# alarm going off when locked, randomly?



## patoons (Jul 9, 2011)

hey guys

for a few days now, when i lock my car, whether with remote or i use the key, the alarm would randomly sound.. sometimes for like 10 seconds, 15 seconds, 3 seconds.. not very long. then it would stop, sometimes for a minute, 30 seconds whatever. it was doing it saturday, didn't do it sunday, and was doing it today. it seems that it does it for a while after i drive it. after the cars been sitting there, it stops... but not too sure to really say that's the pattern. lastly, it's just the alarm. no lights flash or anything like it usually does when the alarm is usually triggered off. so at home i just keep it unlocked, but when out or at work, i cant really do that.

any suggestions?


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## patoons (Jul 9, 2011)

can anyone confirm if the comfort control module on an 03 audi a4 is the same part on an 04 vw passat


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## 20v-or-bust (Jun 11, 2012)

On my car, a 2003 1.8t A4 just like yours, I had the same problem. 

It would go so far as to throw codes saying ALL latches were faulty: doors, trunk, hood etc.

What ended up fixing it, as stupid as it sounds, was replacing the battery in my key fob. I put a new battery in, and voila, no more random alarm.

Hope this helps:thumbup:


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## patoons (Jul 9, 2011)

I just tried that the other day, to no avail. thanks for the suggestion tho


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## 20v-or-bust (Jun 11, 2012)

The only other thing that I found while searching for a solution, was a dying battery in the alarm "module" itself. The one in the trunk, passenger side behind the carpet.


Never had to investigate this, but maybe you'll be able to find a fix for your problem. :thumbup:


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## patoons (Jul 9, 2011)

so for a few weeks now its been working perfectly fine. kinda just fixed itself


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## patoons (Jul 9, 2011)

the car was acting fine for a few weeks now and just last week it started acting up again. but I think it definitely has to do with the trunk latch. if I try to open the trunk with my hand, sometimes the alarm goes off right away and I'm able to use the key to unlock. then my windows work. if that fails I use the key to open the trunk, then alarm goes off. press. key fob. or the trunk won't do anything and key fobs won't work. which means windows won't work. (why they would connect the widows to alarm is beyond me). I honestly couldn't care less about the alarm. I just want my widows to work all the time. it's like 90 degrees plus here everyday. 

I noticed a few weeks before the key and alarm issue, the key fob sometimes wouldn't open the trunk. I would hear the latch but it wouldn't pop the trunk open.


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## lethal6 (Feb 19, 2013)

patoons said:


> can anyone confirm if the comfort control module on an 03 audi a4 is the same part on an 04 vw passat


Not even close.

The '03 A4 part carries an 8E0 number and has 2 different ones (an early and a late model year split). The Passat carries a 1C0 part number and has 5 different ones depending on late or early model year and the options on the car (power folding mirrors, power windows on the front only, etc).


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## patoons (Jul 9, 2011)

I'm still having this problem. I've definitely nailed the pattern down though: 

1. key fobs don't lock/unlock car or open trunk. if I manually open the door and start the car, windows or sunroof don't work

2. if I try to open the trunk with my hand (sometimes it opens, sometimes it doesn't), then and only then will the key fobs unlock the car. then windows/sunroof work. only for that session. if I shut the car off, there's maybe a minute or so grace period after I have to open the trunk for the key fob to work again. 

when its not working, the alarm randomly goes off. just the alarm, no blinking lights. I removed the fuse for the alarm because I was tired of hearing it all day all night. 

I haven't taken it somewhere to get looked at because, honestly, I'd hate to spend the $ on something like this esp considering that I get it to work anyway. just kind of annoying.


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## new2me (Feb 29, 2012)

My a4 had this issue and changing the battery was just a temporary fix. The only way to get the alarm to stay off was to lock the car with the door switch. If I used the fob the alarm would go off within 15min. I was told it was either a door switch or the central looking unit. I just put up with manually locking it till I traded it in.


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## akrazyassho (Jul 18, 2010)

This is your problem, the DLM on the doors/trunk. Good news is it is an easy fix, just takes a lot of time for your doors and some for your trunk and some automotive grade solder.

If you look at the pictures on that thread you will see the solder points on the module crack making the pins lose contact. This happens to a lot of our cars and sounds like exactly the problem you are having. Yours is intermediate because as you can see the pins can sort of move within their position making the module lose contact at times.

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?1542461

Goodluck!


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## patoons (Jul 9, 2011)

akrazyassho said:


> This is your problem, the DLM on the doors/trunk. Good news is it is an easy fix, just takes a lot of time for your doors and some for your trunk and some automotive grade solder.
> 
> If you look at the pictures on that thread you will see the solder points on the module crack making the pins lose contact. This happens to a lot of our cars and sounds like exactly the problem you are having. Yours is intermediate because as you can see the pins can sort of move within their position making the module lose contact at times.
> 
> ...


is it safe to assume that the trunk is the culprit?

I have to try and open the trunk by hand to even get the key fob to unlock the car.

sometimes I have to open the trunk with the key. the fob doesn't open it nor does the handle. I can hear the noise it makes when it's supposed to pop open… but it stay shut.


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