[rhodebump]

I just emptied out the garage and pulled the Passat in and going to buy some kerosene for the garage heater. I am going to be replacing the shift locking solenoid. It's on the way (just got shipment notice from ecstuning).

From what I understand, I am going to have to come up from the bottom of the car and move an exhaust manifold out of the way to access the solenoid. Any other links/info that anyone can share with me would be appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[PZ]

You need to remove the exhaust heat shield in the tunnel behind the trans. The exhaust can stay in place. Remove the 4 bolts holding the shifter from inside the car and you can drop it down to take apart.

 

[ylwagon]

How do you know that the solenoid is bad? They are simple devices, and more likely to not work due to insufficient current.

 

[rhodebump]

Good question!

The reason I think it was bad is because the transmission is in "limp mode" and the VCDS reading is:

01236 - Shift Selector Locking Solenoid (N110)
31-00 - Open or Short to Ground

I am unable to shift between gears without depressing the little button on the shifter to disengage the lock, even when pressing the brake pedal. I did remove the electrical contacts on the solenoid and cleaned them and applied dielectric grease, but that did not fix the problem.

I should probably measure the voltage!

 

[Tomvw]

I think your problem is more likely to be a faulty brake pedal switch or its wiring, than a faulty solenoid.

 

[rhodebump]

I already replaced the brake light switch with a new one. But based on all the feedback, I am going to test the solenoid out with a multimeter (the resistance). I would also like to test the solenoid by applying power to it. Would a car battery charger be enough? I have a car battery but it would be easier to use the charger. Thanks!

 

[rhodebump]

I guess I can easily test how much power is being send to this solenoid using the multimeter. If the power being sent is good, then it would be the solenoid. Just to confirm, looking for 12 v?

 

[ylwagon]

That's correct. Have probes on the solenoid's wiring, but keep the solenoid connected. You may have to improvise a way to do this, such as pins through the wire's insulation. With Ignition ON, press the brakes, and you should see 12V. By the way, the reason to keep the solenoid connected is that without the low resistance of the solenoid's coil, the wires might indeed have 12 Volts across them, but such high resistance in the circuit that it cannot supply enough current.

 

[Tomvw]

As well as checking for a good 12V supply, you need to check that it has a good ground.

The only thing that solenoid does, is to prevent moving the lever out of park without pressing the brake pedal, if the ignition is on.
With the ignition off, it does nothing.

The button on the shifter operates a separate latch.
It must be pressed to move the shifter out of Park, you can then move it through Reverse & Neutral to Drive.
Once in drive you can move it only between D & N without pressing the button, you need to press the button again to move to lower gears or Reverse & Park.

 

[rhodebump]

I got a multimeter on the leads to the solenoid. I am getting 14 volts when I press down on the brake pedal.

I tested resistance on the solenoid using the multimeter/ohms setting.

Brand new solenoid: 22
Old solenoid: 15

Would those resistance reading indicate a bad solenoid?

 

[VAGguy]

14volts? Was the engine running?

 

[rhodebump]

Good question! no, but I hooked up the charger to the battery since it's cold out and tired of constantly disconnecting the battery. I will measure without the charger connected.

 

[rhodebump]

Yes, 14 volts when the car is running, 12 volts when the car is not running.

I got it backwards.
There is always 12V running to the shift selector solenoid when ignition on (14v when engine running).
The voltage drops down to zero when I hit the brake pedal.

Does this sound like correct behavior?

 

[rhodebump]

I got the shift assembly trim removed, took off the four bolts on top, and the bolt holding the cable to the frame of the car. Removed head shield from bottom. It's very loose but not dropping down. Should I be trying to remove the cable from the shift assembly (is that what is holding it up?)

Back to the garage for me and bang my head against this problem!

 

[PZ]

I can't remember offhand as it's been a few years since I did one, but it might be the interlock cable holding it up. It should have a sliding clip holding it in place. I'm on drugs right now, but I think that's correct 🥴

 

[rhodebump]

@PZ I think you are right! I haven't had my evening beers yet, but I haven't figured out how to remove that sliding clip yet.

 

[PZ]

I'm on Oxy again due to back pain. I have a shift box (or two) in the garage, but can't get to them for several days. I think both have bad solenoids and I know I started taking one apart to figure out how to replace one, but ended up swapping the good box into "Twowagens" car.

 

[rhodebump]

@PZ Sorry about your back pain. It can really impact life. Hope it gets better (without the oxy)

 

[PZ]

It will on February 1st, when I go for steroid injections for my neck.

 

[rhodebump]

Everyone,
I figured out the clip, and the shift assembly box is dropped. It's resting on top of the exhaust pipe.

How do I replace the solenoid? Do I try to work through the hole from the top? Do I work on the shift assembly from under the car? Should the transmission cable be removed from the assembly (it makes it hard to rotate and move)?

Sorry for all the questions.