Passat alarm woes

[Greggo]

a

[kite]

Do you have a button on the "B" pillar to disable the interior sensors ?

[Greggo]

a

[kite]

Without a code read you don't know where the fault with the alarm is,it could be a door/bonnet/boot lock or an interior sensor.
If you turn off the interior sensor from the door pillar lock the car and the alarm doesn't trigger you could be halfway to knowing whats wrong.
A fault code scan would tell you what is triggering the alarm.
Passat bonnet switches can get jammed up with grease and cause the alarm to go off.
It's prolly easier to find the fault and put it right than try to switch off one part of the system.

[djsoftware]

Just so you do not have to leave the car unlocked when I had alarm problems recently I would unlock all the doors then open the passenger door and lean in and press the button on the drivers door to lock all the doors, close the passenger door and the car is locked without the alarm. I hope this helps. Incidentally my alarm fault turned out to be the bonnect switch which was cleaned and no problems since.

[cazyp]

Have you checked the plenum chamber for a little pond? Although the carpets are dry the lining is thick and it may take a while for the top to feel wet...

Either check in the bulkhead or lift the carpet for peace of mind. There was a thread a while ago with the same issue as yours and dry carpets. Still turned out to be a leak.

Other than that - bonnet sensor would be by best Guess, but as said a code read is worth its weight..

[scotty33]

Mine had a problem with the rear wiper motor housing leaking water onto the tailgate 'latch', there is some electric circuitry involved which takes to the dowsing like a cat...

[Greggo]

a

[cazyp]

Turned off the sensor with the red button on the drivers door pillar locked the car alarm went off at 0710 so it cant be the interior sensor as it was disabled must be a door or bonnet/tailgate switch what a pain.

I'm not shocked..

[TheMadhatter]

Like everyone else says you need to get the fault codes read, however it only takes a very small amount of water to cause this, and there is one thing you can quickly check.

I know your carpets are dry, but when I had this problem so where mine. Water was finding its way in through the seal between the pollen filter housing and bodywork. My plenum chamber was not filling up with water, instead crud had built up around the filter housing and was "damming" the water so it seeped through the broken seal.

There is a wiring loom behind the trim to the left side of the passenger footwell. A small amount of water had leaked from the filter housing and made its way on to this and was causing the alarm to randomly go off. Its worth checking this to make sure the connectors here are in good condition and not wet or corroded. I cleaned mine with WD40 and then electrical (IPA) contact cleaner and my problems stopped.

If its any consolation I spent a 2 days over xmas trying to fix the same problem on my parents 55 plate L&K Octavia. So even newer VAG cars have these snags.

Hope this helps.

[dickturpin]

Thanks Madhatter, I'm still suffering with alarm going off randomly. What led toy to look behind the footwell trim? Melting snow was mentioned earlier and this could apply to me because I park facing downhill in my drive that makes snow slide to the region above the pollen filter.:aargh4:

[TheMadhatter]

I took the car to the local VW dealer when it started going wrong and the mechanics advice was to check there. I removed that trim and the glove box and could see where the water had been running down. From what I remember it was easy to remove. FYI if you plenum chamber was flooding you will also get water in the passenger foot well coming out of the vents under the seats.

It may be worth checking the rear wash pipe, these can freeze and pop off in cold weather. This was the problem on my dads Octavia

[dickturpin]

No problem with rear wash wipe cos mine is a saloon!
I did have the flooded plenum chamber which I resolved by dislodging the bungs from underneath, then left fan eater running to dry things out. I have now obtained a puller to let me get the wipers off that will let me get the battery out....bit of a **** design! Then I can re-seal the pollen filter. Will check the footwell side panels at the weekend.

Cheers:beerchug:

[RBF]

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[scotty33]

No problem with rear wash wipe cos mine is a saloon!
I did have the flooded plenum chamber which I resolved by dislodging the bungs from underneath, then left fan eater running to dry things out. I have now obtained a puller to let me get the wipers off that will let me get the battery out....bit of a **** design! Then I can re-seal the pollen filter. Will check the footwell side panels at the weekend.

Cheers:beerchug:

I'm sure the battery can be removed without pulling the wipers. I pull back the engine bay seal from the edge of the plenum chamber, then unclip the wiring loom mounting clips, this wiring can then be dislodged enough to get the battery out - slide and tilt/lift together towards the passenger side
Agreed the design is bonkers!

[Greggo]

a

[bikesken450]

Had same problem over cristmas plenum chamber full of water cleaned the drain holes ok for abought 4 days so i took alarm sounder off end of problem if you want to renew yours cost £100 the fuse your lookin for is no 14 on end of dash ;)

[djsoftware]

See my earlier post in this thread, you can lock the car without enabling the alarm which gives you peace of mind plus allows time to find the problem !

[bikesken450]

your problem may be alarm sounder as this is under battery and is first thing to go under water its got all kind of electrical stuff inside take the sounder off first if it stops the problem may be the sounder i am runing with out this on the car i had no light flashing as would happen with alarm goin off may save you some time and money:beerchug:

[MrG]

I had a problem like this a couple of years back with my 2002 Passat and VW said it was the bonnet lid switch MrG

[RBF]

Greggo, have you checked the rear wash/wipe? My estate suffered alarm issues until I sorted the leaking rear wash/wipe which was causing the problem.