Door latch microswitch
 

One of the microswitches in my driver's-side door has gone out. Unfortunately, it's the one that's right on the latch (cam-driven by the latch itself). I've only been able to find a replacement part for the one that snaps in/out for the handle. Does anybody know where I could get a replacement switch, or is my only option to take one off of another latch assembly?
Thanks in advance.

In case anybody is interested, I was able to remedy the situation by "repairing" the current switch. The urethane cover for the switch is what had worn off; I picked out the remaining material then covered the switch with heat shrink. I put some hot glue inside the heat shrink, then applied heat, then added a couple more layers of heat shrink.
Once I had gotten the rubber on, I trimmed it until it was the right length. Works great, for now.

Awesome! Great tip to file away.

:)

Good idea.

Only thing to consider is the hot glue. On warm summer days in the sun hot glue will loose it's shape - especially under pressure / load - especially over time. So the better solution would be to use something that is less temperature sensitive. Maybe a 2K product.

Yeah, the hot glue is a pretty small amount and my intention for it is to act as an adhesive, not a filler. I think that even when it gets hot it should still stick pretty well, plus I have it sealed in pretty tight with the heat shrink.
I do live in Texas, though, so if heat is going to be a problem, I bet that I'll find out pretty quick.
I'll definitely take your suggestion if it fails, though.

Here is an image of the result
 

If you do a quick search, you will find that the door latch used on the 986 is the same one used on many VAG cars and can be easily modded to fit the 986 for under $40 new. The biggest thing is to make sure you get the right pin connector for your car, some use 8 pin, some use 9 pin.

There are a couple DIY pages out there, I did my driver door with a $37 OEM VW part, passenger is about due.

Door Latch SOurce
 

Do have the seller of the OEM VW part? My passenger side latch died and am looking for a replacement that costs less than $400.
Jim

I'm curious if this microswitch could be involved with a door handle problem that has slowly gotten worse over the past few months. I have a 2001 986 and, after it has been locked and unlocked (key or remote), I have to gently 'jiggle' the handle a little bit in order to hear/feel a small 'click' that tells me that a pull up will open the door. Otherwise, the first pull up acts as though the car is still locked (even though the window drops a cm), but it will open on the second pull up.

I am now extra careful to try the jiggle technique first, because the two-pull method is putting extra wear on the window motor as the window moves down even on the first non-opening pull.

Does this describe the microswitch problem?

No that's going to be a latch problem. If there was a problem with your microswitch it would be the opposite: door opens, but no drop.
That is odd though, I've never heard of that. I'm guessing some sort of mechanical component is having a hard time.
Definitely not a microswitch though.

Thank you, Fiddlebog, much appreciated.