# Alarm issues new to me Phaeton - Help



## chor808 (Jul 29, 2014)

Hello All,

I have just purchased a new to me Phaeton, it is a 2011 model. I've had it three days and two of them have been spent at the dealers. The alarm goes off at random times, it started the second night and has been going off randomly ever since. The dealer looked at the car and 'can report no fault' even though it when off four times in the dealer car park. I also called the last owner who said he had no alarm issues. Some more information.

The car was sitting at the dealers for about 4 months. When I checked the left hand battery it was just about 12.01 volts, the right one was 13.4. After driving it about 80 miles the left hand battery is up to about 12.35 volts. I have ask the dealer to replace the battery.

Has anyone had similar issues, it is not a good start to the phaeton club! I am about to reject the car if they can't find anything.

thanks

Ian


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## invisiblewave (Sep 22, 2008)

That's low for the LH battery, it may well be the problem, especially with no faults showing on the scan. If it only reached 12.35 after a full charge, then even if it isn't the cause of the alarm issue, it's probably going to cause other gremlins before long, so it's worth changing it and hoping it cures the alarm. Have them load test the starter battery, too, that can cause problems even with a good LH battery because if it's weak it'll suck juice from the LH battery during starting which can cause failures during the electronic initialization.


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## chor808 (Jul 29, 2014)

Thanks for the info, I noted the handbook says the alarm will not function correctly if the battery is weak or discharged. I really hope that is all it is.

Anyone else had this problem?


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## n968412L (Apr 23, 2009)

Hi Ian- not heard of this one... although it's a relatively young car for those of us here.

Certainly LH battery sounds a likely culprit. 80 miles, by some sage advice here, not enough to charge LH battery... I think the charger tends to favour the RH battery a bit. A good number of us accept the slight overhead of giving the LH battery a good trickle charge a time or two over the winter... even with a good battery. You don't need to... but it doesn't hurt. I'm running a six year old original battery on my V6. VW said it was goosed at 18 months old... but it was OK... but I think I'll replace it this summer.

I don't thin my handbooks mention low battery being an alarm problem... I'll have another look.

Certainly not heard of this. You could also ask the dealer to give you a copy of the complete scan of all the cars controllers - that might well show something.... although they could cheat and give you one with all the error codes cleared.

Where are you? GB somewhere?

Regards

Mike


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## chor808 (Jul 29, 2014)

Yes I'm in the UK. Page 134 of my hand book states 'The anti theft alarm will not function correctly if the vehicle battery is weak or discharged.' So I really hope it is that! 

Any other issue you could live with whilst it is sorted but an alarm going off randomly is a nightmare. I need to decide if to reject the car outright or not.


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

Hi Ian:

Welcome to the forum community.

It should be very easy for your VW dealer to determine what is causing the alarm to go off. The car records the cause (in other words, which sensor) of each alarm, and keeps record of the last 15 activations of the alarm. I believe that this information is found in the Measured Value Blocks (MVB's) of controller 05, which is the Access and Start Controller (the KESSY, or *K*eyless *E*ntry and *S*tart *SY*stem).

Phaetons sold in the UK have a more aggressive anti-theft system than Phaetons sold in other markets. Notably, the system can be triggered by a rapid drop in tire pressure, as would accompany (for example) a slashed tire. So, I do suggest you check your tire pressures and make sure that they are at the manufacturer recommended values, which can be found on the inside of the fuel filler flap.

My guess, though, is that the cause of the problem is more likely an intermittent state of one of the sensors that detects if the bonnet or boot lid is closed. In any case, it will be easy enough to see what has been causing the alarms once the technician hooks up the scan tool and looks at the causal history of the alarms.

Also be aware that the car has interior cabin movement monitoring. So, if you are parking the car with any window open, and the wind is blowing anything around inside the cabin (for example, a hang-tag on the mirror such as a parking permit), the interior monitoring might be the cause. You can turn off interior monitoring using the controls on the big front information display if you want to rule this out as a possible cause.

Michael

*ERROR CORRECTION: * Alarm causal factors are recorded in MVB 18 of controller 46, not in controller 05 as I wrote above. Michael


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## chor808 (Jul 29, 2014)

Hello Micheal

I think this is the fustration as the vw dealer says they see no faults and cannot explain the reason for the trigger of the alarm. According to the user guide a double press of the lock button on the remote disables the cabin sensors and tilt sensor, if I do this the alarm goes off more frequently. 

In the menu in the convenience section there is no alarm settings and I'm not sure the car had tyre pressure sensors.

Not good and the wife is most upset, I'm really not sure what to do next I just hope the battery fixes it.

ian


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

Hi Ian:

The dealer technician is telling the truth when he says he "sees no faults". The causes of the alarm don't show up as fault codes.

Instead, the technician needs to go looking for the causes by examining the 'Measured Value Blocks' (MVBs) of the Central Comfort Controller (controller 46, *not *the KESSY, controller 05, as I suggested in my prior post). MVB 18 of that controller lists the cause of the last 15 alarm activations - at least, it does on model year 2003 to 2007 (inclusive) Phaetons, and I believe it does on later models as well.

I've attached (in Adobe Acrobat PDF format) a copy of the 'label file' to this post. Perhaps you could (tactfully) share it with your VW tech, and this new information will assist him in determining what sensor is causing your alarm to activate. Once the cause has been determined (from viewing MVB 18), the technician should be able to troubleshoot (function-check) the causal factor using other information contained in other MVBs.

Michael


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## chor808 (Jul 29, 2014)

Hello Mike,

I had previously passed on similar information from one of your older posts but that is much more specific. I've cut and pasted the relevant bits and sent again, I've also asked for a print out of what they see. I did tell them two days ago that the alarm going off is not a fault the alarm thinks something has triggered it and I agree with you it should be simple to find out what. I'll see what they come back with. My other thought is that perhaps they are checking these values seeing nothing and this is because this is caused by the low battery and in that case nothing will be recorded?


I'll post back the results if they send them.

Ian


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## JCJ (Nov 26, 2013)

Hi Ian,

Welcome to the forum - sorry to hear about the alarm problems. I have a 2011 MY car but it never sat for 4 months - sounds like the batteries need charging. Could you put your location in your profile as its nice to know where people are in the UK. Also, which dealer did you buy the car from? Can you post some pictures when you have time to appreciate the car, instead of worrying about it!

Regards
John


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## chor808 (Jul 29, 2014)

Just a bit of an update the tech says that the the MVB is reading 255 which is no alarm triggered. I still suspect the battery.

Ian


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## chor808 (Jul 29, 2014)

JCJ said:


> Hi Ian,
> 
> Welcome to the forum - sorry to hear about the alarm problems. I have a 2011 MY car but it never sat for 4 months - sounds like the batteries need charging. Could you put your location in your profile as its nice to know where people are in the UK. Also, which dealer did you buy the car from? Can you post some pictures when you have time to appreciate the car, instead of worrying about it!
> 
> ...


I'll post a few pics once I get it back (if it stays that is!). A quick question for you, on the 2011 car once you lock it does yours beep at you? Mine seems to beep after being locked I think this is the ATA (it is set to on) but the number of beeps was different each time. It sort of beeps about 4 times then about 10 seconds later beeps again maybe twice. The user guide does not tell you what these beeps mean. 

I'm in Northampton by the way.


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## JCJ (Nov 26, 2013)

Mine doesnt beep at all - but I dont know what the ATA setting is - and I'm away atm so cant check.

John


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## n968412L (Apr 23, 2009)

I think it can be set to beep when the alarm is set - i think this is default in the US, but not a default over here. It can be set with a VCDS scanning tool I think...

But if its behaviour is not consistent, that sounds odd too. I assume your dealer is VW dealer? If so, sounds like one to avoid....

Good luck!

Mike


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

chor808 said:


> Just a bit of an update the tech says that the the MVB is reading 255 which is no alarm triggered. I still suspect the battery.


Hi Ian:

I'm beginning to suspect your battery as well. Be aware that the Phaeton alarm has its own little battery embedded in the alarm siren. The idea behind this is that if someone attempts to defeat the alarm by disconnecting one or both of the batteries in the trunk (in other words, by removing the normal supply of 12 volt power from the car), the alarm will still function, because the siren is powered by a little battery embedded in the siren itself.

Hence, it is possible that voltage on the main electrical bus of the car (the bus powered by the left battery) is falling below a critical threshold, and hence the alarm siren is activating due to low voltage.

Here is what I suggest you do: Go and purchase a reasonably robust battery maintainer - preferably one that will provide 10 amps output at 12 volts, and for sure, one that is designed to charge AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat) batteries. Hook this maintainer up directly to the left battery terminals, and leave it connected overnight. If you wish, you can close the boot lid over the electrical cable from the maintainer (presuming you leave the maintainer in the boot, and just run the mains cord from the maintainer out the aft end of the trunk... I do this all the time). You can then lock the car (arm the alarm). I doubt that the alarm will sound when the maintainer is connected.

Here is some additional reading that will assist you:

Purchasing and using a Battery Maintainer for your Phaeton

I do strongly recommend that you purchase a 'robust' battery maintainer. I know that there are remarks in the above-referenced discussion from folks who have purchased lightweight maintainers, and who say that these work, but for the additional cost, I suggest you get a 10 amp (minimum) output maintainer. Be aware that it must be hooked up to the left battery terminals directly, never to the boosting terminals under the bonnet, and never via one of the 12 volt utility receptacles in the cabin or boot.

Michael


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## invisiblewave (Sep 22, 2008)

Michael, what's the advantage of a 10 amp charger?


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## Paximus (Aug 26, 2011)

Hi Ian,

The owner's alarm beep preferences are set using a scan tool such as the dealer's 'Offboard Diagnostic' software or a Ross-Tech VCDS running on a laptop. They are set in the Convenience Controller at Address 46, channel 5. This is the label file extract:

-- Notification when unlocking via remote control pushbuttons.
-- Choices: 
-- 0 = nothing. 1 = blink. 2 = beep.
-- 3 = blink and beep


Regarding the alarm sounding, most alarm devices in most cars check the instantaneous battery voltage to determine if something unexpected has caused a battery drain, such as the obvious (eg the courtesy lights coming on) or the subtle (eg electrical attachment to the Radar Cruise module which is outside the physical security perimeter in a Phaeton).

Therefore, if the battery voltage suddenly varies while the alarm is armed, for example by an intermittent high-resistance connection between battery cells, the alarm horn will sound.

There are probably dozens of other potential causes, such as a defective exterior door handle button (if fitted - I suspect these are a trigger point for abuse, although I may be wrong) or an intermittent perimeter wire connection, eg at the bonnet switch. However, all should leave a log trace.

If the previous owner genuinely experienced no trouble (and surely the alarm going off would be one factor in desiring to trade the car, as in your own case) then the cause must have occurred while the car was on the forecourt. The left battery flattening, and thereby being damaged, is a most likely event. Enthusiastic pressure washing of the door handles could be another forecourt event.

Chris


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

invisiblewave said:


> Michael, what's the advantage of a 10 amp charger?


Hi Martin:

Primarily, it is because it can supply a full 10 amps of charging current if the battery demands (is able to accept) that charge. The two batteries in the Phaeton are pretty hefty batteries - the standard size right (starter) battery is probably in the top 20% of battery sizes available for OEM fitment, and I am going to guess that the left battery is probably the largest battery on the market for OEM fitment.

We Phaeton owners tend to discharge the left battery to a greater extent than we think takes place. My experience has been that if I hook up my 10 amp charger to the left battery after a month or so of vehicle use has taken place without the external charger being attached, the charger will operate (supply a charge) for about 8 hours. Presumably the initial charge current is higher than the final charge current. The greater the ability of the charger to deliver current, the shorter the charge time will be.

Finally, when doing troubleshooting and diagnostics on the car with the battery maintainer connected, I want to be sure that the maintainer alone will supply all the energy the car consumes. In other words, I don't want any battery depletion occurring if I am doing a diagnostic scan, etc. with the battery maintainer hooked up. I don't know how many watts the car demands with the ignition on and engine off, but I suspect is is more watts than the little 'trickle chargers' supply. With a 10 amp charger, I can depend on it to supply at least 120 watts of power to the car. A 2 amp trickle charger will only supply 24 watts, which (in my opinion) is probably less than the 'at rest' consumption of the vehicle.

For a time during the mid 2000s, VW of America recommended the 10 amp Midtronics charger to their dealers as the one to use during vehicle maintenance. This can be seen on the Technical Bulletin attached to the post I cited about the battery maintainer. Nowadays, because of the increased electrical demand made by the newer generation of cars (Golfs, Jettas, CCs, and Touaregs), VW is recommending an even higher amperage charger be used by the dealers when maintaining vehicles. I believe, but I am not certain, that the present VW recommended battery maintainer is a 30 amp charger.

Michael


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## chor808 (Jul 29, 2014)

Hello All,

Just an update, I spoke to the tech at the VW dealer he he is at least now seen it go off a few times. It goes off more when you double press the remote lock. He also says they checked right after the alarm went off and the reading was still 255 (or 250) but either way no alarm trigger in the module. He tried putting the jump pack (battery booster?) on the left battery and then set the alarm and it still went off? Does that mean it is not the battery, I was sure it would be?

They now suspect the alarm sounder, which I think you talked about having a separate battery. They have contacted VW UK to see if they can help and they have requested various logs from the car. 

I'll keep you all posted. Again thanks for everyone's help.


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

Ian:

The alarm siren is located in the air intake plenum just forward of the firewall between the cabin and the engine compartment. Have a look at this discussion: Water in Cabin Footwell (Cleaning Air Intake Plenum and Sunroof Drains), and then take a look inside that air intake plenum (you will have to remove the large plastic cover, but that is not difficult, requires no tools, and the process is explained in the post I just cited). See if there is any accumulation of debris in there that might be causing the alarm siren to become flooded and wet. At the same time, if you have access to a garden hose, run a fair quantity of water (5 to 10 gallons) into that plenum area to confirm that it is draining properly.

My thinking here is that if there is a problem with that plenum not draining properly (in other words, if it is clogged with leaves, pine needles, etc.), that might be flooding the siren or preventing the siren from drying out, and thus causing your problem.

If you would prefer to not do this yourself, and you get along well with your VW tech, let him or her know about the above-mentioned post and ask them to inspect the plenum drain for possible blockage.

The photo below shows the siren location on a LHD (North American) Phaeton, model year 2004. The location might be different on your car because it is RHD and of a later generation.

Michael

*Alarm Siren Location
*


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## chor808 (Jul 29, 2014)

Thanks again,

I did check that area when I picked up the car from past experience with a B5.5 Passat, it seems clean. They are putting a new alarm module on today (I hope) and a new battery. I really hope this is the fix.

I was thinking about this last night, the car was shipped to me on a transporter about 200 miles or so. I wonder if they locked it and alarm was going off all the way? Maybe that had an effect on the battery in the module?

Fingers crossed.


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## West Country (Jan 4, 2012)

Hello Ian - 

I'm assuming your car is the same as mine. While I don't doubt that the experts on here are right, and that your car could be VCDS-programmed to make a 'beep' or 'chirp' upon locking (as one is so used to hearing on 90s American films, for example), the 2011 UK car does not do that as delivered, and it would surprise me greatly if anyone in its short life had chosen to, and troubled to, activate it via VCDS.

In the user-settable 'Convenience' menu in the instrument panel you are able to tick or un-tick a box to set whether the indicator lamps should or should not flash a couple of times when you lock the car. But that's it.

What you have reported hearing is I suspect something else, which is a fairly quiet high-pitched (and if you're walking away from the car easily missable) warning tone, which – although I agree the Handbook doesn't seem to cover it – is to alert you to the fact that something that should be secure isn't. So you will only get this tone – which clearly emanates from the location of the alarm siren as described above - if you leave a door half-open, a window ajar, or the boot or bonnet semi-closed. I have tried to decipher whether there is any significance to this warning tone, in the sense that it seems to come in entirely unpredictable combinations. In my tests on your behalf my car has generated a single tone, two tones, three tones, 3 + 1, 2 + 2, 3 + 4, 3 + 5, 4, etc etc. But I can't see any predictable pattern.

Interestingly, if you lock the car with the boot ajar, and then lift the boot lid up so as to trigger an electric draw via the boot illumination, the alarm will not sound. Maybe the logic is “we warned you about the boot being open, so that's obviously the way you want it to be – accessible”. Nor will it sound if you then close it.

It has come to my memory that in my last car, a Volvo S80, I also experienced alarm problems, with the alarm setting itself off or chirping at random, especially at night. In the end I worked out that the lithium batteries in the alarm siren had expired and were in effect advertising the fact. Once they had died completely I seem to remember I had no more problems. No audible alarm, but no problems …. 

So maybe your Phaeton is chirping to say “I have checked for an integral set of alarm-related circuits and something, ie your siren, is not in the condition I'd expect”. Then after a while the power falls and the siren, weak though it is, gets triggered.

Anyway, others know much better than me about circuits, but good luck with the proposed fix!

Edmund


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## chor808 (Jul 29, 2014)

Hello West Country,

Ok the plot thickens. You are right the chirps are not from the factory. They removed the alarm module and it turns out to be an after market alarm! Cobra alarm system, now who the heck who have installed that! Now here is the best bit as which point I flipped. The tech told me 'I have removed the alarm you can now drive your car you are good to go' and handed me the device. A alarm sounder, at that point the lights started flashing on the car. I repeat he removed the sounder!!! The alarm is still in there somewhere and when I ask where he said' I don't know where it is'.

Ok breath Ian breath..

It must be said that the dealer that is looking at the car is not the one that sold it to me last week as they are remote. I called them and they are now sending a Cobra alarm specialist to look at the car on Monday (which is now at home in the garage unlocked).

Why on earth would anyone fit an after market alarm to a 2011 Phaeton.

On another note in your cars do you have two movement detectors on each side of the reading lights?

No wonder the computer did not report an alarm...


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## West Country (Jan 4, 2012)

I'd hoped someone with more expertise than me would have chipped in by now. I'm merely an amateur forum reader!

I don't understand quite a lot of things:

As you say, why on earth would anyone fit any variety of aftermarket alarm system to a 2011 Phaeton? That's wrong on so many levels: aesthetic (it is a Phaeton!), electrical (Phaetons don't much tolerate non-OEM systems in sensitive places), warranty (was the Cobra fitted within 3 years of new?). This definitely seems in chocolate teapot territory.

Why does your current tech think that merely removing the siren – whether it is the base cause of the problem or not - would fix anything? Whether you have (somehow) a fully functioning Cobra system, or merely a Cobra alarm siren attached where the Phaeton's should be, merely removing it surely isn't a solution to anything. And having a Cobra specialist look at it (whatever 'it' now remains in the car) sounds a bit like chocolate teapot fettling. However, if he could remove it all that might be the start of a win!

Other forum threads, which you have doubtless read by now, suggest alarms can be triggered by a boot lid reporting itself as becoming unlocked (wiring harness issues); excessive sensitivity (allegedly 'turned down' by a dealer somehow); less-than-perfect main batteries as discussed above; a dead or faulty siren; and in one case actually a faulty Central Convenience Controller 46, which I think lives in the left-hand battery compartment area in the boot. 

Yes, there is a movement detector each side of the reading lights - at first I idly thought of them as the microphones, but I think the mics must be the fuzzy round things aft of those lights. 

In my own personal logic I can't reconcile the 255 No Alarm Triggered value with the fact that the alarm has sounded, unless there are two wholly separate systems. Otherwise wouldn't Item 15 'Intelligent Horn' show up? 

On the other hand ….. How do you actually set the alarm? Just by pressing the lock button on your Phaeton key? If so I don't see how there can be two separate systems, as opposed to merely a Cobra siren. 

Despite the earlier owner's words I would guess that someone must have had significant alarm issues in the past, and attempted to tackle them on the cheap, for there to be a non-VW siren in place. No VW dealer records for this issue, presumably?

Edmund


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## Paximus (Aug 26, 2011)

The Cobra Tracker, which might be considered a desirable platform accessory, is an SMS- & GPS-only gadget which does not have an alarm horn.

The Cobra alarm with a horn is a dealer-fitted accessory for the VW Polo (and others). The Polo was the first car to benefit from the Phaeton's development investment and therefore has some minor compatibilities. Perhaps it is relatively easy to adapt one of these alarms to a Phaeton.

That does not answer the question of why this should be done!

The photo below from an eBay item shows a horn and the plug-in control module. Perhaps this is the remaining device to look out for somewhere in the car.

Chris


*The parts of the VW Cobra Alarm*








image (c) eBay


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## chor808 (Jul 29, 2014)

I will grab a picture of the sensors in the car but they are not standard ones. I'm taking the car to an alarm company to look at it on Monday.

I think the will be another unit as you pictured. If it turns out to be a tracker then I can sort of see why it was done.

more to follow.


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## chor808 (Jul 29, 2014)

Anyone know how to post a pic?


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## JCJ (Nov 26, 2013)

you need to host it on photobucket or other similar sites


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## Paximus (Aug 26, 2011)

> Anyone know how to post a pic?


Hi Ian,

Most people create a free account on Photobucket (www.photobucket.com), then upload their photos. There are other equivalent hosting sites, too. Once the photo is visible there, you can follow the help pages on that site and find the url link to your photo (see their Help Page here).

Armed with that link, which you copy into your computer's clipboard memory, you start the forum post editor and put the cursor where you want the photo to appear. Then click the VWVortex icon which shows a picture of a tree in a selection box (at least, I think that's what it is trying to represent) and in the pop-up that appears, click the tab 'from URL'. Then paste the image link into the box and un-tick the check-box labelled _Retrieve remote file and reference locally_.

It is always best to click the _Preview Post_ button to review how your post will appear, and possibly edit it, before finally clicking _Submit Reply_ to upload it.

It is a lot easier to do than to explain.

The best general size to select for your photo link is around 600 to 800 pixels wide, although for more detailed instructional images a size up to 1200 pixels can be helpful. Images should usually be in JPG (data compressed) format, because raw BMP files will be very large and smart phones will be slowed down while the cellphone/mobile service provider compresses them before sending them down their wire.

Chris


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## chor808 (Jul 29, 2014)

Ok here goes, this is the sensor. Do you all have these on each side of the mirror?










If the alarm has gone off then when I unlock I get four flashes from the indicators. This is consistent.


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## n968412L (Apr 23, 2009)

chor808 said:


> Ok here goes, this is the sensor. Do you all have these on each side of the mirror?



Not on either of my two Phaetons.


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## chor808 (Jul 29, 2014)

Thanks,

I'm trying to be sure it really has an after market alarm and not just the sounder (before they start ripping trim off looking for it) as West Country pointed out. If no one else has these then I can assume after market alarm. Your cars are 2008?

On a happier note I got to drive it today (not to the garage and back) but on the motorway. What an incredible car, so swift and almost silent.

Anyone else have those sensors?

Ian.


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## n968412L (Apr 23, 2009)

Yes - one is MY2008. Other is 2005


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## West Country (Jan 4, 2012)

Yeah, those two are original fitment. Don't mess!

Edmund


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## chor808 (Jul 29, 2014)

Hmmm,

So it may just have been a replacement sounder. Not that I want people to trigger their alarms but is the flashing of the indicators after an alarm a VW thing as that could indicate after market?

Thanks

Ian.


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## n968412L (Apr 23, 2009)

West Country said:


> Yeah, those two are original fitment. Don't mess!
> 
> Edmund


Hi Edmund - are you saying you MY11 car has these detectors too? Certainly nothing like them in my old Phaetons....

Regards

Mike


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## JCJ (Nov 26, 2013)

I dont have those sensors fitted - mine is a 61 plate. They look aftermarket.
Cheers
John


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## West Country (Jan 4, 2012)

Well, that's spooky. Mine is MY 2011, registered February 2011, 60 Reg. 

And here's the proof you need, though I imagine we're all well confused now. It came like that with 250 miles on it, straight from the dealer.

Of course, I'd laugh if my alarm now started misbehaving and I found a Cobra siren in there ..... 

By the way, no one's answered your question but isn't a period of flashing indicators the norm for an alarm on any car? And I do seem to remember seeing the red door flashers do rapid things if something is amiss in the alarm department. 


Edmund


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## chor808 (Jul 29, 2014)

I am confused now. Edmond they are the same as mine. Anyone else got them. 

Did dealers fit some additional sensors? Or maybe we have gps?


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## JCJ (Nov 26, 2013)

Edmund
Do you have any paperwork relating to an aftermarket alarm?
Cheers
John


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## West Country (Jan 4, 2012)

No, my car was utterly bog-standard (poverty-spec). There isn't a single extra of any kind on it. And no paperwork.

Let me ask another question. Where are your own motion sensors located?

Edmund


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## Paximus (Aug 26, 2011)

Those ultrasonic sensors are certainly Cobra ones, they are supplied with the 4600- and 4100-series aftermarket alarms. In particular, the 4615 is designed for use with a 2-wire CAN-bus such as that in the Phaeton, so that it is armed and disarmed using the OEM key fob (see the Cobra UK web site).

The only possible reason to install one I can think of is to achieve a Thatcham security rating above that of the factory Phaeton, which is Cat1. The Cobra 4615 alarm is Cat2-1. _[Edit - I have written rubbish here; Cat1 is better than Cat2-1. Doh.]_

I wonder if the UK Importers were playing around with some cars in association with Cobra to validate the install? That might explain a new car on a forecourt with 250 miles, presumably with some price reduction against list. Demo cars are typically higher mileage, because the Sales Manager will tend to drive them home as a tax perk.

I see that some of these alarms come with radio activation of the horn sounder. Since the control gadget is still alive in your car, I am laughing at the thought of the horn being triggered remotely all night while it is sitting on your hall table! 

Chris



*Cobra spare part no. 10sa0187*


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## West Country (Jan 4, 2012)

Paximus said:


> Since the control gadget is still alive in your car, I am laughing at the thought of the horn being triggered remotely all night while it is sitting on your hall table!
> 
> No, don't laugh, Chris!
> 
> ...


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## chor808 (Jul 29, 2014)

Hello,

Just as Chris says it was fitted by VW with Cobra. The Cobra dealer looked at it this morning and confirmed it was added to the car to achieve a higher Thatcham security rating, apparently a few of the cars had this done. Anyway it is faulty and has been removed from the car. A new one is on order and will be installed this week.

Sounds like I am nearly there!


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## West Country (Jan 4, 2012)

I thought I'd better investigate mine a bit further.

These photos show that my car too has a Cobra siren, model 4310.


















The supply cable is routed across the car and disappears into the bulkhead at a spot a few inches inside of and below the front lower left edge of the windscreen.

I personally find it very hard to believe, when I look at the integral installation, inaccessibility etc, that this was not a factory installation. I can't imagine any part of the VW supply chain allowing aftermarket installers to start fiddling with more than one expensive, complex, and perfectly well functioning and already secure car, even for the best of reasons.

I could believe, however, that (for example) the parts department had temporarily run out of the 'normal' motion sensors (whatever they are?), or that VW and Cobra had agreed to trial a run of a new type and fitted them at the factory.

Ian – a long shot, but have you tried the expedient of physically blocking off the apertures of the sensors, to see whether that might prevent false triggers?

I look forward to the comments of Mr Cobra!

Edmund


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## chor808 (Jul 29, 2014)

That's the same one as on my car in the same place. The control unit is right up behind the glove box.

It was a cobra/VW installation for sure.

They are fitting the same system again and apparently it is still available from cobra.


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## West Country (Jan 4, 2012)

Ian - 

Thanks. How in practice does your alarm system operate while the defective siren is removed? I think you said earlier that removing the siren didn't stop the flashing lights (or presumably the immobilisation?). Has it been necessary for you to keep the car unlocked since? 

In other words, when my siren eventually fails in the same way, will it be enough just to electrically disconnect it while I buy a new one, or will I have to leave the car unlocked?

And is the siren the only thing that's faulty and is being changed? You referred earlier I think to the 'alarm module' itself being changed, and just now to the 'control unit' – are these both the same thing, and do they, or did they, also require to be changed?

Edmund


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## chor808 (Jul 29, 2014)

They ordered a full system so I think that means a new siren, and alarm module (control unit, same think sorry) and sensors?

They removed the old device this morning so I can now lock the car and drive it (so now there is no siren or alarm module). The central locking still works but the indicators only flash once now when locking the car. I assume they have connected whatever wires they needed to to stop the car being immobilised.

I will get the part number of the alarm once I see it on Wednesday. I'm more relaxed today after speaking to them as they know what they are doing. It took 2 hours v one week at the VW dealer.


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## West Country (Jan 4, 2012)

It's hard to imagine that the control module and the siren both failed and require replacement. But maybe they are programmed to each other? Look forward to hearing the end of the story in due course.


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## chor808 (Jul 29, 2014)

Yeah I agree they can't both be faulty but I guess they are taking the belt and braces approach. In any case as I'm not picking up the bill, I'll take a new system thanks. It is possible once the new system is installed the alarm could still be going off as they don't really know what triggers it yet. I guess we will see.

I still think the alarm was probably sounding on the back of the transporter and maybe that wore the battery in the siren down? The other thing I guess is odd is that the VAG-COM reports no alarm trigger, or maybe as we have this system it never will report alarms which is good to know for future reference.

Ian.


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## chor808 (Jul 29, 2014)

Ok it is back! So far so good. New alarm module and sounder fitted. I notice now when I lock it there is still only one flash of the indicators. When it was faulty they flashed about 7-8 times.

Edmund what does yours do when you lock it?


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## West Country (Jan 4, 2012)

Yes, that looks identical to mine! Congratulations on getting it sorted.

Lock = one flash
Unlock = two flashes.

Check what happens when you lock it while leaving a window open.

I guess there are number of known unknowns, and maybe some unknown unknowns, about what exactly was going on with your system. Your theory about the transportation triggering the alarm has something going for it, though I'm not sure how many repeat soundings these systems allow themselves - I think there was some legislation to protect sleepless urban dwellers. If the siren batteries did play a role then a more likely culprit, it seems to me, would be the 4 months on the forecourt. That's how my Volvo siren started to die, I think - a very long period of disuse by the previous owner.

How difficult was it to install the new module? Presumably the glove box lid and the CD player had to come out?

Edmund


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## chor808 (Jul 29, 2014)

I think they did remove the glove box and CD. They also said if it goes off you can see an led under the passenger foot well that will tell you the reason it sounded. I'll take a picture of that if I can find it. They also said the alarm trigger will not show up in the VAG-COM diagnostics. Sounds like we are the odd ones out with this alarm.

Anyway so far so good, now to sort out the rust bubble on the door!!


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## West Country (Jan 4, 2012)

Last night my alarm - which we now know is a VW-fitted Cobra - went off at 1.00am. The car was hooked up to a battery maintainer, with the doors locked but the boot not fully closed.

I'm putting this down to a one-off glitch, hopefully. Maybe the CTEK battery maintainer reached its final stage and this somehow triggered something? But I'm not convinced, since opening the boot and causing the interior lights to switch on doesn't cause an alarm.

Anyway, chor808's previous posts prompted me to look under the glove-box. 

Guess what? A mystery button, which if pressed causes a red LED to flash once.

Any ideas as to the function of this button (which, remember, was factory-fitted) will be welcome!

Thanks
Edmund


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## chor808 (Jul 29, 2014)

I'll have a look if I have a button also. Maybe you press that to check the 'code' as to why it went off?


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## chor808 (Jul 29, 2014)

Mine looks just like that. Guess is the same the button shows you a code with the LED flashes to let you know why the alarm went off.


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## West Country (Jan 4, 2012)

Thanks for looking, Ian. Pity no one filled us in on any of the details ....

Edmund


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## Paximus (Aug 26, 2011)

Hi Edmund,

I guess no-one knows the answer. Have you tried raising the question with VW Luxury Cars, on the UK importer's help line? An unknown 'user control' should be within their remit.

Chris


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## chor808 (Jul 29, 2014)

Another guess but have a look at this link. Could it be the control panel (page 2)?

Page 31 shows how it is used, we can set a pin code and use that to turn the alarm off without the keyfob.

http://cobracartech.co.uk/pdf/G100_G300_.pdf


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## DaSilva63 (Mar 26, 2021)

chor808 said:


> Hello All,
> 
> I have just purchased a new to me Phaeton, it is a 2011 model. I've had it three days and two of them have been spent at the dealers. The alarm goes off at random times, it started the second night and has been going off randomly ever since. The dealer looked at the car and 'can report no fault' even though it when off four times in the dealer car park. I also called the last owner who said he had no alarm issues. Some more information.
> 
> ...


Hi there, did you ever figure this out? Guess why I am asking ....


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## Paximus (Aug 26, 2011)

Hi,

If the car was behaving itself perfectly before standing in the dealer lot, then I would say that the left battery being low was the prime suspect. Next would be having a sheltering moth in the car which has not yet died of old age. Third, having some water in the left footwell will affect the plugs on the KESSY controller (vehicle security and starting).

If it's the first cause, then the problem will go away once the new battery is charged. The second cause will go away after a week or two of warm weather and the pesky creature passes on. If it's the third cause, get the underneath of the carpet checked for damp very very soon, as the consequences may be severe (eg fire). The top surface of the carpet will be dry, but the KESSY is buried under 150mm of sound insulation.

Chris


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