Hazard Lights coming on when opening passenger doors?

[vipergrm]

Hi folks,

I've been having a few issues with my 2007 Passat B6 2.0 TDI, most of which have been sorted however, one very annoying issue remains. It seems that if I open any door other than the driver door, the hazard warning lights will go off after a minute or two. I can't quite put my finger on the exact sequence, but it seems to me that this is some sort of programming issue rather than a random occurrence. It seems pretty consistent. I'm still trying to puzzle together the exact sequence of events, but that is the best I can come up with for now.

I've only recently acquired this Passat which has 185,000 miles on it, so my guess is that a previous owner has likely been faffing about with VCDS or something. When I switch on the headlights, the indicators also stay illuminated. Surely this isn't normal behaviour? It looks silly to me. This is another reason why I think someone has been ballsing about with the software.

Could I potentially fix these issues with VCDS Lite or would I need to do it with the Pro version? I'll have to find someone local if that is the case because I really don't have the money to splash on a £200+ cable. Many thanks for any pointers!

[DMitch16]

Yes looks like it has been coded to do that by someone who thought it would look nice but it is technically illegal. Golf 7R owners sometimes do it with a 50% brightness and Golf Mk4 and 5 owners could do it too. It's like an 'Indicators as DRL running light settings'. Indicators are often illuminated when sidelight bulbs fail on other marques as a safety precaution.
You need access to VCDS to put it right.

[vipergrm]

Thanks again @DMitch16 !!! I've a standard ODB cable lying around somewhere. I'll have a go with VCDS Lite but first, I might try Carista. It's an Android app that has some increased functionality over other similar apps. I distinctly remember seeing some options about brightness percentage etc. May as well have a look.

Any best guess as to why the hazard lights are coming on when entering through passenger doors after maybe a minute or more? It really seems to me that this has been set up deliberately. It seems pretty consistent. Thanks!

[DMitch16]

Thanks again @DMitch16

Any best guess as to why the hazard lights are coming on when entering through passenger doors after maybe a minute or more? It really seems to me that this has been set up deliberately. It seems pretty consistent. Thanks!

Probably a faulty alarm module. They have rechargeable batteries soldered to the module board which perish over time, leak and cause a number of issues from flashing lights to no alarm noise when it goes off to it going off all the time (probably the most annoying one). Could also be broken wires in the looms at the door jams which is more common in mk5 Golfs but can affect B6 Passats also. Easy to check these, just peel back the rubber covers between door and body.

[vipergrm]

Thanks @DMitch16 ! If I can disable the alarm module in VCDS and it stops the indicators from coming on then that would do great. I don't care much for the alarm which seemingly doesn't work anyway. Cheers again. I'b be screwed without some of the great knowledge on these forums