VW Beetle wiring riddle

June 22, 2008 3:35 PM

Apropos of nothing, why would the wiring going to the fog lights on a US 2002 VW New Beetle have an extra unattached plug on it? This is not the lowest model, but came with the fog lights standard. I wonder if one of the upscale versions had fog lamps with two bulbs in each light or something that would have required another plug. On second look, it occurs only on the drivers side wiring, the passenger side looks normal. Please stop me from agonizing over this superfluous detail!
posted by ackptui to Travel & Transportation (11 answers total)

I'm having a hard time picturing what you mean, but you're not talking about the plug for an engine block heater, are you?
posted by loiseau at 3:45 PM on June 22, 2008

Dunno, but you could get a meter and see if it goes hot when you turn various things (headlights, fogs, signals, etc) on.
posted by Kwantsar at 4:01 PM on June 22, 2008

It is like a Y cable, one end of it goes north, and the other end has two plugs on it, one of which goes to the left fog light. The right side cable does not have the Y.
posted by ackptui at 4:10 PM on June 22, 2008

in addition to various trim levels, the Beetle shares a lot of basic chassis components with the Golf. Perhaps there is something on the Golf that would use that plug. Perhaps you could go to a bookstore with a large selection of service manuals and do a little research. Have you owned since it was new; have there been any modifications made?
posted by TedW at 4:11 PM on June 22, 2008

It may be the lead for the rear fog light on European models.
posted by jimbotex at 4:20 PM on June 22, 2008

Owned since new. The dealer I bought it from in Milwaukee had someone drive it over from the dealership in Michigan where he located it. It had about 500 miles on it when I took delivery. I wonder if maybe something else that used this same cable may have had a third fog light in its setup. I have not dissected the cable, but it looks to me like it could only go to something else that would be switched with the foglights.
posted by ackptui at 4:21 PM on June 22, 2008

Could have something to do with HID (Xenon) lights, which might be an option on this or some similar car. I bet if you posted a picture to vwvortex.com, you'd get your answer though.
posted by drmarcj at 7:24 PM on June 22, 2008

TedW has the right idea. Standardized wire bundles for cars which share a common chassis configuration are very common in automotive manufacturing. You will probably find the Golf wiring guide has something for that connector that you VW doesn't use. And the Golf owner is wondering what your fog light connector is really for but hasn't asked us, yet.
posted by ptm at 8:41 PM on June 22, 2008

You could also ask your question at newbeetle.org.
posted by ssg at 9:08 PM on June 22, 2008

Also, the A4 Golf/Jetta wiring diagram doesn't show anything else connected to the fog light wiring. It shows wires for low beams, high beams, fog lights, parking lights, front turn signal, side turn signal, and side marker. However, the Jetta headlight assembly diagram shows an extra bulb, marked only "Not Applicable to USA/CAN", which might have something to do with your extra plug.
posted by ssg at 9:26 PM on June 22, 2008

Doesn't necessarily have to be a light, either. Could be for a second horn or an external temperature monitor for some uplevel HVAC option.
posted by gjc at 4:44 PM on June 23, 2008