2001 vw passat tdi - central locking faulty,alarm going off since crash

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
View Threaded
Sat 8 Jan 2011 22:11
2001 vw passat tdi - central locking faulty,alarm going off since crash - saxopower

hi all, just wondered if anyone could assist me on fixing my car. before xmas i slid off the road into a ditch on my passenger side,

it got some water inside the car and since it got pulled out the central locking dosent work from the remote but will work with the key.

also the alarm has a tendancy to go off after being locked,also when the car is unlocked the alarm light still flashes till you put the ignition on if you open any doors without turning the ignition on first the alarm goes off.

the day after it went in the ditch i took the passenger seat and carpet out and wet vaced the passenger side to dry the carpets out as much as poss.

there was a box under the passenger carpet which was full of water i believe it controls the central locking and alarm. i took this out and dryed all the circuitry.

any help would be great in solving the problem as along with damaged suspention from pot holes im getting fed up with the car.

thanks again

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 8 Jan 2011 22:49
2001 vw passat tdi - central locking faulty,alarm going off since crash - Peter D

You ned to post this on www.vwaudiforum.co.uk but you need to inspect all the cabling and connectors for corrosion, there are some spliced connections insile the taked up looms that the water may have effected. Regards Peter

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 9 Jan 2011 12:43
2001 vw passat tdi - central locking faulty,alarm going off since crash - Hamsafar

The box you took out is the comfort control module and is the source of your woes. Also check the plugs and harness for moisture ingress as the copper in the wires turns to green salt in no time when wet.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 9 Jan 2011 16:08
2001 vw passat tdi - central locking faulty,alarm going off since crash - saxopower

hi thanks for your help. i will strip it and have another look, is it possible that something may have blown inside with it being wet. if i get another control box from a scrap yard would it work or would i have to take it to vw to be reprogrammed.

thanks again

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 9 Jan 2011 19:52
2001 vw passat tdi - central locking faulty,alarm going off since crash - injection doc
word of warning ! before you lift the cable out of the floor, where I suspect water has got the better of it, be carefull. If its rotten when you go to move it , it may break up into pieces & render the motor useless with hours of work to repair.
venture with care.

If you replace the Control module it will need programming
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 9 Jan 2011 22:27
2001 vw passat tdi - central locking faulty,alarm going off since crash - saxopower

ok thanks for the advice.i will be carefull.

is it much of a job to re program it or is it main s****** job?

is it possible the box may have got damaged with water getting in, or do you think it could just be the wiring.

thanks

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 9 Jan 2011 22:41
2001 vw passat tdi - central locking faulty,alarm going off since crash - elekie&a/c doctor

The central convenience module is a common problem area even on cars that have not been in a ditch.These usually get swamped by an overflow of water from a poor seal on the pollen filter.However it may be worth checking the wiring from the module to the door pillar A post area.Pick off the insulation tape and check wiring for corroded crimp joints,especially the red power lead.A s/hand unit can be used and i think you will find the only part that needs to be programmed is for the remote locking.There are lots of indy techs that can do this.hth

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 9 Jan 2011 23:31
2001 vw passat tdi - central locking faulty,alarm going off since crash - saxopower

thankyou for the help. i will have a look tomorrow if i have time and give it all a good check.

do you know what the reprogramming sequence is. i have tried various ways none seem to work.

cheers

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 10 Jan 2011 18:59
2001 vw passat tdi - central locking faulty,alarm going off since crash - a1carparts

I have had to replace the Comfort modules on 2 Audi TT's and 1 Audi A4.

I used 2nd hand units all 3 times. Basically read the codes off the old unit and then plug new unit in and re program the old code to new unit. Took couple mins to program but you need specialist program to do it.

I think the Audi / VW's suffer with damp really badly now. Stupid places they put the modules in my opinion

Alan

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 10 Jan 2011 19:29
2001 vw passat tdi - central locking faulty,alarm going off since crash - saxopower

hi thanks for the info. do you know if a snap on code reader would work to reprogram it.

cheers

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 10 Jan 2011 22:31
2001 vw passat tdi - central locking faulty,alarm going off since crash - a1carparts

No sorry the Snap On code reader does not do it. I used Vagom / VCDS

Very easy to do. Only problem I had was got BBA RE MAN to try to repair one of my units and they blanked the code and did not write down original. So I used a basic Audi code

Alan

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 11 Jan 2011 10:58
2001 vw passat tdi - central locking faulty,alarm going off since crash - dieselnut

I would suggest that you replace the pollen filter gasket before replacing the carpets.

I have looked after 5 Passats in the family over the last few years & all have leaked at this gasket wetting the module & carpets.

The original gasket is foam rubber & just acts like a sponge.

The modified gasket from VW is solid rubber & cures the problem although you could use silicon sealer if you were stuck.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

We give you the low down on how to save on insurance, little-known tricks and tips, what insurance groups mean and how to use insurance aggregators to beat insurers.

Insurance group finder and how to save on insurance

Looking for a garage you can trust? Honest John's Good Garage Guide has thousands of reader recommended garages, plus how-to guides and tips on servicing.

The Good Garage Guide