Golf IV - alarm going off for no reason,doors locking by themselves ....

Hi everyone, I need a bit of help with my "spooky" car - a few
problems which have started happening a few days ago:
- when I lock the car the alarm light (the little red one on the
driver's side) does not always flash
- the indicator lights don't flash (they generally do so when you lock
the door)
- when it's locked the alarm goes off - not always though - sometimes
it doesn't at all, sometimes at 10 min intervals, or 20 mins and now
every hour ....
- and sometimes (randomly) when you get in the car it locks all by
itself

I know it has something to do with contacts/electrical and probably
dampness, but is it something I can do by myself?

Plus, yesterday the rear windscreen wiper stopped working out of a
sudden - it attempted to work, and then just stopped .... I don't
think this is connected though.

help please, I don't want to wake my neighbours up!
thank you

On Feb 19, 1:55 pm, neutrorobe... (AT) yahoo (DOT) it wrote:

Hi everyone, I need a bit of help with my "spooky" car - a few
problems which have started happening a few days ago:
- when I lock the car the alarm light (the little red one on the
driver's side) does not always flash
- the indicator lights don't flash (they generally do so when you lock
the door)
- when it's locked the alarm goes off - not always though - sometimes
it doesn't at all, sometimes at 10 min intervals, or 20 mins and now
every hour ....
- and sometimes (randomly) when you get in the car it locks all by
itself

I know it has something to do with contacts/electrical and probably
dampness, but is it something I can do by myself?

Plus, yesterday the rear windscreen wiper stopped working out of a
sudden - it attempted to work, and then just stopped .... I don't
think this is connected though.

help please, I don't want to wake my neighbours up!
thank you

Did you experience an electrical interruption recently? Some alarm
systems will set to 'default mode' under those conditions, such that
even the slightest vibration will trigger the alarm. Once when my
wife' Saab had such a problem, whenever a heavy freight train went by
(every morning, 3:00am) on the tracks about 1/2 mile away, the alarm
would trip. There is a way to set the sensitivity via the door key...

But from the other symptoms you describe, it sound more like you have
a bad ground somewhere that is causing the problem. Or road salts have
gotten into some circuitry or sensors and causing false trips. It may
well all be related including the rear wiper.

I do not know where the CPU is for the alarm, on our former Mercedes,
the present Saab and Volvo, it is beneath a plate on the passenger
front seat. It is very well protected in these cars, no clue as to how
well VW protects it.

Peter Wieck
Wyncote, PA

thanks!

no electrical interruption recently, just out of a sudden.

well it has been damp in the past few days and they have been throwing
loads of salt on the roads, so could be something of the sort.

I have checked around the car in search of the alarm CPU, but no luck.
well, if it starts honking again in approx 30 min time I'll just
disconnect the battery for the night and go to a garage tomorrow, as
it's really starting to annoy me.

I just hope it doesn't cost me tons of money (as do most of my VW
repairs!!! unfortunately)

martha

Sounds like a bad door lock assembly. The lock assembly contains
microswitches that sense when the door is locked, when it's unlocked, when
it's open, and when it's closed. The microswitches are known to fail and
will exhibit exactly the behavior you describe. Replacing the lock assembly
runs in the $250.00 (US) range.

<neutroroberts (AT) yahoo (DOT) it> wrote

thanks!

no electrical interruption recently, just out of a sudden.

well it has been damp in the past few days and they have been throwing
loads of salt on the roads, so could be something of the sort.

I have checked around the car in search of the alarm CPU, but no luck.
well, if it starts honking again in approx 30 min time I'll just
disconnect the battery for the night and go to a garage tomorrow, as
it's really starting to annoy me.

I just hope it doesn't cost me tons of money (as do most of my VW
repairs!!! unfortunately)

martha

I was going to say rear hatch latch or the wires to the hatch might be
breaking and shorting out.

"Erik Dillenkofer" <lifeguard1974 (AT) hotmail (DOT) com> wrote

Sounds like a bad door lock assembly. The lock assembly contains
microswitches that sense when the door is locked, when it's unlocked, when
it's open, and when it's closed. The microswitches are known to fail and
will exhibit exactly the behavior you describe. Replacing the lock
assembly runs in the $250.00 (US) range.

neutroroberts (AT) yahoo (DOT) it> wrote in message
news:1171913695.660449.144250 (AT) k78g2000cwa (DOT) googlegroups.com...

thanks!

no electrical interruption recently, just out of a sudden.

well it has been damp in the past few days and they have been throwing
loads of salt on the roads, so could be something of the sort.

I have checked around the car in search of the alarm CPU, but no luck.
well, if it starts honking again in approx 30 min time I'll just
disconnect the battery for the night and go to a garage tomorrow, as
it's really starting to annoy me.

I just hope it doesn't cost me tons of money (as do most of my VW
repairs!!! unfortunately)

martha

<neutroroberts (AT) yahoo (DOT) it> wrote

Hi everyone, I need a bit of help with my "spooky" car - a few
problems which have started happening a few days ago:
- when I lock the car the alarm light (the little red one on the
driver's side) does not always flash
- the indicator lights don't flash (they generally do so when you lock
the door)
- when it's locked the alarm goes off - not always though - sometimes
it doesn't at all, sometimes at 10 min intervals, or 20 mins and now
every hour ....
- and sometimes (randomly) when you get in the car it locks all by
itself

I know it has something to do with contacts/electrical and probably
dampness, but is it something I can do by myself?

Plus, yesterday the rear windscreen wiper stopped working out of a
sudden - it attempted to work, and then just stopped .... I don't
think this is connected though.

help please, I don't want to wake my neighbours up!
thank you

I had a similar problem.
The rear washer hose comes undone and messes with the alarm.
Take a look at http://www.golfmk4.co.uk/rear_screen_washer_repair.htm
Baz

In rec.autos.makers.vw.watercooled, dave AKA vwdoc1 wrote:

I was going to say rear hatch latch or the wires to the hatch might be
breaking and shorting out.

That could explain the alarm going off when set, but would not
explain the doors locking by themselves.

Hi, thank you all for your suggestions, I definitely think you have a
point.
A bit of an update.
I got fed up yesterday evening, went out and unplugged the battery (so
everyone slept well). This morning took the car to a garage, we tried
it, waited, checked a bit, and nothing whatsoever happened... this car
is becoming a real mystery. The car has been parked in front of the
house for 6 hours and the alarm hasn't gone off (yet).
Btw - the rear windscreen wiper is attempting to function now -
somewhat slowly though, so the garage guy thinks it might be the
motor. (I'll have a look around scrapyards for a spare).
I also think that the alarm and the doors locking are two separate
problems (possibly somehow connected), i.e. the doors locking thing
started first, so this weekend I'll dismantle the driver's door and
have a look at the wires and all. I think there is definitely a
problem with the driver's door, as I have had the window up/down thing
changed twice (you know that bit that aaaaaalways breaks on golf iv
- the little bit of plastic - and you get stuck with a window half
open on a rainy day) and since the last one the locking system hasn't
been the same.
Baz - thanks for that website - definitely will be doing that this
weekend!!
Will keep you posted!
thank you

Martha

hold on - I was reading through the rear screen washer repair
instructions, and it says - "An alternative symptom of a failed rear
screen washer can be a break in the feed tube inside the wiper motor
assembly, which allows the washer jet to rotate with the wiper arm " -
my washer jet always squirts a bit to the left, never straight and it
moves with the wiper arm - it's been doing so for ages, basically
since when I bought it - so it shouldn't be doing that? It should
always be squirting straight, right?
Umpf, I have an exciting weekend in front of me.... hope it doesn't
rain!

ok
how do the power locks unlock the rear hatch latch? It should unlock when
you unlock all of the doors and it should remotely unlock/unlatch when you
press it's button.
Is the hatch latch lock electric and/or operated with air. I am not sure
but I was thinking if the wires were breaking and shorting to one another
then power or ground could make it's way to the power door lock module.
I have seen broken wires between the doors and their pillars create problems
with the locks and windows. Not sure if they caused the alarm to sound, but
it is possible.

Just trying to think of ONE common area where all the problems could be!
;-)

later,
dave
(One out of many daves)


"Tom's VR6" <no (AT) mail (DOT) please> wrote

In rec.autos.makers.vw.watercooled, dave AKA vwdoc1 wrote:

I was going to say rear hatch latch or the wires to the hatch might be
breaking and shorting out.

That could explain the alarm going off when set, but would not
explain the doors locking by themselves.