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electrical problem 96 passat

Hi drivers-

I know very little about auto electrical stuff, so forgive me if I'm missing something really obvious.

The car is a 96 Passat wagon, auto, vr6.

An awful lot of the time when I turn the ignition on the clock and dashboard electronics all reset, as if the battery is really low or lugging down for some reason. Right now (it's cold out) it does it most all of the time, but in warmer weather it wouldn't usually do it if it had been sitting overnight. But if I turned it off and on again it would reset everything.

The battery is new.

Could this be an alternator issue? Am I leaking juice or grounding out somewhere? How can I diagnose the problem?

Thanks for any help - Chris

Reply to
starburst
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possibly a loose/bad fuse or ground connection for the instruments do you hear a strange little clicking noise when you turn the ign on?

Reply to
dave AKA vwdoc1

Yes, I sure do! How can I trace where the problem is? Should I pull the cluster and shoot the connectors with contact cleaner? Replace the fuse for the cluster? Again, sorry if I sound like a dimwit, but I've just never learned much about car electrics. Thanks Dave - C

Reply to
starburst

Reply to
dave AKA vwdoc1

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