beep...beep...losing sleep

D

Dev

A2OC Donor
Hi all,

my alarm's acting up. The beeper goes off in the dead of night, which makes me think it's either temperature or condensation related. Maybe both. When the beeper's sounding the hazard lights don't flash, so it's not the usual alarm. It also happens whether or not the interior motion detector is enabled.

The door LED gives an odd indication when I lock it. Flashes quickly 8 times, flashes at about 2 per second for another 25 seconds, and then flashes about once every two seconds, although sometimes a long wink in there. At least it knows something's amiss. So far the only cure is to leave the car unlocked, not really what I want to do.

I took a look at the posts relating to this and took a look at the convenience unit/Komfort Elektronik. It's clean as a whistle. No sign of condensation, or any residue that might be sensitive to it. I sprayed some Servisol on the external connector contacts, since it might have helped with contact corrosion, but no joy.

The main battery seems fine. No trouble starting.

Can anyone tell me where the beeper is, and where I can find the auxiliary battery (that powers the alarm if the main battery is disconnected)? Any other suggestions as to what it might be?

I'll try to get hold of someone with VAGcom to try and pin this down.

Thanks,

Dev
 
Hi Dev,

I suspect that there is a problem with either the alarm unit itself, or the central convenience control unit - just because it looks ok doesn't mean that it's fine inside.

A VAG check will hopefully solve the mystery, as you rightly said.

The alarm unit itself is a sealed box with no serviceable parts. To access it, you will need to remove the offside boot lining as it sits below the rear light cluster and is pretty much inaccessible.

First port of call would be to a dealer to diagnose the fault (they shouldn't charge you for a diagnosis really) and then you can tackle things from there.

If you are being woken up by the beeping, you must be a very light sleeper!!!

Cheers,

Mike
 
Another symptom of a faulty back up battery in the alarm siren is that it gives 4 beeps when first starting the car.
Click to expand...

Hi Spike,

I've not had anything like that - yet.

It's booked in for some diagnosis tomorrow.

Thanks

Dev
 
Well, my wallet is about £27 lighter for half an hours diagnostic "labour". Unfortunately nothing conclusive in the log data, just a lot of codes that could easily have been caused by my tinkering with the system, such as turning on the ignition with the convenience unit disconnected, or with the motion detector disconnected. All very frustrating*.

However, the log's now been cleared, and I won't tinker with it further before taking it in again when I get back from my hols, so maybe there'll be a smoking gun when I get it checked again. Otherwise it's going to be an expensive process...

I can't post the codes now, 'cos the guy at Abtech only had them written on a piece of paper. He's going to type them in and e-mail them to me tomorrow. Ain't technology grand?

Cheers,

Dev


* There was a guy in the queue who'd come in to find out what was happening with the alarm problem on his Passat. Some time before he'd been told that he had some faulty sensors. £500 of sensor replacement later, he was now being told it could be the convenience unit that's playing up. Understandably, he looked a bit green. Has anyone else noticed the irony in the name of that particular module?
 
Dev said:
Hi all,

my alarm's acting up. The beeper goes off in the dead of night, which makes me think it's either temperature or condensation related. Maybe both. When the beeper's sounding the hazard lights don't flash, so it's not the usual alarm. It also happens whether or not the interior motion detector is enabled.

The door LED gives an odd indication when I lock it. Flashes quickly 8 times, flashes at about 2 per second for another 25 seconds, and then flashes about once every two seconds, although sometimes a long wink in there. At least it knows something's amiss. So far the only cure is to leave the car unlocked, not really what I want to do.

I took a look at the posts relating to this and took a look at the convenience unit/Komfort Elektronik. It's clean as a whistle. No sign of condensation, or any residue that might be sensitive to it. I sprayed some Servisol on the external connector contacts, since it might have helped with contact corrosion, but no joy.

The main battery seems fine. No trouble starting.

Can anyone tell me where the beeper is, and where I can find the auxiliary battery (that powers the alarm if the main battery is disconnected)? Any other suggestions as to what it might be?

I'll try to get hold of someone with VAGcom to try and pin this down.

Thanks,

Dev
Click to expand...


Can anyone help :( PLEASE!!!

I'm also having the same problem as above (I've highlighted in bold). I've managed to find an ex Audi engineer who done a diagnostic for me (charged half the price that Audi quoted over the phone), he seems to think it's my drivers side door sensor.
He said it maybe a one off (might not of locked the car properly), so done a re-set and to see how I get on.........unfortunately same time next day (3am) it went off again.

The guy is not back in the garage until next week so I'm having to wedge a rug in the rear door to stop the car locking it's self and setting off the alarm again, to say I'm f%#ked off with my A2 at the moment is an understatement. What with my opensky roof braking couple of months ago, my front speakers don't work...what's next.

Anyway, I did try turning the inside sensors off, but this makes no difference.
Can anyone advice what I can do to sort this out myself today....eg..fixing the door sensor or disconnecting that darn alarm.

Regards,
Jim

P.s
Dev if you're still on here, how did you get on with your A2, did you get to the route of the problem??
 
Last edited:
jimsa2 said:
Can anyone help :( PLEASE!!!

I'm also having the same problem as above (I've highlighted in bold). I've managed to find an ex Audi engineer who done a diagnostic for me (charged half the price that Audi quoted over the phone), he seems to think it's my drivers side door sensor.
He said it maybe a one off (might not of locked the car properly), so done a re-set and to see how I get on.........unfortunately same time next day (3am) it went off again.

The guy is not back in the garage until next week so I'm having to wedge a rug in the rear door to stop the car locking it's self and setting off the alarm again, to say I'm f%#ked off with my A2 at the moment is an understatement. What with my opensky roof braking couple of months ago, my front speakers don't work...what's next.

Anyway, I did try turning the inside sensors off, but this makes no difference.
Can anyone advice what I can do to sort this out myself today....eg..fixing the door sensor or disconnecting that darn alarm.

Regards,
Jim

P.s
Dev if you're still on here, how did you get on with your A2, did you get to the route of the problem??
Click to expand...

Hi Jim,

The security system of the A2 can be very irritating when it goes wrong. Mine has been playing up too, so I sympathise with you. To help with the alarm going off in the middle of the night, you could simply disconnect the negative terminal of the battery. Before you do this you need to lock the 4 doors, without arming the alarm, so the car will be locked over night. Here is how I do it:

Start with the car unlocked and the rear hatch up.
Then sit in the driver's seat with the 4 doors closed and lock the doors using the driver's door switch.
Then exit the car by pulling TWICE on the drivers door release - the three passenger doors should stay locked.
Then disconnect the lead to the negative terminal of the battery using a 10mm ring spanner and make sure the lead cannot touch the terminal - I use a piece of wood.
Then close the hatch - it should lock.
Then lock the driver's door using the key in the lock - turn anti-clockwise.
Your car is secure and the alarm can't go off.

Now the awkward bit:
To reconnect the battery, you need to open the driver's door with the key in the lock, climb into the rear and pull on the boot release toggle, which is at the bottom of the window, to unlock the hatch and then push the hatch up. It helps to have someone outside to lift the hatch, but not essential. Sometimes the alarm goes off as soon as the battery is connected, but I think this only happens when I have left the driver's door ajar.

I have been doing this most mornings for the past two weeks and it only takes a few minutes after you have done it a few times. My car is booked in this week to be diagnosed. CAN'T WAIT!:eek:

Hope this helps.

John.
 
Thank you for the quick reply.
I'm really amazed there is no other way of shutting the alarm off. Really feel for you John on having to go through that whole procedure every day.
I might give your instructions a go, but I can see that it will probably be easier for me to carry on with the rug in the door procedure.
Like you, I'll be so glad to get this sorted out :( Grrrr!!!!

Regards,
Jim
 
The good thing about the A2's security system is that it covers a lot of the car; from the service flap at the front, to the glass in the rear hatch. The bad thing is that when it goes wrong, you need the diagnostic tools to work out what has gone wrong.

The very experienced and capable guy who services my car these days, told me to take it to the Audi dealer as they are the only ones around here who have the diagnostic gear, otherwise he could take ages (£££s) finding the fault.

Modern car electronics can leave you at the mercy of the dealers as they have the diagnostic equipment. Hopefully tools like VAG.com from Ross Tech can keep up with developments in car electronics. Otherwise the future looks bleak for those of us who prefer not to change cars just because the 3 year warranty is up!

John.
 
Hi Jim,

I'm still here. Sorry about the delay in replying - I've been away on business for about a fortnight (in Berlin: lots of nice A2s :eek:). Sorry to hear about your alarm problems.

For a while I was so hacked off with it I stripped out the interior trim from the back end and unplugged the alarm. Drove around like that for a while.

Abtech in Totton, who do my servicing, use Cawte Garage (about a mile from where I live) in Southampton for difficult electrical problems. I went to see them and booked it in for diagnosis. They found an electrical problem in the driver's door and the "convenience" module had also failed and needed replacement. I had trouble understanding how the door fault could have caused the module fault, since I would have expected the module to have decent protection, but in the end I had to take their explanation on faith.

Result: several hundred pounds lighter, but able to sleep with an intact A2 outside. Bliss.

The new module behaves slightly differently - for example it unlocks the doors when the ignition key is turned. Even if they aren't locked already, it makes sure. Maybe owners of newer A2s already have this. Otherwise all has been well on that front since I had it fixed. Other things are going wrong, but the alarm's been just fine. Now I've typed that, you just know what's going to happen.

Good luck getting it sorted.

Dev
 
feel for you all...

we had this problem and had all sorts of parts replaced recently.
the audi dealer tech got sick of it, as he could not stop it going off apprently. was done under warrenty so we were lucky.....
 
Hi Guys,
My A2 seems to be having a similar issue, according to my wife it has been going off at bang on 4am every morning for the past week. I'm away and can't have it looked at for another couple weeks, the neighbours have already started complaining because of the beeps and the hazards.

My wife has tried to lock the car manually without using the fob, but the alarm still gets activated, she has even just tried to leave the car open, but it locks itself after around a minute.

Is there any easy way of disabling the alarm?? to be honest if it means leaving the car open I really don't mind, just need my wife to stop getting grief - the only other thing I can think of is asking her to park the car elsewhere...I've scoured this forum but nothing with regards to disabling the alarm totally.

Would appreciate any help.

Thanks
 
So sorry to hear about your problem, i know what its like with that darn alarm :(
the only way of stopping the alarm is disconnect the car battery.
When you shut the boot remember you will not be able to unlock it with your remote. The way round this is, lean over the back seat and pull the safety latch ( this is explained in the car handbook on releasing the boot without fob)

The problem with my car was the convenience unit (the brain of the car) in the passenger foot well. Once this was replaced i was one very happy man.

Hope this helps :)
 
Thanks Jim,

The 4th emergency service aka the AA duly helped my wife disconnect the battery in a way which means she doesn't have to get any spanners out for reconnection...clearly a short term solution but at least the neighbours will have no cause to complain.

The next step is for me to get a vagcom check from an audi specialist?

Just need to find a good specialist in East London/Essex!

Thanks again.
 
You don't have to disconnect the battery. If you unlock the car with the remote, open the door, then close the door, the car should NOT auto-lock again after a minute. At least this is how I left mine so the alarm wouldn't randomly go off when I had the problem. I think it is in the menu that says the car re-locks if there was no action after a minute.

The other way is, depending on how good you are with trim removal, to disconnect the alarm siren unit. It is under the driver side rear lamp, well hidden under the foam. If you don't have CD changer, then it is very difficult otherwise, I disconnected mine so only the lights would flash but no noise.

May be forum member Sarge768 can help you, he's in the East side of town. Otherwise, the guys called 4rings (am not affiliated with them, but heard a lot of good things) and they service the East side of London too.
 
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