# Anti-theft Alarm Goes Off (activates) by Itself



## rrussell (Sep 9, 2003)

I get these weird days when the Alarm system on the Phaeton would go off by itself. Anybody have the same problem? The car was locked and in my driveway when it decided to go crazy on me.


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## adamkodish (Mar 5, 2006)

*Re: Alarm going off by itself (rrussell)*

Mine has only done this once.
I believe VAG-COM can give you info after the event about what triggered the alarm....Michael will be able to confirm/deny this.

_Quote, originally posted by *rrussell* »_I get these weird days when the Alarm system on the Phaeton would go off by itself. Anybody have the same problem? The car was locked and in my driveway when it decided to go crazy on me.


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## stjarna (Aug 18, 2005)

*Re: Alarm going off by itself (rrussell)*


_Quote, originally posted by *rrussell* »_I get these weird days when the Alarm system on the Phaeton would go off by itself. Anybody have the same problem? The car was locked and in my driveway when it decided to go crazy on me.

Are you sure nothing inside the car moved, slipped, or fell all of a sudden? 
The Phaeton has an interior motion detector -- if something moves, the alarm goes off. 
I've discovered and rediscovered this many times whenever we go to a store and leave our miniature poodle in the car -- I set the alarm, walk to the shop door, and the alarm goes off because the poodle is wagging its tail and moving around, looking for us (she's blind and deaf). I then have to go back to the car and temporarily turn off the interior motion detector via the center control interface. I've discovered that the Phaeton resets the interior motion detector automatically when I start the car back up. At the next shop, the process must be repeated (as far as I can tell).
Logan.


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## car_guy (Aug 19, 2005)

*Re: Alarm going off by itself (stjarna)*

I believe (75% chance of being accurate, maybe!) that if you set the alarm by pressing the button on one of the door handles that the motion detection portion of the alarm isn't activated. Obviously, if this is true, only those with keyless entry (or whatever it's called) has that option.


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## chrisj428 (Feb 26, 2005)

*Re: Alarm going off by itself (car_guy)*

I _believe_ (62.7-76.3% probable accuracy) if you depress the lock button on the remote twice in rapid succession, the vehicle will lock with the interior motion sensor disabled. Michael?


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## rrussell (Sep 9, 2003)

*Re: Alarm going off by itself (stjarna)*

Nobody was in the car and it's been parked for 5-6hrs. I keep the car pretty clean (most of the time). I will get the VW tech to take a look at it via VAG.


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

*Re: Alarm going off by itself (chrisj428)*


_Quote, originally posted by *chrisj428* »_I _believe_ (62.7-76.3% probable accuracy) if you depress the lock button on the remote twice in rapid succession, the vehicle will lock with the interior motion sensor disabled.

Hi Chris:
You are 100% correct.
*Randy:*
About your alarm difficulties - the first step in the process is to find out what sensor on the car is triggering the alarm. This is easy to determine - take the car to a VW dealer (ANY VW dealer, it doesn't have to be a Phaeton dealer), and ask them to poll controller 46, the Central Comfort Controller, to see what has been causing the alarm to activate.
Measured Value Block 18 of Controller 46 will record the cause of the last 4 alarm activations in MVBs 1 through 4, with MVB 1 being the most recent activation. Here is a list of the possible sources:
1 = Driver door
2 = Pax door
3 = Left rear door 
4 = Right rear door
5 = Trunk lid
6 = Hood open
7 = Terminal 15
8 = Interior protection
9 = Tire puncture (slashed tire) or attempted wheel theft - Left Front tire. 
10 = ditto, RF tire
11 = ditto, LR tire
12 = ditto, RR tire
13 = ditto, spare tire
14 = Inclination sensor
15 = Attempt to interfere with Alarm Siren. 
16 = Immobilizer
17 = Attempt to disconnect Trailer from vehicle
255 = No alarm triggering event recorded
So, if you see the number "5" recorded as the cause of your last 4 alarm triggers, something is wrong with the switch that determines that the trunk is closed - so, you do the troubleshooting there. It's generally quite easy to find the problem once you have been directed to the source of the problem by the 'flight data recorder', so to speak.
Michael


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## rrussell (Sep 9, 2003)

*Re: Alarm going off by itself (PanEuropean)*

Thanks alot Michael.


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## stjarna (Aug 18, 2005)

*Re: Alarm going off by itself (PanEuropean)*


_Quote, originally posted by *PanEuropean* »_
Hi Chris:
You are 100% correct.


Well...THAT little trick will certainly save me a lot of grief when traveling with the poodle. Thanks Chris and Michael!
Logan.


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

*Re: Alarm going off by itself (rrussell)*

Randy:
If you are a patient, laid back sort of person, you can probably save both yourself and the technican at your VW dealership quite a bit of time by first finding out what source is triggering the alarm, then taking the car home and just paying extra attention to that source for the next week or so. In other words, once you know where the source of the problem is, you might be able to observe what characteristic of that source is actually triggering the alarm. Maybe it is a bit of debris in the trunk latch, or a air freshener hanging down from beside the interior motion sensor, etc.
If you haven't figured out the cause of the problem yourself after a week or so, then just drop the car off at the dealer whenever it is convenient (I usually drop my car off when I am going out of town on business trips), and the staff at the dealership can look into things further for you.
Michael


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## rrussell (Sep 9, 2003)

*Alarm going off by itself?*

Am I the only one see this problem. This is happening way too often. When arming the car at home and work, once in a while, the alarm will go off by itself. I don't have the windows or so open. Could this be caused by the internal sensor?


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## george777 (Feb 1, 2008)

*Re: Alarm going off by itself? (rrussell)*

I haven't had any issue with this...but could it be the car is parked at an incline/angle?? Baffling issue...


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## 1.6.liters.of.fury (Dec 19, 2007)

as silly as it sounds, maybe you're hitting the panic button on the side of the key fob by accident?


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## car_guy (Aug 19, 2005)

*Re: Alarm going off by itself? (rrussell)*

I've had this happen without explanation as well, but so rarely that I don't worry about it.
You might try setting the alarm by pressing the little button on the door handle (only there if you have keyless access?) because I believe that disables the internal motion sensor.
Steven


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## VWGlf00GL (Feb 14, 2005)

*Re: (1.6.liters.of.fury)*

I've too had this problem from time to time. The alarm just randomly goes off after the car is locked and sitting for a few minutes. 
I've yet to identify a pattern to the randomness. I've ensured the car is parked on level ground too. I am 100% sure I am not hitting the panic button, because I take my keys out when I am going to be somewhere for a while. 
I've noticed the car has not activated the alarm, in the past few months.. It was pretty consistent when I first got the car..
Adrian


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## rrussell (Sep 9, 2003)

*Re: (1.6.liters.of.fury)*

It's on flat and it still go off. it's on 3% hill and it still go off. When I am not home, and the key in the house, the wife said it still go off. I am not sure. I will try to reset it.


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

*Re: (rrussell)*

Your VW dealer can look at the controller for the alarm system and identify the exact cause of the last 14 alarms - the car logs the source that caused the alarm (panic button, left door, hood, slashed tire, whatever). If you have a VAG-COM, you can look up the causes yourself. I believe the information is stored in controller 46.
Try turning off the interior monitoring and the tilt-sensor (via the configuration control on the main screen) and see if that makes any difference. Be aware that if you have something such as a sun-shade installed on the windshield, and that shifts as a result of thermal heating, that will set off the interior motion sensor.
Michael


_Modified by PanEuropean at 8:43 PM 8-5-2008_


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## rrussell (Sep 9, 2003)

*Re: (PanEuropean)*

Thanks for the info. The last time it went off a few times. I took it to the dealership and they said the didn't see anything wrong.


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## 1541432usmc (Mar 20, 2008)

*Re: Alarm going off by itself? (george777)*

The interior alarm system is extremely sensitive. We have a little
West Highland Terrier (Westie); she weights about 22 lbs. On Saturdays she "owns" me....when I go, she goes. If I fail to disable the interior alarm system, it'll sound off because of her weight.
Perhaps you have some sort of mass or weight on the back seat
Don St. Louis
2004 Phaeton
2002 Lexus ES300


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## car_guy (Aug 19, 2005)

*Re: Alarm going off by itself? (1541432usmc)*


_Quote, originally posted by *1541432usmc* »_If I fail to disable the interior alarm system, it'll sound off because of her weight.
Perhaps you have some sort of mass or weight on the back seat

I don't think it's a weight sensor. It's a motion sensor.
Steven


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## rrussell (Sep 9, 2003)

*Re: Alarm going off by itself? (1541432usmc)*

The car is empty when the alarm goes off.


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## car_guy (Aug 19, 2005)

*Re: Alarm going off by itself? (rrussell)*

Have you tried any of the suggestions that have been made? Which ones? Doing so may help in narrowing down the problem.
Steven


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

*Re: (rrussell)*


_Quote, originally posted by *rrussell* »_The last time it went off a few times, I took it to the dealership and they said the didn't see anything wrong.

It is quite possible - likely, in fact - that they did not find anything wrong with the alarm system. Chances are, the alarm is going off because one of the conditions that should trigger it is presenting itself. That notwithstanding, it would have made a great deal of sense if the dealer had told you what the cause of the last 14 alarms was. 
If you had been given that information, and upon review, you noticed that 9 of the last 14 alarms were caused by (for example) the left rear door, then it would make sense to have a closer look at the latch on the left rear door. It could be that the sensor that provides input to trigger the alarm is reporting false positive conditions. In such a circumstance, there is nothing wrong with the alarm system, the problem lies with another component that only makes a secondary contribution (reporting) to the alarm system.
Michael


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## rrussell (Sep 9, 2003)

*Re: (PanEuropean)*

Thanks for the feedback. I will bring it up when I take the car back in.


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## rrussell (Sep 9, 2003)

*Re: (rrussell)*

At 3:00am this morning, the alarm went off and woke my butt up.. I ran to check to see what's going on from the upstairs window, and the alarm turned off in 10 secs (how long do it normally go off for). The interior lights and the outside park light was on plus the side mirror lights for 10 mins.. 
Did the same thing at 4:00am and at 5:am.. But stop after that. What's the heck is going on?
I did check wit the dealer in previous and the said they didn't see anything wrong.. Now this..


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

*Re: (PanEuropean)*


_Quote, originally posted by *PanEuropean* »_Your VW dealer can look at the controller for the alarm system and identify the exact cause of the last 14 alarms - the car logs the source that caused the alarm (panic button, left door, hood, slashed tire, whatever). If you have a VAG-COM, you can look up the causes yourself. I believe the information is stored in controller 46.
Michael


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## chrisj428 (Feb 26, 2005)

*Re: (rrussell)*


_Quote, originally posted by *rrussell* »_At 3:00am this morning, the alarm went off and woke my butt up.. I ran to check to see what's going on from the upstairs window, and the alarm turned off in 10 secs (how long do it normally go off for). The interior lights and the outside park light was on plus the side mirror lights for 10 mins.. 

Randy,
You might want to have them check the conditions of the two batteries. I see you have an '04. I experienced something similar with mine when the batteries became weak from age.


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## Debra (Dec 3, 2009)

I made a post earlier under New Phaeton owner, but yes, We saw this and much worse behavior. 
The dealer told us that the Kessy computer module was bad and that the battery needed replaced and reprogramed. I have never heard of a battery needing to be programmed. Are they pulling my leg? 
I am asking for a VAG-Com program for Christmas.


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## Zaphh (Jul 5, 2008)

*Re: (Debra)*

If they really meant "battery programming" then yes, they are.
Now, they may be concerned that disconnecting the battery may reset some things, but this makes me wonder whether your dealer is really competent, because on a Phaeton, there are 2 batteries: one on the left of the boot (that powers all the electronics) and one on the right (that is here to crank the engine).
However, the electronic system is quite complex and refined: you only loose all programming if you remove both batteries at the same time.
If they only replace the left battery and the right battery is good, then, there is no reprogramming to do whatsoever.
P.


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## Debra (Dec 3, 2009)

This is Chaplins VW in Bellevue, Washington. They told me they have two mechanics that are qualified to work on this car. lol. 
They told me that it was the accessories battery. I don't know what side that is on. We only had the car for one day and I forgot to grab the manual out of it when we took it to the dealer for repairs. :-(


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## Zaphh (Jul 5, 2008)

*Re: (Debra)*

Accessory battery is the left one.


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## rrussell (Sep 9, 2003)

*Re: (chrisj428)*

I checked the battery myself and it has a a date written on (Sharpe) 11/07


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## rrussell (Sep 9, 2003)

*Re: (rrussell)*

Why would it mainly go off at night time? I had to disable the internal senors at night now.. If it's the battery, what's a good replacement battery. I was hoping to use Optima battery but they don't have model for the Phaeton.


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## Auzivision (Apr 19, 2007)

*Re: (rrussell)*

I had this happen to me on Saturday while parking my car outside on the driveway. I'd never had the alarm go off before for no apparent reason. My driveway is on a slight incline, but my guess is it was the accessory battery. Later the same day I noticed the truck lights weren't working, so I plug in the battery charger and left it for the night. I think all is well now. 
I had no idea how many systems appear to be affected by the low battery syndrome. It seems to me if one is experience anything unusual with the electronics or electrical system, one should check the left side battery first. 
I remember seeing in the service history, that my accessory battery had been replaced. I couldn’t recall when, but checked the stamping on the negative terminal and it indicates it was manufactured in 2005… getting pretty old.


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## rrussell (Sep 9, 2003)

*Re: (Auzivision)*

Thanks for the info. I will try and put a charger on it (if I can find it).


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## Debra (Dec 3, 2009)

*Re: (rrussell)*

Is the alternator strong enough to keep ahead of the load on the battery? Should we put the batteries on a trickle charger one weekend a month? We keep our boat hooked up all winter in the garage. Otherwise, it's deader than a doornail come spring.


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## Zaphh (Jul 5, 2008)

*Re: (Debra)*

The alternator is definitely strong enough to charge the batteries, provided you get the car running for long enough to compensate for the discharge that has occurred while the car was parked.
Driving 30 mn once a month may not be enough to recharge the battery...
Personally, when I drive the car, I drive it for 3 to 4 hours. Then, it is alone and outside for 2 to 3 weeks until I take it again for 3 to 4 hours... Up to now, I have not had any particular battery problem over one year so I should think that the 3 to 4 hours drive compensate for the discharge that occurs during 2 to 3 weeks without touching the car.
P.


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## chrisj428 (Feb 26, 2005)

*Re: (Debra)*

Debra,
Alternators are certainly more expensive than battery chargers. It's along the same debate as to whether to use brakes or the clutch to slow a manual-transmission car. If you're good, using the clutch is fine. If you're not, brake pads are a heck of a lot cheaper.
If you're going to not be driving the vehicle for weeks on end, a battery charger is a good idea. The alternator is enough to "keep ahead". It's not going to be enough to properly resurrect a depleted battery to pre-discharged state. The best bet is to avoid the battery getting to that state in the first place.


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## Debra (Dec 3, 2009)

*Re: (chrisj428)*








Beatle Juice seems to be doing much better now that he has a new battery and a new Kessy unit. 
He still has minor quirks, I doubt that they will ever go away. Reminds me of one of my favorite cars. A 1985 CJ7 that we purchased new. I loved that Jeep and put 250K miles on it and finally sold it for 4K more than we paid for it new.







That thing had a personality of it's own, too.


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## Aren Jay (Jun 9, 2009)

I had an alarm a long time ago that would go off when the wind would buffet the car. 
I also had a bad muffler on my ex Mustang that would set off car alarm in parkades.


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## DNAguy (Oct 13, 2009)

*Car Alarm Goes off Spontaneously*

I have a 2006 V8 with about 52K miles on it that now has an odd story. About a month ago, the check lights warning appeared with every power-on....At times the left front headlamp did not light, but at other times it did light. Then a phenomenon began where the car alarm would just go off spontaneously and could not be turned off by cycling the "lock/unlock" using the remote...The alarm continues even after starting the vehicale. It eventually subsides on it's own, I assume due to an internal timer.

Took car into dealer, who replaced both batteries and the left head lamp bulb to the tune of $12,000 US. This has solved the "check light" warning but the intermittant spontaneous alarm problem continues....It happens about once a day that I am aware of but could be happening more often beyond my hearing.

Returned car to dealer who is stumped. Evidently no error messages. There are some "location numbers" but he does not know how to interpret....

I am returning car to dealer tomorrow....any suggestions would be most welcome.

Buck


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

DNAguy said:


> Took car into dealer, who replaced both batteries and the left head lamp bulb to the tune of $12,000 US.


Hi Buck:

That sounds like it was a little bit more expensive than it should have been. You might want to get a competitive quote next time around.

Michael


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## Tully Lee (Jan 3, 2011)

Maybe $1200.00 ?


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## Paximus (Aug 26, 2011)

It's funny what we accept as the norm. Battery and headlight bulb for the XG costs £92.50 in Halfords, with free fitting.

I think Buck's lack of alarm cancel is the core symptom. Odd if there are no diagnostics flags. One imagines both a moth in the car and a remote fob battery low, but that's too simple. Tilt sensor?

Chris


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## DNAguy (Oct 13, 2009)

*The plot thickens*

Yesterday, the car wouldn't start and seemed to go to the alternate battery....then the clock started spinning, the yellow triangle warning lamp came on, the electric trunk (boot) lift wouldn't work and the alarm went off 4 times. 

Could this be the dreaded water in the doow well shorting problem?

Buck


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## Paximus (Aug 26, 2011)

The alarm is run from the Convenience controller in the trunk, but of course water in almost anything could cause weird effects like those. Fingers crossed... 

Meanwhile, have you noticed anything unusual on the battery voltage gauge? I would say 'normal' operation is for it to go straight to 14.0V and stay there.

There are a few threads on this, but after reading some it seems that low voltage, or voltage that is reluctant to stay at 14V at all times points to poor alternator current, since you have new batteries.

The starter battery is supplied through a voltage converter/controller, so it gets some charging preference, but the Power Supply/Comfort battery is charged direct from the alternator.

Chris


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## DNAguy (Oct 13, 2009)

*Thanks for the tip*

chris,

Unfotunately it is my wife's car so I can't comment on voltage data....I will certainly check when I pick up car....

The alternator theory sounds intriguing....I will check it out.

Thanks for the advice.

Buck


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

Be aware that the theft alarm horn has its own internal battery, therefore, activation of this horn should not be considered if you are trying to draw conclusions about the state of the two batteries in the trunk.

Michael


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## DNAguy (Oct 13, 2009)

*Electrical Reboot solved problem*

My mechanic found no error messages so performed something that he likened to rebooting a computer...he called it a electical drain or somthing of that sort...and that seems to have solved all the problems....all seems to be well...

Buck


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## arthurgodsake (Nov 26, 2010)

*Boot/alarm issue.*

Hello Everyone

Could I pick your collective brains please?

I took the car to the dealer for a service on Monday and whilst it was there, they called to say they could not open the boot (trunk for our American readers). When I went to collect the vehicle, I opened it with the key (this had not occured to them). The dealer clearly thought this problem had happened previously and was not as a result of anything they had done. Their view is that it was not their problem.

Fast forward to midnight last night and the alarm goes off. I had to unlock the car to stop it. Alarm went off again this afternoon.

The problem is as follows. The car thinks the boot is open when in fact it is not. You can see the boot portion of the car diagram lit in red on the dashboard. The dealer said he thought it was a wiring issue common with Phaetons but I have searched the forum and I can't see any references anywhere.

So the question is, do any of you think it could be a software issue which could be solved with a VCDS? Or is it likely to be age-related wiring issues. I should say that my car has a manual boot release and remote entry via the keyfob, which has three buttons including boot release. I'd be grateful if anyone has had a similar issue and can tell me what I should do.
Many thanks
Tim


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## invisiblewave (Sep 22, 2008)

Mine does this occasionally. What happens is the boot closes but the lock doesn't engage, hence you get the message on the dash. I just lift the boot lid manually (it takes effort to lift it) then hit the button to close it. That's always solved it for me. It did it a couple of days ago actually, hadn't done it for about 6 months prior to that.


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

You might find some food for thought here: Trunk will not close....

Michael


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## Paximus (Aug 26, 2011)

Hi Tim,

Have you ever had the cables that feed the boot lid serviced (the ones that fray)?

Chris


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## arthurgodsake (Nov 26, 2010)

Hi Chris

No, but they look OK from the boot. The main problem is that when I lock the boot as Michael suggested, it doesn't stay locked and the alarm goes off, usually in the middle of the night. It seems people think this is a wiring issue which means it's probably going to be expensive. Sadly I am completely incompetent when it comes to maintenance on cars on anything else so I am in the hands of others. If I have to get the wiring checked, do you know anyone any good?
Cheers
Tim


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

Attached is a document that provides a key to determining what caused the alarm to go off (door, hood, boot, inclination, etc.).

Using this document and a diagnostic scan tool, it is possible to determine exactly what sensor caused the alarm to activate. This will be of great help when someone is trying to troubleshoot spurious alarm activations.

Michael


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## arthurgodsake (Nov 26, 2010)

Thanks everyone and to Michael for amalgamating the threads. I am going to get the dealership to have a look at this and see what's causing it. One question though.
As this had not happened before the car was serviced, is there anything they could have done during the service, to trigger this issue.
Like some of the other posters, the problem is that the alarm keeps going off. I lock the car and check that the boot/trunk is locked properly and then leave the car locked. Some hours later the alarm goes off and when I look inside the car, I can see the red light on the centre display showing that the car thinks the boot/trunk is unlocked. 
Tim


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## Paximus (Aug 26, 2011)

Hi Tim,

The boot lid cables, which run through the connecting tube that you can see when the boot is open, next go into a plastic cassette in the boot lid where they loop back on themselves as the boot lid opens and closes. Almost every pre-2007 car I have seen in UK has at one time or another had a problem with the cables fraying because the fish-net cable-outer catches. The preventative maintenance is to spray the assembly with dry PTFE lubricant, available on-line as bike chain lube (don't use silicone spray).

It takes 10 minutes to remove the boot lid cover and inspect the cassette, there are only a few screws and some trim clips to pull off (although they take a surprising mount of force to release). The inspection labour charge should be low, maybe you have a trusty local garage that would have a look rather than pay main dealer rates.

Chris


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

Hi Tim:

Chris raises an interesting thought above. It is true that there can be some wear within the wiring harness going to the trunk - that issue is discussed at great length at this post: Trunk - Broken Sleeve on Electrical Harness leading to Trunk Lid - but I'm not so sure that wear and tear, even if it is wear and tear of the electrical cable that senses whether the trunk lid is open or not, is what is causing your problem.

Have you seen any spurious indications that the trunk is open when you are driving the vehicle, especially if you are driving on a rough road? If so, then I would support Chris's hypothesis.

But, in the absence of that, I can't comprehend how a car that is sitting still, not going anywhere and (presumably) not moving at all would somehow generate an anti-theft warning due to a spurious indication that the trunk lid is insecure.

Do you park outside? Is there any possibility that something external to the vehicle could be triggering this - a cat walking across the trunk lid, etc.? Is there any correlation between the false alarms and the prevailing weather - I'm thinking rain, strong winds, or heavy condensation (dew), etc.?

Some other things to perhaps investigate and rule out:

*1) *I kind of suspect that there might be some correlation between your service visit and the onset of this problem. My first line of thinking is that the service department may have let the left battery run down, and it needs to be charged up. How old is the left battery in your car? Even if it is new, do you only drive the car short distances (e.g. less than 5 miles per cycle)? Do you have a battery maintainer (charger) to keep the battery fully charged? For sure, I would charge the battery up overnight and see if that solves the problem. See this post for discussion about a battery maintainer: Purchasing and using a Battery Maintainer for your Phaeton.

*2) * Have you inspected the perimeter of the boot aperture (with the trunk lid open) to see if there is anything that might be preventing it from closing properly? Likewise, have you inspected the perimeter of the boot lid itself?

*3) *Is it possible that the service staff may have attempted to pry the trunk open, and thus knocked the latching mechanism out of alignment? The movable part of the latching mechanism is within the boot lid - the part at the lower edge of the boot aperture (the sill) is not adjustable.

If the problem persists after you have fully charged up the left battery, I think the next thing to do is to get the dealer to run a diagnostic scan, and see if anything else other than the boot lid is triggering the alarm. The MVBs (measured value blocks) for the car record the cause of the prior 14 alarm activations.

When this scan is run, the intervention load management index should be set back to 0 (zero). This is done in adaptation channel 1 of controller 09. When you next run a diagnostic scan, it would be interesting to see what value it has climbed back up to again.

Michael


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## arthurgodsake (Nov 26, 2010)

Interesting thoughts Chris and Michael.

However, I think I've only got the one battery and it is only about a year old and my car doesn't have the power boot/trunk lid. Anyway, the car is going to be investigated by the servicing dealer so I will let you know what happens.
Incidentally I checked the periphery of the boot/trunk and looked for any evidence of water ingress to the footwells and in the spare wheel area but I couldn't find any.
Tim


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

Hi Tim:

When I mentioned checking the periphery of the trunk lid aperture, I wasn't thinking that there would be any leakage or water ingress issues, only that there might be something physical there that was preventing the boot lid from closing properly.

Now that I know you only have one battery (you have a very rare model of Phaeton!), I am even more inclined to suspect that the staff at the dealership inadvertently let the battery run down and become discharged while the car was in for service, and that is the 'most probable' cause of your spurious alarms.

In the absence of a diagnostic scan tool, my suggestion is that you first charge the battery up overnight so that you know it is absolutely, positively fully charged, then wait a little while and see what happens before taking any further action.

If you have a diagnostic scan tool handy, you might as well run a scan, and at the same time, reset the intervention load management 'score' back to zero, to enable you to check it in the future and see if it has activated. _A priori_, there is nothing wrong with intervention load management functioning. But, looking at how aggressively it has intervened can sometimes shed light on electrical issues, and I kind of suspect your problem is an electrical issue.

Michael


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## arthurgodsake (Nov 26, 2010)

The view from the dealer's workshop is that the trouble has been caused by the boot wiring, as they first suspected. They are going to replace the harness etc and they think that will cure it. We will see when I get it back. Thanks as usual to everyone for their thoughts and expertise. This forum really shows the power and use of social networking.
Tim


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

Tim:

Have a look at this discussion, about replacing the trunk lid wiring harness: Broken Sleeve on Electrical Harness leading to Trunk Lid - How to fix?. Depending on how well you know the staff at your VW dealer, you might want to print it out and give it to them.

When you read through that post (make a pot of tea first, it is a LONG post), I recommend you also read the other posts that are cited (mentioned in archival links) that you will come across as you go through.

There are a number of cautions in there that some of us have learned the hard way from the "school of hard knocks":

*1) *Be very careful closing the trunk lid for the first time after replacing the 'cassette' containing the wiring harness. If the cassette does not operate properly, there is a high risk of breaking the back window of the car.

*2) *Within the large and complex wiring harness in the trunk, there are two wires that have exactly the same colour coding. They are NOT interchangable. If one of the outboard tail-lights does not work after the harness is replaced, the cause is that the two wires were swapped.

It takes a long time to replace this harness - so, plan to be without the car for perhaps a couple of days.

Michael


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## Paximus (Aug 26, 2011)

Hi Tim,

My boot cable loom was replaced in 2010 at a main dealer. The loom cost £205.65 and the labour was £597.60, (that's £803 = $1297).

Depending on what's broken, it is entirely possible to DIY repair-splice the cables over a weekend to reduce the cost to maybe £40 for wire and a crimp tool, if that is an issue. The posts that Michael lists above refer.

Cheers,
Chris


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## W8CMP (Mar 20, 2004)

Having the night from hell with my alarm going off every 30 minutes on the hour and half hour.

I have unlocked and re-locked the car each time, even gone out and started it and then disabled interior sensors and tilt mode before locking it again...then the same problem.

We have melting snow on the cars right now so I wonder if that might be causing the problem somehow. All the doors, windows etc are secure and closed. 

I have now had to leave it unlocked as it was driving me (and no doubt my neighbours) mad overnight.


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## dlouie (Oct 31, 2008)

Hello,
Since you mention snow melting, I hope this is not another case of a water logged kessy. In any case, check for water ingress in the footwell. For starters, you can find more information here:
http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthre...of-Drains)&p=71765318&viewfull=1#post71765318

Good luck

Damon


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## W8CMP (Mar 20, 2004)

My car is now with my dealer for the day to diagnose the problem...will advise later when I hear something. Having a service while it's in there too...might as well as it's about due.
Thank God for extended warranties and service plans !


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## arthurgodsake (Nov 26, 2010)

Check the wiring harness in the boot (trunk). This was what caused mine to do that. The wiring shorts in the trunk harness and the car starts to think it is open when it is locked. Next time the alarm goes off in the middle of the night, open the driver's door (I mean physically open it) and close it again and if you can, leave the car unlocked until morning. Then lock it with the key and see if the alarm goes off again. If it does, have a look through the window and see if the diagram of the car in the centre console has the boot illuminated red. This means the wiring needs sorting. There is a big thread on this.
Tim


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## W8CMP (Mar 20, 2004)

Thanks Tim & Damon, everything checked out with the wiring harness (the cable in the boot looks as good as new), and the car reported no open doors or boot etc. There is also no water ingress or blockage with leaves etc, and even the sunroof drains are clear.

This appears to be something completely different. The dealer traced the problem to the alarm unit itself, and has ordered a replacement under warranty. The last 10 triggers were reported as being from the unit itself. 

In the meantime they have told me that they have (somehow) turned down the sensitivity of the system to minimum, so I can lock and alarm the car, and it behaved itself last night with no alarm going off.

I'll report in more detail once the repair has been carried out and I get specifics on the unit being replaced.


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## volkSWAGen1214 (Jan 12, 2013)

actuator switch


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## cai (Mar 22, 2009)

I had something similar to that happen to me about two years ago. In my case I think it was a problem with the battery, but I am not sure. I think the batteries were replaced and I have not had the problem any more.

Just saw the work order, it was on 11/13/09 and what was happening was that the alarm was going off when I locked or unlocked the car, autolock was not working either. They changed the batteries and everything worked afterwards.

cai


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## W8CMP (Mar 20, 2004)

My car continued to sound its alarm for no reason after VW had looked at it and apparently reduced its sensitivity. Sometimes the alarm sounded with no lights flashing, and sometimes the lights flashed with no alarm sounding. The only way to stop it was to leave it unlocked which of course is not the preferred option. Not needing it over the weekend, I deposited it with my dealer on Saturday so they can deal with the problem until they fix it on Monday, now that the required part is in from Germany.

I'll give full details on the part replaced when I get it back tomorrow afternoon...


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## Paximus (Aug 26, 2011)

Let's hope the part you have been waiting for isn't a piece of high-efficiency VW fly-paper to catch the resident moth setting off the interior movement alarm!

Chris


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## W8CMP (Mar 20, 2004)

Indeed ! I did check everything I could though and there was nothing inside the car that I could see that would set it off. 

I want to get the part number(s) so I know exactly what it was they replaced. The service reception staff often either don't know the details themselves or they 'dumb it down' for customers who generally may not understand the complexities of these things. 

I now have a good relationship with my dealer (I'm a regular and have been for years with my Passat W8 and now Phaeton) so trust they will be able to explain in more detail. 

I am also hoping that the alarm is actually fixed and doesn't go off in the middle of the night tonight after I have it back...fingers crossed !


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## W8CMP (Mar 20, 2004)

Got the car back (they apparently replaced the alarm sounder as that was showing the fault). After I put my personal things back in it, I locked it, and would you believe it, the alarm went off again within minutes...

There is nothing in the car that could set off the movement sensors...all items are packed away carefully out of sight.

Have phoned them again and will likely be taking it back tomorrow and dumping it with them...


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## Paximus (Aug 26, 2011)

Hi Chris,

Is this a correct summary of the position?



The dealer determined that the boot harness wires in the region of the cassette, both behind the lid interior lining and at the bottom of the connection tube under the rear window, are perfect.

The dealer has replaced the alarm horn, which probably confirms that its batteries are working properly so there is no cause for it to trigger an alarm itself.

They detected no trace of dampness in the front passenger footwell underneath the thick insulation (the carpet can still be perfectly dry while the KESSY is soaked. This is the most frequently reported cause of spurious alarms and worse).

They have checked that no rubber bungs are missing from the underside of the floorpan.

You have turned off the interior ultrasonic alarm overnight as a test, using a double press of the remote or door handle button.


If so, then it is still thinking caps on.

Chris


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## W8CMP (Mar 20, 2004)

Thanks for that list Chris.

I will run through the list with them when I take it in...can't positively confirm their technicians have looked at everything there, but I have looked at things as far as I can without disassembling things myself.

I have certainly left it locked without the interior sensor or tilt sensor activated, to no avail.

I will advise again when I know more...

Cheers

Chris


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## W8CMP (Mar 20, 2004)

My car is going back in to my dealer on Monday and they are giving me a loan car for as long as it takes to get this fixed. I have given them the list above to check through, for which they thanked me.

While the alarm has only gone off a couple of times since Monday, it's still apparently completely random, with no indication as to the cause, so I am mystified.

It will be interesting to see what they end up finding...


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## W8CMP (Mar 20, 2004)

I was told yesterday that the car was bringing up the same fault code (relating to the alarm siren) on the dealer's computer. They have checked the integrity of the wiring all the way back to the central convenience controller in the boot, and are now replacing that, suspecting it of sending spurious signals to the alarm system. Part is on order from Germany and expected later this week or early next.

They are also replacing my xenon headlight bulbs under warranty because of the flicker I am getting. They say this is part of the electrical system and are therefore covered (xenon bulbs are apparently not treated as consumable bulbs in the normal sense) - surprised me somewhat that they felt they were covered under warranty, but I'm not arguing !

Not enjoying the DSG Golf I have as a loan car as this is now showing an engine check light and EPC light on the dashboard, with power limited - and it's new having only done 1500 miles ! Dealer says its OK to continue driving it for now if I'm OK with it.


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## W8CMP (Mar 20, 2004)

Got my 'baby' back, and all seems to be OK so far (touch wood). You don't realise what you're missing until you don't have it...

I'm firmly convinced that the Phaeton is one of the best cars on the road...


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## rrussell (Sep 9, 2003)

I had alot of random alarm problems. Replaced both batteries fixed my problems.


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## steveskinr (Oct 31, 2007)

Does anyone know if there is a fuse that can be removed to disable the interior sensor?


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## 53PL-50AAA-VW611BAN (Feb 10, 2015)

steveskinr said:


> Does anyone know if there is a fuse that can be removed to disable the interior sensor?


I know that removing the trunk controller fuse will stop the _trunk_ interior sensor but I don't know if it affects the passenger compartment also. You can also remove the alarm horn fuse. If you do that the lights will flash but the horn won't sound. With the immobilizer and the KESSY, it's not like anybody can drive it without an authorized key. 

The alarm horn fuse is SB34 (fuse 34 in the fuse box under the steering wheel). The Trunk Controller fuse is SC43 (fuse 43 in the rear fuse panel) So fuse 34 in the front and fuse 43 in the rear.

The fuses are listed in a .pdf at post #16:

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?3001224


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## rrussell (Sep 9, 2003)

You can control on the display (center)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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