2001 VW Passat 130BHP

tred · 08-02-2007 11:10am #1

Folks. Brother in law has one of these. Grand car. This morning though when he went to put diesel in the car, the fuel cap switch on the door, wouldnt open the cap. Any thoughts on what it might be. The switch beside it for the boot is fine. Fuses look fine? is it a wiring issue?

Seth Brundle · 08-02-2007 11:31am

Could it have been frozen?
Otherwise if all else works then check wiring and/or a new motor unit.

tred · 08-02-2007 11:47am

kbannon wrote:

Could it have been frozen?
Otherwise if all else works then check wiring and/or a new motor unit.

Not frozen. Its not even making a noise to try and open it. I am wondering is it possibly to replace the switch itself? or even wire the switch direct, to test if its a wiring issue or switch problem.

crosstownk · 08-02-2007 11:59am

It could be the actuator. It's similar in design to the boot actuator which is known to fail from time to time. There should be a pull cord behind the fabric trim panel in the boot which will allow you to open the flap in the meantime.

You could try and make the connection at the plug connector for the switch, but be careful which wires you connect. There will probably be 4 wires for this switch - some wires are for the tiny bulb in the switch.

tred · 08-02-2007 1:28pm

crosstownk wrote:

It could be the actuator. It's similar in design to the boot actuator which is known to fail from time to time. There should be a pull cord behind the fabric trim panel in the boot which will allow you to open the flap in the meantime.

You could try and make the connection at the plug connector for the switch, but be careful which wires you connect. There will probably be 4 wires for this switch - some wires are for the tiny bulb in the switch.

this sounds like it might be the problem. Il lget him to take a look. Is the actuator a replacement part, is it located near the switch or near the fuel cap?

crosstownk · 08-02-2007 2:16pm

Actuator is at the filler flap. IIRC it's behind the fabric trim panel. A small grey box - a little bigger than a match box. Just get the part number off it and go to the local dealer.

tred · 08-02-2007 3:35pm

crosstownk wrote:

Actuator is at the filler flap. IIRC it's behind the fabric trim panel. A small grey box - a little bigger than a match box. Just get the part number off it and go to the local dealer.

Cheers. thanks for the help.

tred · 09-02-2007 11:18am

tred wrote:

Cheers. thanks for the help.

We tested the actuator last night moved it to another passat. It works fine, so its now either wiring or switch. We think its the wiring as i heard last night, sometimes it used not open before and hed have to move the cable near the door hinge, where all the wiring is, looks like there might be a loose connection in there. Is it easy to get at this wiring i wonder. WE temporarily set up an old lawnmore cord and grip until we sort it out. thanks for the help.

crosstownk · 09-02-2007 11:38am

It'd be kinda unusual for the wiring itself to be faulty - I'd be more inclined to try the switch from the donor Passat. Just remove the 3 screws in the bottom of the door panel and you should be able to pull the bottom of the door panel forward (gently!) and get your hand up to remove the switch.

2001 VW Passat 130BHP

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