Sorry about it not being a Fabia, but it's very, very similar... 53-plate car, 1.4/BBY, SE trim.

 

Left the car with VW main dealers yesterday for a cambelt/waterpump job. On the way home, had that double-time indicator tell-tale thing first time I indicated right. Then again when I indicated left. First time I thought, oh bugger, I've had a bulb blow. Second time I thought "huh?!" All had been working when I left it with them.

 

Got home (fortunately only a few miles) and found none of the 6 indicator bulbs lighting with hazards, stalk switch or remote fob.

 

Found that all are on one fuse, (15 Amp), and it was blown; but fitting a good replacement hasn't fixed things. I haven't had time to go around checking that all 6 bulbs haven't blown, but this seems improbable to my mind.

 

Any ideas?

 

Is there an actual relay somewhere still on these era cars, or is it all solid-state?

 

I think it all happens on the board in the module under the relay area doesn't it?

 

Anyone got any thoughts? I'm reluctant to drive it at all with no indicators, let alone take it back to them...

Did the new fuse blow again?

Thanks for the reply, but no, it didn't blow.

 

Only thing I wonder is if the replacement fuse, new out of packet, wasn't/isn't OK even though it looked intact. Unlikely but not impossible.

 

At home this afternoon so I should be able to try things like disconnecting/reconnecting battery; Buzzing out fuses etc.

 

Gotta go to the pub now. :sun:

I was wrong

Replacement fuse had blown, and so has another just now. Slightly encouraging. Probably a shorting bulb or wire, maybe?

I was wrong

Replacement fuse had blown, and so has another just now. Slightly encouraging. Probably a shorting bulb or wire, maybe?

 

Yeah, sounds like it's shorting somewhere. Maybe they disturbed something when they worked on the car?

Just walking the pup, then I can have a look.

Just walking the pup, then I can have a look.

 

All four main bulbs check out OK. Now gotta look up how to get side repeaters off without breakage.

Sorted. As I was looking through Haynes at how the side repeaters come off, I noticed the description of the hazard light switch removal procedure.  Having spoken to the workshop high-dude at VW this morning, this was one of the things he kindly suggested I check. Unplugged it, fitted yet another fuse and now and everything works (except the hazard lights...).

 

:sun:

I would have guessed that the indicators/hazard lights worked same as my old Passat B5, ie the hazard switch contained the relay for indicators and hazards - seems I'm wrong there, good to know.

All I've had so far with same car is problems with a front indicator bulb holder which has lead to me changing the wiring a bit. It was during this fix that I discovered when operating the "indicators" the lamp out double flashing function will happen if a bulb has failed, operating the hazards does not allow that double flashing function, this wasted me a bit of time while swopping bulbs side and then bulb holders side to side - now older and wiser!!

Hiya, I suspect I'll be hoping to hear from you every time I have a problem with this car, what year is your family's Polo?

I had to replace the whole left headlight housing as soon as I got this one. It looked all misted up on the inside of both front covers, but that mist turned out to be condensed plastic from where the dipped beam bulb had been loose and melting whatever it touched, due to a broken retaining ring.

 

I'm not 100% sure I've got to the heart of this problem yet, 'cos when I look at the partly disassembled switch itself I don't see what's wrong with it; and looking at Haynes's wiring diagram of the circuit involved, it looks like this is a 'soft' switch, just telling the 'on board supply control unit' that it has been pushed (doesn't even latch as far as I can see), not actually carrying any of the current that lights the bulbs.

 

Once I've got a supply of plenty of spare 15A fuses I can play a bit more, but for now, in its absence, I have indicators. Will be checking the side repeater bulbs and wiring later today or tomorrow. Bet they're factory-original bulbs that are half-silvered by now.

This seems to have fixed itself??

Put back the original hazard switch, tried the indicators via stalk, all OK. Tried hazard function, all OK.

Only difference I can think of is that it was several degrees milder last night when I put it back together than the day it failed. No way it should be that marginal though, so I'm mystified. But happy that it's all working for now.

Wife's Polo 9N is an "imported new" 1.4 BBY 5 door brought in late 2002 loaded with extras from NL at a very good price, apart from the normal early life wallet grabbing ARB u/s, front springs breaking, wheel alignment, TCA bushes, broken front section of exhaust, it has been okay. It is now on 103+K miles, has had a new oil seperator and a couple of ignition coils and a pair of rear springs.  I think that everything else is original, but it is starting to rust a bit. It is a car that gets used every day a I've done all the servicing except the in warranty one, indie has done the cam belt at 5 and 10 years.

Just came across this thread and see that I didn't close it out when I found the real fault a week later.

 

Turns out it was all down to a water leak. Any time I said it was fixed, above ^ was purely down to the water having evaporated away.

The rear light cluster seal on the nearside was letting in water (they washed the car after the work at VW). The leak path is directly above a 5 or 6 way vertically-orientated un-waterproofed connector, the lowest two ways of which are 0V and indicator.  So while there was water between these two pins, any activation of that indicator would instantly blow the fuse and put everything out.

 

On the offside, the pins are in a different order, and that side showed no evidence of having leaked.

 

A bit of closed-cell self-adhesive foam was a five minute fix once I'd discovered this.

 

Just in case it's useful to anyone else with a 9N Polo, who might come across this thread and curse me if I hadn't posted this last 'wrap-up'.

 

Picture shows the foam that leaked ringed in blue, some puddles inside the housing, and the pins that must have been getting connected by water:

 

I would have guessed that the indicators/hazard lights worked same as my old Passat B5, ie the hazard switch contained the relay for indicators and hazards - seems I'm wrong there, good to know.

All I've had so far with same car is problems with a front indicator bulb holder which has lead to me changing the wiring a bit. It was during this fix that I discovered when operating the "indicators" the lamp out double flashing function will happen if a bulb has failed, operating the hazards does not allow that double flashing function, this wasted me a bit of time while swopping bulbs side and then bulb holders side to side - now older and wiser!!

From my investigations into remote central locking indication using the hazards, it would apear that there's no relay etc on the board. I'd suggest the switch on/off of the hazards is done by an electronic toggle/flip flop, some where in the car electronics, particularly as the current drawn to operate the switch is low.

The only leak that I've had on wife's Polo 9N was when one of the foam seals that surround the retaining studs dropped down, that meant that the wing nut seized solid and when the next bulb failed I had to force the cluster off after undoing one wing nut leaving the second wind nut and stud still fixed to the car!. A quick removal,clean up and greasing then glued the stud back into the cluster and found and refitted the foam seal, now car was back to being as it should be!

 

Edit:- actually I believe that you can buy a seal kit from VW for that car, I had trouble with daughter's Ibiza 6J 2009 car - Seat don't sell a seal kit for that one, what I mistakenly believed to be "that" equivalent seal failing on her car, was actually a leak on the cluster where the coloured outer lens assembly gets bonded to the body of the cluster - fixed using clear sealer. (I discovered that by carrying out an immersion test in a basin of water!)

Edited 26 July, 201510 yr by rum4mo

From my investigations into remote central locking indication using the hazards, it would apear that there's no relay etc on the board. I'd suggest the switch on/off of the hazards is done by an electronic toggle/flip flop, some where in the car electronics, particularly as the current drawn to operate the switch is low.

 

 As Wino said, that is a "soft" switch like so many other ones nowadays - but that switch on the B5 Audi A4, Passat and Superb was an all singing and dancing hazard/indicator controller.

Edited 26 July, 201510 yr by rum4mo

Hi, not to up on the Polos, but is your hazard switch triangular? If so had a similar thing with my A6 quottro, the indicators just went nuts, turned out to be the hazard switch had gone on the blink (pun) this hazard unit was used over a range of VAG models and was a common fail item, think the indicator relays were all part and parcel of the hazard unit and not independent relay units, like the ones I was looking for, but could not find lol, once I realized my mistake, just bought a new updated hazard unit and replaced the old unit, think it was about 16 quid from GSF.

No, the hazard switch turned out to be a red herring. It was all down to a water leak into the rear cluster on the nearside, as per post #14.

Thanks to all who replied.