# Case of the mysterious climate controls

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/case-of-the-mysterious-climate-controls/1312>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Created:** [July 5, 2007, 4:59pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/case-of-the-mysterious-climate-controls/1312 "2007-07-05T16:59:19Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![rabechtold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a9a28c/32.png) [@rabechtold](https://community.cartalk.com/u/rabechtold)\
**Post date:** [July 5, 2007, 4:59pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/case-of-the-mysterious-climate-controls/1312/1 "2007-07-05T16:59:19Z")

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I have a 1998 4 door vw jetta 2.0 liter in which the AC, Fan, and rear defroster will intermittingly not turn on if the car has setting for a while. Furthermore, when this happens, the brake light turns on. If I run the car for a couple of minutes, turn it off, then restart it, the problem dissapears. Any thoughts?

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**Author:** ![Cougar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/cougar/32/21348_2.png) [@Cougar](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Cougar)\
**Post date:** [July 5, 2007, 8:33pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/case-of-the-mysterious-climate-controls/1312/2 "2007-07-05T20:33:23Z")

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I would guess these things are tied to a common power source somewhere, possibly a breaker, fuse, or relay. There seems to be a intermittent power connection causing this problem.

I suggest you purchase a service manual to help you find the trouble area. It will save you money and time if you can repair things like this yourself.