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I recently bought an A3 1.8T sport (1999). I thought I'd try out the alarm the other day to check it worked (standard a3 alarm). I've set it off however it makes no audible noise, just all the indicators flash- any ideas what I need to check? Does the alarm system have a separate horn for the alarm (instead of using the car horn). The interior car horn only becomes active on ignition- could it be a fuse?
My haynes manual does not mention the alarm
Any help appreciated!
Thanks,
Jon.
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Just to confuse things, A3s were fitted with both types of alarm horn setup, integrated into the normal horn in some cases, and on a separate siren in others. I'd be willing to guess that yours is a separate siren if your horn is working from the steering-wheel push. I did think that a separate siren was mainly a post-facelift thing though - maybe on certain pre-facelift central locking / ATW systems there were separate sirens - I guess you've got a flippy-key?
If it's a separate siren, there are I suppose a number of possible causes for it to be silent, but as always it'd probably useful to check basic connections first. I'm pretty certain that separate alarm sirens were either bolted-onto or fitted-nearby the central locking control unit, which is found in the passenger's-side rear quarter.
A quick scan with VAG-COM would probably be quite useful, perhaps there is a user near you who might be able to help out - it's a million to one shot, but if you're anywhere in Lancashire, or the Bolton side of GMC I can help out on that side...
Also, AFAIK it's totally normal that the horn can only be sounded from inside the car unless the ignition is on - either that or mine's broke too!
Regards,
Rob.