OT: electrical problem in car

[sbornia]

Howdy - I'm stuck on an electrical problem in my car ('98 VW GTI VR6) and am trying to troubleshoot it as much as possible before bringing to a mechanic. Maybe you can help? Here's the deal...

The headlights, wipers, and HVAC won't turn on. I checked the fuses, and they're ok. Just replaced the battery because it needed a new one anyway, and when I first started up the car, I got the wipers to move -- but then tried again a few minutes later, and no go. Turn signals work fine, so it's not like all the bulbs are burned out.

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Steven

[R2D2]

Sounds like a short in the wiring harness.
Gonna be tough to figure that out.
Need a schematic. Likely they have a common ground that's not making a connection.

[Richard]

Sounds like the ignition switch. By any chance, do you dangle a lot of keys from the switch? I had a similar problem with an early 90s Jetta.

[R2D2]

Richard has a very good point.
Totaly skipped my mind.
Try jigling the key in the switch and it may work for a moment.

[sbornia]

Try jigling the key in the switch and it may work for a moment.

You guys are F'IN geniuses!! Thank you!!

Would the permanent fix to this problem be a new ignition switch?...which I'm hoping is a relatively easy/cheap fix?

[dave thompson]

You guys are F'IN geniuses!! Thank you!!

Would the permanent fix to this problem be a new ignition switch?...which I'm hoping is a relatively easy/cheap fix?
Not terribly expensive: http://catalog.eautopartscatalog.com/ibusiness/JSP.v.1.01/wizard.jsp?header=http://www.alleuropeanautoparts.com/header.txt&footer=http://www.alleuropeanautoparts.com/footer.txt&partner=ipb&clientid=alleuropeanautoparts&baseurl=http://www.alleuropeanautoparts.com/&cookieid=1ZT12KUJH1ZT12KYWL&year=1998&make=VW&model=GOL-GTI-004&category=All&part=Ignition+Lock+Cylinder