[LineInTheWater]

So, like many of you, I followed taligentx's instructions on the circuit board repair for the door lock mechanism (with bad solder joint). It's been a while. I have a 99 Passat.

My friend thinks he's having the same problem, on his 2002. Did this defect/failure also plague the 2002?

 

[dbrick]

I expect so; I've got it in my 2001 to fix when I get back from this trip by airplane.

 

[LineInTheWater]

I expect so; I've got it in my 2001 to fix when I get back from this trip by airplane.

We opened his lock mechanism last night, and the design is slightly different than the 99. The board appears to be the same layout, but they added a protective coating to the back. But, I doubt they knew of the 99 era solder weak point when they re-designed the unit. I inspected as best I could the solder joints, with a magnifying glass, and they looked perfect. We ohmed out the one microswitch too (back door) and it looked fine.

VW also changed the motor, plastic wheel combo that actuates the locking knob.

I'll post some pics if he ever gets them to me.

Oddly, we found a one small piece of broken plastic (and a few very small bits), that matched the color of the frame in which lock knob mechanism is located. I'll post a pic. We looked for a half hour, but it's source wasn't obvious.

My friend says his failure wasn't intermittent at first; suddenly, the door knob stopped going up and down, but the car would still arm the alarm. This makes a solder joint less suspect. I'll post all the details of his symptoms when he gets back to me.

Thanks.

 

[dbrick]

Did you reflow the solder joints anyway? It's possible that a broken joint could remain unseen.

 

[Electron Man]

I'd have to say yes, but ~30-50 percent (subjective) less frequent occurrence. The protective coating helps, to a degree, reduce the shock that the circuit board receives from a door being slammed. We've all done it once/twice (either in 5F temps or heavy rain) when the subject lock button didn't go down after pressing "lock" on the remote.

The right rear lock module on my Sept 03 build Passat will get flaky about once every 3-4 months. I'll put up with it for another year in the hopes that something else inside the door (window regulator to glass plastic pin falling out?) goes awry - then I'll have two reasons to operate on the door shell...for a full day of fun. :hmmm:

BTW, anyone thinking they can use an '02 or later lock module on a 98-01 door shell...no dice. The triple square bolts that attach module to door shell are in different locations (gotta love factory designed mistake-proofing).

 

[LineInTheWater]

Did you reflow the solder joints anyway? It's possible that a broken joint could remain unseen.

I understand, and we discussed it. When I did my car, I just redid all the joints regardless of how they looked (but some were visibly questionable). Unfortunately, with that coating on the back, I was a little unclear how to proceed, and it was late. I thought of taking my heat gun to it to see if that would soften it up, so I could scrape away the coating. Really need that localized heat gun/torch (can't remember the name), or an old solder tip.

 

[LineInTheWater]

The protective coating helps, to a degree, reduce the shock that the circuit board receives from a door being slammed.

Does everyone else wince when their Passat doors are slammed?

I've previously tried to explain to my friend how terrible Passat doors are to work on ... I don't think he fully grasped what I was saying until now. And the fun might continue if you don't close it up properly, with new/intact weather stripping! Nothing like opening your door and finding two inches of water on your floor! :icon_eek: