More tailgate power latching woes.

[Salty Spuds]

After 4 days back at the dealers they've decided that my intermittent fault with the tailgate power latching is due to corrosion from condensation due to us sleeping in the van....don't ask.
Anyway, here's my question:- I want to do away with the power latching on the tailgate, it's a complete PITA, pointless, brings nothing to the party & a waste of money. Can I simply replace the servo striker plate for a bog standard one & be done with it, or is it more involved? I've gone through VCDS looking for an option to disable it, but can't find anything related to power latching. I thought I might be able to disable it & the servo motor would stay in the latched position & act as a fixed striker. Can I remove the servo, disconnect it electrically whilst its in the locked/latched position & use it as a fixed striker?
Any pointers would be appreciated.

 

[rover220]

I suspect you could pull power to the striker once it's retracted and that would make it a fixed version.

 

[Pauly]

as above, remove the plug on the motor or unplug the control module while the door is shut and the motor is in the inward position

 

[Salty Spuds]

as above, remove the plug on the motor or unplug the control module while the door is shut and the motor is in the inward position

Cheers chaps, that’s what I was hoping to hear. Am I likely to get a fault or a “door open” on the dash?
I’ll give it a go tomorrow & feed back.

 

[VanDamMan]

Cheers chaps, that’s what I was hoping to hear. Am I likely to get a fault or a “door open” on the dash?
I’ll give it a go tomorrow & feed back.

This might have some bearing....Vw had a recall to reseal the sliding door rubber seal on the motor ( as in there words the electric for the tailgate are in that location as well as the sliding motor )..If power washing the ingress of water might cause a fire....it might be that water is getting in perhaps ......Just a thought

 

[Salty Spuds]

Update. I removed the plug from the striker plate whilst it's in the CLOSED position & mechanically it all works well. However, I've lost the "Tailgate open\closed" indication on the MFD mimic. I removed the catch from the tailgate, it has a microswitch built into it with a small 3 pin plug. I removed the plug & put the multimeter across the pins & operated the microswitch, I can't see anything happening between the various pins, nada, nothing. I put the volt meter across the incoming cable pins & got 0V on the middle pin & +/- 2V on the outer pins. I was expecting 12V, could this be the fault or are these Canbus voltages? If I plugged the cable back into the catch & manually operated the microswitch, the striker plate servo would operate intermittently, as would the "Tailgate open/closed" indication on the MFD.
Also, if I lock the van with the remote, with the tailgate open OR closed, the van auto re-locks after 30sec. Another indication that the van doesn't know that the tailgate is open or closed.
Conclusion:-
Asssuming the incoming voltages to the microswitch are correct (Canbus?) I'm leaning towards the microswitch in the tailgate catch being fooked. I can't see of anyway of dis-assembling the tailgate catch to get at the microswitch, it all seems to be swaged together.
If the incoming Voltages should be 12V, I might have an issue with the control module or cabling therefrom.
PS. VW have had the van for 4 days investigating the fault, they have changed the high level brake light under warranty, even though I wasn't aware of,& hadn't reported a fault with it. They've water tested the rear door & can't find fault. Their conclusion is that the fault is due to corrosion (Non evident visually) due to it being an after market conversion.
PPS how much "ish" is a new tailgate catch?

 

[Pauly]

If you want it gone, unplug the control module in the rear quarter panel void then short out pins 6 and 8, this should bridge the door signal cable and keep the door open/close working

 

[Pauly]

You won’t have any voltage until the control module receives a trigger signal (negative applied or removed) and this energises (and/or reverses polarity to) the motor

if you want to test the door switch output signal measure for a negative on pin 6, this negative should come and go as the door is open and shut, you can use pin 7 for a permanent 12v positive

 

[Salty Spuds]

If you want it gone, unplug the control module in the rear quarter panel void then short out pins 6 and 8, this should bridge the door signal cable and keep the door open/close working

Sorry for being thick, but I thought the door open/closed signal came from the microswitch in the tailgate, which I think is goosed. If I short out pins 6&8 won’t the system think the door is permanently either open or closed?

 

[Pauly]

The signal goes from tailgate to pin 6 which activates the lock motor, after the motor has operated the control module then forwards this signal out through pin 8 to the bcm/dash

Shorting pins 6 and 8 takes the control module out of the equation and sends the door signal straight to the dash

 

[Salty Spuds]

Cheers, thanks for the explanation, much appreciated. I’ll give it a whirl tomorrow.

 

[Salty Spuds]

Just to close this out. I gave up on VW & bit the bullet. I had a good poke about & also found that in addition to the latching not working, I had a LED number plate light out. I bought a pair of LED number plate lights & a tailgate latch from TPS, swapped them both out & voila! I’ve sealed all the connectors with Metect, which is my go to sealant of choice. I made a shroud to stick on the inside of the tailgate to deflect any condensation/water from running into the latch mechanism.
Let’s see what happens.

 

[moomin-j]

@Salty Spuds
As you are from Barnsley may I ask, was this JCT600 Sheffield, by any chance?
This is who, I will be asking re my side door power latching problem, and as having a conversion, I worry they may suggest that it has something to do with it acting up, but I can't see why this would be?
As with yours, it would seem that they may try any excuse to wriggle out of a warranty claim?

 

[Salty Spuds]

@Salty Spuds
As you are from Barnsley may I ask, was this JCT600 Sheffield, by any chance?
This is who, I will be asking re my side door power latching problem, and as having a conversion, I worry they may suggest that it has something to do with it acting up, but I can't see why this would be?
As with yours, it would seem that they may try any excuse to wriggle out of a warranty claim?

Yup JCT600, who I must say have been great upto now. But for some reason they are adamant that the fault is down to condensation, notwithstanding the fact that they changed the high level brake light un-prompted.

 

[moomin-j]

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