Boot light on dash and alarm going off please help!!? Driving me mad!!

Starting Saturday my wiper would never stop. Today the boot was indicating open and the alarm was going off intermittently. Was exactly this issue - switch was in fact frozen up with water from a leaking motor.

latta1989 - you don't need to remove the lock. I used a small screwdriver to pop the microswitch connector off the top and just squirted it with some WD40. Seems to have done the trick for now.

The water on my motor is leaking out from around the silver lid. Does anyone know if it's possible to repair the leak within the motor? Or is it simply a case of replacing the whole unit?

Thanks for the great advice on this thread.
 
Had exact same problems as you Gareth.

Did drying the lock an cleaning with wd40 solve all the issues? Even wiper etc.

Is it obvious the bit to pop off?

Cheers
 
Starting Saturday my wiper would never stop. Today the boot was indicating open and the alarm was going off intermittently. Was exactly this issue - switch was in fact frozen up with water from a leaking motor.

latta1989 - you don't need to remove the lock. I used a small screwdriver to pop the microswitch connector off the top and just squirted it with some WD40. Seems to have done the trick for now.

The water on my motor is leaking out from around the silver lid. Does anyone know if it's possible to repair the leak within the motor? Or is it simply a case of replacing the whole unit?

Thanks for the great advice on this thread.


Had this with mine last week and ended up replacing them both as i didnt want to risk thinking i had repaired it then only to find out with a wet car and ice on the inside that i hadnt,i am in the trade and it cost me £120inc vat for the new boot catch and the wiper motor,i might be wrong but i couldnt see how i could do an easy repair on it as mine was leaking where the plastic cover the pipe goes to was not sealing over the shaft,i found this out after second time of removing trim because first time i did it the pipe was off so just thought that was the cause
 
latta1989: WD40 only solved the boot catch/alarm problem. It is quite obvious when you look at the lock - it's the cable coming in at the top of the lock. The motor is still leaking and I just pulled the cable out to stop the wiper.

Picked up a new motor at the Audi dealer yesterday £98. Just need to get it fitted before I go away for Christmas, looks quite straight forward.
 
hi, had the same alarm/boot open prob with mine today. ive sprayed the boot catch wiv wd40 and touch wood its been ok. wiper works fine. i,l take the tailgate cover off and have a better look when the weather pics up! another audi hitch i think!
 
Had same problem, alarm going off with rear hatch being the cause, took tailgate cover off and washer pipe had come away slightly and washer fluid wet everything through, Dried it all off and used WD40 so fingers crossed now, its a reet laff putting that rear cover back on NOT.....
 
It would appear this is a problem on A6 Avants too!! Mine is doing the same thing, if I bang the boot in the area of the catch the lights go off only to come on again a cpl of secs later. Alarm going off in the night is a pain in the ****. I'll strip the boot lid down and have a butchers tomorrow evening. Thanks chaps, the power of the search function is strong!
 
Had this infernal issue "fixed" three times on my last car. Last time was literally two weeks before it went back!
 
Also have a problem like this - wiper motor leaked and now I don't get the boot light on the dash and the actual boot light doesn't go on. Checked the switch and it looks pretty knackered - do i need to buy the whole book lock mechanism and the connector? If so anyone know the part numbers?
 
Ive noticed also that there is still a problem with something.

You know when you have the boot open and you lock the car the lights only flash when you shut the boot...well mine are now just flashing straight away when i lock the car as if the boot is already shut.

Fix for that????
 
you need to buy the complete lock. not sure of part number but would imagine your local dealer stock them as they sell millions each winter.
 
Just wondering how people sealed the washer pipe back on?
I tried to use silicone but it appears to be leaking again :mad:!
Best way to seal it all up?
 
Take the union off the wiper - cut off the pipe connector - get some tubing that goes over the existing tubing and force it on. Fix with a tie wrap.

Push the other end onto the wiper motor inlet and tie wrap on.

Voila !!

This was the only way I could make it waterproof. Once the connectors have 'spread' with ice etc. they don't fit properly.

Make sure the washer jets are not blocked and there's somewhere for the water to get out !!!!!
 
got the same problem on my a3, 2004 2.0tdi. The boot clearly locks but i dont think the sensor knows this and says the boot is still open. I cant lock the car as the alarm just keeps going off. Is there a way to lock all the doors but without the alarm being set? this would be ideal just now since its late on a saturday and no garages are open til monday.

Thanks.
 
got the same problem on my a3, 2004 2.0tdi. The boot clearly locks but i dont think the sensor knows this and says the boot is still open. I cant lock the car as the alarm just keeps going off. Is there a way to lock all the doors but without the alarm being set? this would be ideal just now since its late on a saturday and no garages are open til monday.

Thanks.

Canny simple fix mate, did mine in 20 minutes.

You need to take out the boot lock and dry it up, focusing on the microswitch (part that tells the car that the boots open/closed).

Open the boot and take out the surrounding trim from the boot lid, take off the lock, only held on by 2 bolts iirc. Take it inside and blast it with the hairdryer then give it a spray of WD40.

Job done :)
 
cheers jb0o, i just went for another quick fix that nobody has mentioned for now. I took the fuse out for the alarm system and locked the doors, the deadlocking is still on and the central locking works the same, just now alarm. l'll give your quick fix a wee try tomorrow. Defo need it sorted properly though as the rear window is misting up which would suggest the rear washer is leaking.
 
cheers jb0o, i just went for another quick fix that nobody has mentioned for now. I took the fuse out for the alarm system and locked the doors, the deadlocking is still on and the central locking works the same, just now alarm. l'll give your quick fix a wee try tomorrow. Defo need it sorted properly though as the rear window is misting up which would suggest the rear washer is leaking.

Wish I had thought of that at 3am when mine started going off lmao.
 
When I had the problem, and after I had not only dried the microswitch but actuall removed it from the lock and wd40'd it, it all went back and everything worked (locking wise )

Alarm still went off and I noticed the boot light was flickering on and off as well !

Guess what the problem was ???
 
I had to put a bonnet lock on a friends A4 because the bonnet was showing as open and the indicators didnt flash when locking, i fitted a new lock to it and that seemed to cure the problem...
 
Happened to mine today on a3fsi.could it be coz of ice as only stated when freezing cold out
 
This started happening to my car, first the rear wiper wouldn't work or would work intermittently, then Saturday morning my alarm started going off, i only noticed the light on my dash later in the day. After looking for a solution i came across this thread and it was very useful so thank you to all of those who had posted with help and tips. I took the plastic cover off of the boot as shown in the pictures. I noticed that around the book lock, one of the connections was covered in a green corroded looking liquid. After cleaning it off and spraying it with WD40 it hasn't happened since, as well as my rear wiper started working again. Touch wood this has solved the problem of my alarm.
 
This started happening to my car, first the rear wiper wouldn't work or would work intermittently, then Saturday morning my alarm started going off, i only noticed the light on my dash later in the day. After looking for a solution i came across this thread and it was very useful so thank you to all of those who had posted with help and tips. I took the plastic cover off of the boot as shown in the pictures. I noticed that around the book lock, one of the connections was covered in a green corroded looking liquid. After cleaning it off and spraying it with WD40 it hasn't happened since, as well as my rear wiper started working again. Touch wood this has solved the problem of my alarm.

Glad you got the alarm sorted.

You will need to replace the wiper motor with the latest version to solve the problem completely.
 
Glad you got the alarm sorted.

You will need to replace the wiper motor with the latest version to solve the problem completely.

Okay thanks, I'll keep that in mind for a later date. Is it an easy part to get a hold of or do i need to go to Audi directly?
 
Okay thanks, I'll keep that in mind for a later date. Is it an easy part to get a hold of or do i need to go to Audi directly?

Don't buy from ebay because there are loads on there that will not fit. You don't say what year your car is but I'm guessing '04 - '07

Various places may have them and it will cost between £90 - £110. Fitting is dead easy once you get the arm off.
 
Don't buy from ebay because there are loads on there that will not fit. You don't say what year your car is but I'm guessing '04 - '07

Various places may have them and it will cost between £90 - £110. Fitting is dead easy once you get the arm off.

Sorry, My car is '06. Okay thanks that's great, assuming there's a thread with instructions on that i could look at for guidance?
 
With everyone having these same issues.. Wouldn't it be best just to disconnect the water feed from its source if possible.. I've never needed the water for the rear
 
My wiper worked fine yesterday apart from no water coming out.. Thought I would check the state of the inside of the motor and ended up like this
30htxxz.jpg

Haha
 
Two small screws and then brute force.
 
Just want to say thanks to all those who posted the solution to this problem, I had all sorts of issues, most annoyingly the alarm going off intermittently. I followed the instructions to remove the tail gate and clean the boot microswitch area with plenty of WD40. I did notice a tiny bit of muck in the locking mechanism, which I think was triggering the alarm to go off! A month on and I have no issues what so ever with alarm going off. I had already replaced the wiper motor a few years back so this was a separate issue!

Thanks
 
Sorry to resurrect an old thread but I have similar symptoms and wonder if anyone has had the same.

The boot light stays on regardless of whether the boot is shut or not, this also prevented my front windows from working, and now the handbrake light is flashing on and off.

Worried its not the microswitch on the lock the ec module itself getting wet.
 
Thanks for this info. Had alarm going all night. Then driving showing boot as open when clearly not.

Opened up by rear washer motor to find, lots of water. Hair dryer I all out and sealed the where the water would be getting in. At the moment boot not showing as open and alarm not going off.
 
Thanks for this info. Had alarm going all night. Then driving showing boot as open when clearly not.

Opened up by rear washer motor to find, lots of water. Hair dryer I all out and sealed the where the water would be getting in. At the moment boot not showing as open and alarm not going off.
You've cured the wiper motor that was full of water but not the root cause, which is where the water is coming from, usually the wipe wash tube loose or split somewhere in the hatch. When you have time find the leak.
 
You've cured the wiper motor that was full of water but not the root cause, which is where the water is coming from, usually the wipe wash tube loose or split somewhere in the hatch. When you have time find the leak.
I noticed two parts, one where the water from reservoir enters wiper and also where rubber seal from wiper is, where the water is entering. I used silicone sealant to seal!

Hopefully curing the leak. A great point though.
 
Hi,

Sorry to bring up a old thread, this has just happened to me. My alarm was going off and showing boot was open. With the boot closed the rear wiper does not work. Every morning I come out and I have a flat battery even though I left the car unlocked last night. (Fun when the bonnet cable snapped last night)

So just to clear things up. I have to open the boot get to the wiper motor and disconnect it and seal the hoze up? Then clean the micro switch and spray the boot lock with wd40? Sorry not very techical minded.
 
Open the boot, and remove the pannelling. I can’t remember if there are screws or just rivets. I noticed where the leak was coming from and sealed with a roofing silicone sealant. I dried the whole area with a hair dryer. Replaced and have had no problems since. When I had removed the pannelling there was a great amount of water.