft close still does not work.

Can anyone explain how i can test the motor in the striker plate or out of the three cables going to the motor what wires you be like on opening or closing the tailgate so i can try and test this to make sure it is getting power / the motor is still working.

Any guidance really appreciated as starting to loss the will if i am honest with this one.

Thanks a lot.

Check the voltage at the lock/motor. I would suspect that the low battery voltage is still at the root of your problems. If when the engine is running, the battery is still drawing a significant charge from the alternator, the voltage at the motor may still be insufficient. Also check that the earth cables and bonds are in good condition.

 

[Boric99]

Will check the voltage though the soft close motors for the side doors work fine or do they require a lot less power?. Also from the following picture which wire should i expect a voltage on as at the moment I seem to get nothing on any of them. I have tried to look at the diagrams in the VIP section but they are not making a lot of sense to me.

thanks a lot.

 

[roadtripper]

I'm new to the VW diagrams but my reading of it is that there may not be any power to the motor until the module tries to drive it open or closed.

Is yours a T6 or T6.1?

As a thought can you fool the latch in the tailgate it is closed using a spanner/shackle/screwdriver of similar size to the latch hoop on the motor module - then at least you should be able to see it trying to move.