Antitheft after sitting over night

[GlowBugTDI]

I let my 01 beetle sit over night locked and in the morning antitheft won't let me start the car and the alarm goes off. I walk to the car, unlock it, jump in, and the radio is still flashing. If i try to start the car the alarm goes off. If i disconnect the battery then reconnect it will be fine till the next morning.
The car was recently in an accident, and the passenger side headlight is still not connected/in its spot. I don't think this would cause that, but maybe?
I am also currently missing front fogs, and blinker. Would this trip anti theft? Or is there something else that got messed up that i missed?

 

[GlowBugTDI]

Also the first morning or two that i drove the car after the accident nothing happened, but now it keeps doing this after randomly going off the other morning before i ever came to the car.

 

[burpod]

if the immmobilizer transponder or some other bit is acting up , that likely is it. immobo delete would solve it

 

[Vince Waldon]

Is it the immob that's not letting you run the car (ie the car starts and runs normally for 3-5 seconds and then stops, with the IMMOB dash light flashing) or the car alarm (car starts and runs normally but honks at you the whole time)??

If the car alarm being triggered is the issue... including randomly waking your neighbours up at odd hours... this is a very classic MK4 chassis sign of defective door switches, generally starting on the drivers side. One tell is that the dome light and puddle lights stop working properly.

 

[Vwkaferman]

My wagon is exhibiting these signs. Can we still get OEM door switches/latches/locks?

James

 

[GlowBugTDI]

Ya drivers door switch has been bad for months. Fixed it once with a switch from a parts yard.... it died 3 days later. Didn't care to fix it again.
I was going to do immo delete when i did my malone stage 3, but at the time everything was fine so i figured why do it.

Is this something that can be done through vcds? Haven't researched immo delete yet, but will when i get a chance

 

[GlowBugTDI]

My wagon is exhibiting these signs. Can we still get OEM door switches/latches/locks?

James

You can get them, but idk if they are oem. The ones I was seeing were like 120$+
I bought a used one out of a parts car but couldn't get it to open the door properly so i just pulled the door switch and wired it into mine. It had the older style metal clip on it so it was easy to replace. The newer style is plastic welded to the door lock.

 

[Vince Waldon]

I was going to do immo delete when i did my malone stage 3, but at the time everything was fine so i figured why do it.

Is this something that can be done through vcds? Haven't researched immo delete yet, but will when i get a chance

An IMMOB delete requires ECU re-coding, so you ship the ECU to the tuner.

As the car alarm and IMMOB are two separate anti-theft systems, an IMMOB delete won't fix your random car alarms, if that's what you're hoping at this point.

 

[GlowBugTDI]

An IMMOB delete requires ECU re-coding, so you ship the ECU to the tuner.

As the car alarm and IMMOB are two separate anti-theft systems, an IMMOB delete won't fix your random car alarms, if that's what you're hoping at this point.

the random car alarm happened once, I don't know at this point what caused it. maybe the door switch idk. but the car not recognizing that it has been unlocked and alarm going off when i try to start the car is different then immob? I don't care if the door switch works, I just want the car to not be honking at me until I reset the system by undoing the battery. The car unlocks the drivers door wit hthe key, but won't unlock the pass. door or trunk. When I try to start the car or pop the hood the alarm goes off right away. the only way I have found to turn it off is unhook the batt, or wait till it stops. but I have to unhook the batt anyway because if I try to start the car it sets off again. The car may start with the horn honking (turns over fine), but honestly I haven't tried to actually start it. soon as it starts honking i turn it back off and unhook the batt.

 

[GlowBugTDI]

so if i understand correctly, I have to get the door switch to work or out of the system for the alarm to stop doing this?

 

[burpod]

hood alarm switch is likely the culprit here i think else, immobo

 

[Vince Waldon]

The random alarm horn (a door switch thinks someone has broken into the car while the alarm is armed and is trying to start it) is not related to the immob (someone's trying to start the car with the wrong key)... so yup, the only way to fix the random alarm is to find the door switch that's misbehaving and fix it.

Neither the alarm nor the IMMOB can be defeated with VCDS.. would not be much of a anti-theft system if you could bypass it via the OBD2 port.

VCDS can be helpful here however, as it can show you the state of all of the various door switches, including the hood IIRC. Of course, the behaviour is random, so that does add to the challenge.

This is really really REALLY common MK4 behavior.. Of the six MK4s I've owned over the years only one of 'em did not eventually start to wake the neighbours up at night or honk at me first thing in the morning 'cause the alarm was still set. For my cars it was always the driver's door switch... the one that gets the most wear I'd guess.

If you've not found it yet there's 30 page master thread on the door switches themselves:

Stupid door Switch!! $3 Fix!!!

Good on ya, TDIcommuter! I love it when resourceful people find another --and usually cheaper-- way. This micro-switch reminds me of my time working in a school back in the early 90s. Our poor computer-lab lady was having to pay $75 a pop for a new mouse (Mac Plus computers) when their switches...

forums.tdiclub.com

 

[GlowBugTDI]

The random alarm horn (a door switch thinks someone has broken into the car while the alarm is armed and is trying to start it) is not related to the immob (someone's trying to start the car with the wrong key)... so yup, the only way to fix the random alarm is to find the door switch that's misbehaving and fix it.

Neither the alarm nor the IMMOB can be defeated with VCDS.. would not be much of a anti-theft system if you could bypass it via the OBD2 port.

VCDS can be helpful here however, as it can show you the state of all of the various door switches, including the hood IIRC. Of course, the behaviour is random, so that does add to the challenge.

This is really really REALLY common MK4 behavior.. Of the six MK4s I've owned over the years only one of 'em did not eventually start to wake the neighbours up at night or honk at me first thing in the morning 'cause the alarm was still set. For my cars it was always the driver's door switch... the one that gets the most wear I'd guess.

If you've not found it yet there's 30 page master thread on the door switches themselves:

Stupid door Switch!! $3 Fix!!!

Good on ya, TDIcommuter! I love it when resourceful people find another --and usually cheaper-- way. This micro-switch reminds me of my time working in a school back in the early 90s. Our poor computer-lab lady was having to pay $75 a pop for a new mouse (Mac Plus computers) when their switches...

forums.tdiclub.com

Yep found that one and read it when I had the drivers microswitch issue. Reason i never did it was because they didn't sell that switch anymore. I ended up just cutting the wires and capping them off not connected IIRC (so that it just thinks the door is closed?) Pretty sure thats what I did tho i may have left it connected to the microswitch and just left it not working. Regardless its been whatever way it is for 6+mo now and never had an issue till post crash. Going to check the hood switch as i may have broken that one when slamming my bent hood to make it lock.

 

[burpod]

you still can find those switches at a number of places online. i'd have to do some digging and look up the pn# again but they definitely are still out there easily had for cheap. i prefer my mk3 and really don't like putzing with mk4 door switches etc

 

[Vince Waldon]

i prefer my mk3

Ahhhhhhhhhhh....vacuum-activated door locks...those where the days!

 

[GlowBugTDI]

Buying an mk3 around here is like buying a rusted can on wheels. They are either majorly neglected and high miles or very expensive for a nice one. Not to mention they getting hard to come by in MN. Sadly even the mk4's are getting hard to find in good shape without paying a good amount of money. thats one reason I bought a beetle low miles, good shape and cheap. A rusted J/G/JW will still fetch 3k with over 250k on the dash. I love the mk3 body tho. They are beautiful and remind me of the white one from F&F 1.

 

[burpod]

Well yeah, imm not a big fan of the vacuum locking, but it works fine. Thinking about removing that whole thing again. I don't really mind having just manual locks. Although I made a nifty remote start using the OEM key fob and alarm box only the cold hands of death or some moron totalling it could pry me away from my mk3....

 

[Vince Waldon]

I just remember (with some fondness) all the "my car's trunk makes a buzzing noise all by itself for a few minutes" and "none of my car locks work" posts from back then.

 

[BobnOH]

For a temporary fix, try getting in, click lock, unlock, lock on the fob, then start-up.

 

[GlowBugTDI]

A thought. If me popping the hood sets the alarm off doesn't that mean the hood switch works fine?

 

[GlowBugTDI]

Another thing I noted. The radio constantly blinks now. Even when unlocked. Once the car is started it stops blinking, but otherwise it blinks when locked or unlocked.

Is there a system reset or anything like that? or could my radio be causing the problems?

 

[BobnOH]

If you unlock the door, pop the hood, then open it, should not set off the alarm.

 

[GlowBugTDI]

If you unlock the door, pop the hood, then open it, should not set off the alarm.

idk man. it does. I'm starting to think it is something with the radio. idk what, but i don't know what else to think it is. Nothing seems to turn the alarm off until it turns itself off after about 45 seconds or I pull the ground on the batt.


Edit: I wired the hood wires together and the problem persists. radio still flashing red when unlocked. odd thing is the radio has worked the entire time. so that part is not going into safe mode (unless it only goes into safe when pulled and placed in another car).

 

[burpod]

if the car's not starting, immobo has been tripped. personally, i'd just immobo delete it which is easy/cheap to do and be done with it, unless you really want to chase door switches and weird radio glitches etc for hours on end

 

[GlowBugTDI]

if the car's not starting, immobo has been tripped. personally, i'd just immobo delete it which is easy/cheap to do and be done with it, unless you really want to chase door switches and weird radio glitches etc for hours on end

I agree, but it was told to me that immob and antitheft were two different systems (post #8). I don't know that for sure to be fact, but i don't know any better at this point. I also don't know that the car won't actually start because the alarm keeps going off before I get that far. it started turning over the one time, but it was cold and didn't turn over long enough to actually start. I could possibly find out tomorrow morning if I lock my car tonight and try starting it again tomorrow.

 

[Vince Waldon]

If you have a working keyfob: unlock the doors using the keyfob while sitting in the drivers seat just before you start the car. This should disable the alarm if it is still set... and most likely the honking... and the car is then at the sole mercy of the IMMOB system.

 

[GlowBugTDI]

If you have a working keyfob: unlock the doors using the keyfob while sitting in the drivers seat just before you start the car. This should disable the alarm if it is still set... and most likely the honking... and the car is then at the sole mercy of the IMMOB system.

I will try that. I have 2 fobs, but have been using the valet key for years now.

 

[GlowBugTDI]

ok, did that and the car started. turned off and the radio light still flashes. alarm did not get set off (before it only seemed to set off the alarm after sitting for for some time like over night tho). When I locked the doors, the radio light flashes as it should, but the drivers door light does not flash (showing its locked). Does the drivers door lock alarm have its own switch set apart from the interior lights micro switch? or share?

 

[GlowBugTDI]

If I cut the micro switch out of the system then possibly the problem will go away? the car has had a bad micro switch for quite some time now though so I don't see why it would cause this problem directly after the accident. I'm now wondering if its a radio problem, but i don't know if the radio has any part to do with the anti theft, or if it is just the holder of the red blinky light.

 

[fatmobile]

When my car did this it was the door latch.
The switch was fine but there were some bad solder joints where the wires attached to the board.