%^&*ING CAR!!

[Effect]

My S3 is playing up again.

walked out the front door to be greeted with flashing hazard lights again.
Got in turned them off and drove to work with them coming on several times on the way.

anyone else had this problem with hazard lights that just wont stay off ?

I have tried changing the switch before and that did nothing, its booked into JBS next tuesday for 8 hours of dignosis (there goes any hope I had of having a life for the next 3 months)

Starting to wish I had never bought the stupid thing now

 

[AndyMac]

Sounds more likely to be something to do with the alarm controller than the hazard switch as this is a common fault on A3/S3's. The hazards can only possibly be triggered by either the switch or the alarm. The switch is just a switch, so no real way of it going off randomly. The alarm however could easily be getting confused. Do you get any beeps?
Maybe worth changing it (they're about £80) before spending a fortune on labour to work out what the problem is.

 

[jonS3]

8 hours? that seems like a long time to diagnose.

have a good search on here, and maybe phone another specialist, as they might know what it could be

 

[steve1975l]

On my old car it was the alarm controller behind the sub. I got bleeps on startup and random lights flashing.

Andy has a guide on how to remove panels as it is a pain to get to.

 

[Aky]

Could it be your boot sensor that is setting the alarm off. My Mk4 used to do it randomly when the hose came off the rear washer and shorted out.
Just a thought.....

 

[mazzy]

This only happens when it is a hot day...

I just live with it and the interior lights blink, park the car in the shade and your ok...

 

[madvw]

the stages of failure on my car was:

1. 4 beeps from behind me when starting the car
2. alarm randomly going off
3. indicators flashing when i got back to the car.

replacement alarm siren/box sorted the lot. Dealer initially said that there was no problem as there were no DTC's logged. Fact is that there are never any logged, because the thing is ********.

 

[steve123a]

I have this every now and then the car beeps 4 times when it hasn't been used for a couple of days, also the alarm did go off a couple of times!
How much is the replacement alarm siren unit? Also can you get it from Vagparts?

 

[jojo]

This only happens when it is a hot day...

I just live with it and the interior lights blink, park the car in the shade and your ok...

Hey Maz had this problem when I had the Andymac stealth sub installed remember?, it was a dodgy earth when we had to move the wires for the sub to clear, I took it all apart and cratched the paint up a little and added a bigger washer, and it's been fine since.

 

[shineydave]

the diagnostic should bring up a fault of "Alarm horn - no communication" if the siren is donald

 

[madvw]

the diagnostic should bring up a fault of "Alarm horn - no communication" if the siren is donald

should, but for some reason it doesn't.

 

[mrsteve]

Hi,

I havent had any issues with mine but my boss was having the same issues with her T5 C70 and the problem believe it or not was a metallic keyring in the arm rest of the car, interferring with the IR signal sent out inside the car and setting the alarm to (stage 1) an 'im unsure im being broken into stage', hazards and no sound.

Take everything out of it and see what happens.

Steve

(PS i appreciate this sounds daft but just in case)

 

[shineydave]

should, but for some reason it doesn't.

strange that because i've found at least 3 sirens that have had battery failure (which is the common cause) and all have reported the no communication error. if it's ******** then Vag-Com can't open the controller and so reports "no communication"

i'm assuming you used Vag-Com, what version were you using, was it an ebay dongle or a genuine one.

it certainly sounds like you had the same sort of failure as the ones i've replaced can't think why it didn't bring back a fault

 

[AndyMac]

But if the cars unlocked and the engines running the alarm shouldn't be armed at all, let alone the interior sensors reporting an intruder. Has to be a duff controller.

 

[Effect]

right I dont get any beeps at all ever.

The hazards will come on wether the car is left locked or unlocked.

Something that did come up on VAG com that i thought might have caused this fault is that a crash sensor has been activated.

The airbags have not been deployed but i did read in the manual that if the airbags are deployed the hazards would be turned on automatically.


so this led me to belive e a loose wire somewhere on teh crash sensor circuit or knackered crash sensor.

The problem is all the faults I have ever had on the car are intermittant.

I have also spoken to many VAG people and they all want to have a look at the car and diagnose the problem themselves.

 

[AndyMac]

I'm sure they do at £60+ per hour!
If you set the alarm off does it work properly?

 

[spuddie007]

My S3 is playing up again.

walked out the front door to be greeted with flashing hazard lights again.
Got in turned them off and drove to work with them coming on several times on the way.

anyone else had this problem with hazard lights that just wont stay off ?

I have tried changing the switch before and that did nothing, its booked into JBS next tuesday for 8 hours of dignosis (there goes any hope I had of having a life for the next 3 months)

Starting to wish I had never bought the stupid thing now

Hi Mate

Had the same problem a while back and it turned out to be a flooded ECU, which is quite possible given the weather of late.....?

Here's a link to my original thread if it helps?

http://www.audi-sport.net/vb/showthread.php?t=30609&highlight=christmas+tree

Cheers
Spuddie

 

[madvw]

i'm assuming you used Vag-Com, what version were you using, was it an ebay dongle or a genuine one.

I used a third part dongle and shareware vag-com. Audi obviously used a VAG1551. In both cases, neither picked it up. I think if it had gone totally, then it may have logged a DTC. The problem is that it was failing when left alone (for battery or whatever other reasons). Either way, it was intermittant and not easily reproduced while at the dealers.

Luckily they trusted what i said, and as it was the last day of my audi warranty, they replaced it anyway

 

[Effect]

I hope mine is just a slightly damp ecu that can be dried out.

I have just been looking at the scuttle panel at the bottom of the windscreen and it is not sat flush to the windscreen there is a gap all the way along.


I have also just set the alarm off and it works although the crappest sounding alarm ever IMO it beeps rather than horns

sounds like a microwave

 

[AndyMac]

Yep that's the environmentally friendly beeps of the feeble Audi alarm.
I had the same problem with my scuttle on the A4, they get butchered by over enthusiastic Autoglass fitters. A new one is only £10 from Audi (I know, I was expecting £50+). My old one caused the wipers to seize as water was getting on the mechanism. You'll need the wiper arm removal tool from Machine Mart to get the wiper arms off (they can be a real ****** to release). Even with the correct tool I had to use a pry bar as well to break the seal.