"BRAKE" light part 2 (long)

[posaune <leah@erinet.com>]

Arthur, Don and the lists,

In case you didn't read the last post, I said that the brake light on
the dash (the one that
lights when the handbrake is up) will come on normally then go to about
half brightness
and stay that way (unless the handbrake is pulled).

What I DIDN'T say last time is that the reason it did this is that I
tried bridgeing 2 & 6 on
the DRL relay plug (from the Bentley, it looks like this will keep the
brake light working
w/ no DRLs -- uhh, it didn't work :( )  So, I'm stupid -- leave me
alone, I feel bad enough
about it :(.

So the question is, since the dealer is going to make me pay for the
repair anyway, what
did I do.

The dealer is blaming the problem on the fact that I have the euro
switch in, controlling
lows, highs (separately -- this is a Jetta), fogs, and rear fogs.  So,
we know that this is
incorrect, but what they said it caused, MIGHT be right.

They said it overloaded a diode between the "brake" light and the switch
- -- this diode
supposedly controls backflow from the DRLs.  I don't know about this,
I'm just telling you
what I was told.  I also haven't found this diode in my bentley, but I
haven't looked all that
hard -- I did see it in their wiring diagrams.

Now, they want to find the diode (major time $$ -- as the diagrams do
not specify where it
is in the wire) and replace it with a much higher wattage diode so "it
can take the much
higher load from the fogs, rear fogs and headlights."

So, I have some options here.
- ---let them find the diode, replace it and hope it works (and be out
lots o' suspension $$)
- ---let them find the diode and make them replace it with OEM (they
REALLY don't want to
do that "cause of the larger load) (and still be out lots o' suspension
$$)
- ---pull the bulb and have no warning light at all
- ---ADD a diode at a much easier to access place in the wire (will this
work)
- ---find out the problem is not a diode at all
- ---do something else that will stop the light from coming on (that
bridge between 2 & 6
will turn off the light, but I'm not sure if anything else works, or
what other damage that
might be doing -- OBVIOUSLY, an electrical genius I ain't)

BTW, I mentioned that I was going to add european dual rounds and it
just about sent them
to the looney bin -- they REALLY didn't like that after all the other
stuff that they think
caused the prob.


Anyway, all help would be greatly appreciated.  The service guy is
calling around trying
to find an appropriate size diode and calling VW to try to find out
where that diode is, so I
have a day or two to decide what to do.

Thanks in advance,
- -erik "electrical engineer extrordinaire" schmalz