Macguyverin'

**cheesy** · 04-24-2016, 09:16 PM

While I was spending two weeks in Maine, I learned that my wife's Audi began to sing the song of its' people, also known as the "Car Alarm Song", to my entire neighborhood, until it's battery died. It made me very popular.

I put the battery on the charger for a few hours, hooked it back up and the car went into another stirring rendition of beeping horn and flashing lights then shut off. For five minutes. Then started again. Then stopped. Again and again and again. So I plugged in the VAG-COM (Audi/VW specific OBDII reader)and start checking for codes. Everything is good until I get to the last item in the program which is 'Central Convenience', or something like that. Anyway, of 13 possible trouble codes, I had them all. Basically, it was telling me that all the doors, trunk, and hood were unlocked and open even though all were closed and locked.

A little research on Google showed that this is not a uncommon occurrence in older Audis and VWs (ours is an 02), caused by failing batteries in an alarm module that is located in the truck. Research also showed that, A) replacement batteries are no longer available, B) an updated module from Audi is in the neighborhood of $300, and C) resourceful people have found a work around. I like C.

So, after a trip to Batteries Plus for a $40 custom built 7.2v NI-MH battery pack to replace the two unobtainable 3.6v NI-MH button cells, some zip ties, JB Weld, a spare Weatherpack plug and a couple hours of my time...

The Audi is no longer serenading the neighborhood.

chuckbiskut · 04-24-2016, 09:42 PM

Looks like a good fix. Could you do a write-up of exactly what needs to be done? My wife has an Audi as well and we may need this soon. Thanks in advance.

Adjuster · 04-24-2016, 10:20 PM

Twice I have purposely damaged other peoples cars that don't belong to me. I guess basically vandalism. Both times it was because of stuck horns. Crawl under the bumper and start yanking wires until the horn stops.

/

**cheesy** · 04-25-2016, 07:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chuckbiskut

Looks like a good fix. Could you do a write-up of exactly what needs to be done? My wife has an Audi as well and we may need this soon. Thanks in advance.

Sure, I can do something later tonight.

zingshoen · 04-25-2016, 10:04 AM

that s good news for all of us rattled by those car alarms! but perhaps a reason to avoid new cars and those euro-imports, unless you re willing to get to the bottom of their problems. the only audi allowed in my yard would be the NSU TTS 1200, the only vw's would be the Karmann Ghia and the Volkswagen Type 181. they were never equipped with alarms!

Weldangrind · 04-25-2016, 12:17 PM

Excellent mod, Senor Queso!

I have to sort out something with my wife's 2011 Caravan. It's not an alarm issue, but a starter interlock problem. Basically, it's the switch that won't allow the vehicle to start in gear. It will occasionally ignore you when you hit the key, so the workaround is to pop it into neutral and try again. So far, it has started in neutral every time.

It first happened a year ago, but the warranty has expired, and of course, the dealer has "never heard of that problem." Right. It's like a rash all over the internet, where people have even captured it on video.

I'm not looking forward to pulling the dash apart to fix it.

SpudRider · 04-25-2016, 01:49 PM

That's a nice fix, Cheesy.

**cheesy** · 04-25-2016, 09:43 PM

I tried to do a write up tonight but photobucket is not working tonight so I will try again tomorrow.

**cheesy** · 04-26-2016, 08:22 AM

Okay, I think we're good now.

That's one of the two leaking batteries I pulled from what is called the 'trunk siren' or 'trunk alarm'. It is a 3.6v ni-mh button cell that is no longer available and because of that, the VW Group wants to sell you a $300 new one if you have a B6 or older platform.

Symptoms of the dying batteries are any or all of the following. Warning light saying a door, trunk, or hood is open and it ain't. Locking the car with the keyfob and no 'chirp'. And lastly, flashing lights and a pathetic sounding alarm. The more symptoms you have, the better to dial in the the problem. If you have a VAG-COM specific OBDll reader and pull 13 out of 13 codes in the 'Central Elec" program, you know where to look.

Accessing the siren doesn't cause much brain damage in the sedan, I can't speak for the wagon. First off, pull the fuse for 'Central Electric'. In my car it is #38. Remove the spare tire cover, spare tire, rear plastic panel, push the right rear seat forward, and after removing the black pin rivet at the top of the right side panel, slide the panel down and towards you. You'll see the siren down in the pocket. it's mounted on a black bracket.

The siren is held in place with a single M6 nut on the back. Remove the nut, lift the siren out and disconnect the cable.

Now the fun stuff starts. The siren is a sealed unit but has visible seams. I used a fine tooth hacksaw(32tpi) and cut around the seams until I was able to separate the two halves. At this point, you can say "Ewww" when you see how much acid damage has been caused by the leaking batteries. I got lucky and didn't have a lot. What I did have was on one battery contact and just starting to attack the PCB. The sooner you deal with the problem, the less damage there will be.

As the original type batteries are not to be had, it's time to get creative. Soooo, what we need is 7.2v to make the "Central Elec' system, and your neighbors, happy. I had a pack made up with six 1.2v 2500maH batteries at my local Batteries Plus for about $40. I figured I'd save about $2 by doing it myself and spend $6 chasing down materials, so I let them do it.

As it would be a few hours before I could pick up the pack, I soldered + and - leads to the battery contacts on the PCB, then busted out the old battery holder from the back half so it wouldn't interfere with the leads. I drilled a 1/4" hole in the back half to run the wires through then cleaned all the edges and used JB Weld around the entire seam and clamped the whole works together.

While things were clamped together, I used black RTV to seal the hole the wires run through and added one half of a Weather Pack plug. Then went to pick up the battery pack and let the works sit overnight for the epoxy to cure.

Next morning, I put the other half of the Weather Pack plug on the battery pack and downed a cuppa or two deciding how to mount the pack. Any project boxes I had were either way too big or just too small. I thought about heavy duty velcro, but didn't have enough on hand. Sooo, several heavy duty zip ties, and here we are.

Reinstall, put the fuse back in place and give it a whirl. Put all the panels back in.

If the unit is too far gone to repair by replacing the batteries, you have two options. Bite the bullet and get the upgraded unit from Audi. Or, just leave the fuse out. You won't have dome lights or an alarm, but your door locks will still work and you won't piss off your neighbors anymore.

Bruce's · 04-26-2016, 10:43 AM

We have a beetle ,the alarm is incredibly annoying ,we no longer ( actually never ) have working key fobs so if the alarm is going off we have to open the hatch with a key to shut it off .Does that sound like the same system ? If so I need to find the damn thing and remove it ,but I was told by the dealer it can't be removed .

**cheesy** · 04-26-2016, 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bruce's

We have a beetle ,the alarm is incredibly annoying ,we no longer ( actually never ) have working key fobs so if the alarm is going off we have to open the hatch with a key to shut it off .Does that sound like the same system ? If so I need to find the damn thing and remove it ,but I was told by the dealer it can't be removed .

Take a look at your owners manual and see if you can find the fuse for 'Central Electric' and pull it. See if that does the trick.

You should also be able to shut off the motion sensor, which should be located next to the trunk release in the drivers door.

Bruce's · 04-26-2016, 11:34 AM

I didn't get an owners manual with this car ,I bought it from a young university girl after somebody tried stealing it by breaking the drivers door handle and smashing one of the rear quarter windows .The alarm was going nuts so I got it real cheap ,$75.00 in parts later I had a great running car .
I will look online for the owners manual .I don't see a motion sensor shut off ,but I will do some searching later today .
Thanks for the help !
Bruce.

FastDoc · 04-26-2016, 04:27 PM

Awesome work. You saved yourself a lot of money by diagnosing and engineering a repair.

Maine residents (Downeasters) don't take kindly to their peaceful spring day being ruined by a scornful Audi. They have to be careful to stare at the horizon for signs of sommer so they don't blink and miss it.

I'd have thought the natural song of an Audi would have been Wagner.

At any rate, I'm very impressed with your thinking.

04-24-2016, 09:16 PM	#1
cheesy Moderator Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Elburn, IL Posts: 5,961	Macguyverin' While I was spending two weeks in Maine, I learned that my wife's Audi began to sing the song of its' people, also known as the "Car Alarm Song", to my entire neighborhood, until it's battery died. It made me very popular. I put the battery on the charger for a few hours, hooked it back up and the car went into another stirring rendition of beeping horn and flashing lights then shut off. For five minutes. Then started again. Then stopped. Again and again and again. So I plugged in the VAG-COM (Audi/VW specific OBDII reader)and start checking for codes. Everything is good until I get to the last item in the program which is 'Central Convenience', or something like that. Anyway, of 13 possible trouble codes, I had them all. Basically, it was telling me that all the doors, trunk, and hood were unlocked and open even though all were closed and locked. A little research on Google showed that this is not a uncommon occurrence in older Audis and VWs (ours is an 02), caused by failing batteries in an alarm module that is located in the truck. Research also showed that, A) replacement batteries are no longer available, B) an updated module from Audi is in the neighborhood of $300, and C) resourceful people have found a work around. I like C. So, after a trip to Batteries Plus for a $40 custom built 7.2v NI-MH battery pack to replace the two unobtainable 3.6v NI-MH button cells, some zip ties, JB Weld, a spare Weatherpack plug and a couple hours of my time... The Audi is no longer serenading the neighborhood. __________________ Cheesy ______________________________________ 07 Hi Bird Enduro-Flown the Coop 07 Ural Gear Up 79 Honda CX500 77 VeloSolex 4600 V3 73 VeloSolex 3800 I'm making this up as I go.-Indiana Jones Telling me something 'is for my own good', is a fast way to a fat lip.-Me I don't even care about my own problems, why should I care about yours?-Quote on one of my favorite t-shirts
	3

04-25-2016, 10:04 AM	#5
zingshoen Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Brisbane, Queensland, Australia Posts: 648	that s good news for all of us rattled by those car alarms! but perhaps a reason to avoid new cars and those euro-imports, unless you re willing to get to the bottom of their problems. the only audi allowed in my yard would be the NSU TTS 1200, the only vw's would be the Karmann Ghia and the Volkswagen Type 181. they were never equipped with alarms! __________________ 1971 Garelli Gulp 50cc with open ports and 16 mm Bing Carbie + 1980 Honda XL 223 ZS + 2007 Zongshen LZX200G + DR400SM
	0

04-25-2016, 12:17 PM	#6
Weldangrind Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Sardis, BC, Canada Posts: 25,977	Excellent mod, Senor Queso! I have to sort out something with my wife's 2011 Caravan. It's not an alarm issue, but a starter interlock problem. Basically, it's the switch that won't allow the vehicle to start in gear. It will occasionally ignore you when you hit the key, so the workaround is to pop it into neutral and try again. So far, it has started in neutral every time. It first happened a year ago, but the warranty has expired, and of course, the dealer has "never heard of that problem." Right. It's like a rash all over the internet, where people have even captured it on video. I'm not looking forward to pulling the dash apart to fix it. __________________ Weldangrind "I figure I'm well-prepared for coping with a bike that comes from the factory with unresolved issues and that rewards the self-reliant owner." - Buccaneer
	0

04-25-2016, 01:49 PM	#7
SpudRider Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Idaho Posts: 25,054	That's a nice fix, Cheesy. __________________ Spud "Never argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level, and beat you with experience." Mark Twain 2015 Zongshen ZS250GY-3 (RX3) 2006 Zongshen ZS200GY-2 (Sierra 200) 2005 Honda XR650L 2004 Honda CRF250X 1998 Kawasaki KDX220 Mods made to my Zongshen ZS200GY-2: http://www.chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=6894
	0

04-25-2016, 09:43 PM	#8
cheesy Moderator Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Elburn, IL Posts: 5,961	I tried to do a write up tonight but photobucket is not working tonight so I will try again tomorrow. __________________ Cheesy ______________________________________ 07 Hi Bird Enduro-Flown the Coop 07 Ural Gear Up 79 Honda CX500 77 VeloSolex 4600 V3 73 VeloSolex 3800 I'm making this up as I go.-Indiana Jones Telling me something 'is for my own good', is a fast way to a fat lip.-Me I don't even care about my own problems, why should I care about yours?-Quote on one of my favorite t-shirts
	0

04-24-2016, 09:42 PM	#2
chuckbiskut Join Date: Jul 2015 Posts: 17	Looks like a good fix. Could you do a write-up of exactly what needs to be done? My wife has an Audi as well and we may need this soon. Thanks in advance.
	0

04-24-2016, 10:20 PM	#3
Adjuster Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: Deerfield Beach FL Posts: 1,410	Twice I have purposely damaged other peoples cars that don't belong to me. I guess basically vandalism. Both times it was because of stuck horns. Crawl under the bumper and start yanking wires until the horn stops. /
	1

04-26-2016, 08:22 AM	#9
cheesy Moderator Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Elburn, IL Posts: 5,961	Okay, I think we're good now. That's one of the two leaking batteries I pulled from what is called the 'trunk siren' or 'trunk alarm'. It is a 3.6v ni-mh button cell that is no longer available and because of that, the VW Group wants to sell you a $300 new one if you have a B6 or older platform. Symptoms of the dying batteries are any or all of the following. Warning light saying a door, trunk, or hood is open and it ain't. Locking the car with the keyfob and no 'chirp'. And lastly, flashing lights and a pathetic sounding alarm. The more symptoms you have, the better to dial in the the problem. If you have a VAG-COM specific OBDll reader and pull 13 out of 13 codes in the 'Central Elec" program, you know where to look. Accessing the siren doesn't cause much brain damage in the sedan, I can't speak for the wagon. First off, pull the fuse for 'Central Electric'. In my car it is #38. Remove the spare tire cover, spare tire, rear plastic panel, push the right rear seat forward, and after removing the black pin rivet at the top of the right side panel, slide the panel down and towards you. You'll see the siren down in the pocket. it's mounted on a black bracket. The siren is held in place with a single M6 nut on the back. Remove the nut, lift the siren out and disconnect the cable. Now the fun stuff starts. The siren is a sealed unit but has visible seams. I used a fine tooth hacksaw(32tpi) and cut around the seams until I was able to separate the two halves. At this point, you can say "Ewww" when you see how much acid damage has been caused by the leaking batteries. I got lucky and didn't have a lot. What I did have was on one battery contact and just starting to attack the PCB. The sooner you deal with the problem, the less damage there will be. As the original type batteries are not to be had, it's time to get creative. Soooo, what we need is 7.2v to make the "Central Elec' system, and your neighbors, happy. I had a pack made up with six 1.2v 2500maH batteries at my local Batteries Plus for about $40. I figured I'd save about $2 by doing it myself and spend $6 chasing down materials, so I let them do it. As it would be a few hours before I could pick up the pack, I soldered + and - leads to the battery contacts on the PCB, then busted out the old battery holder from the back half so it wouldn't interfere with the leads. I drilled a 1/4" hole in the back half to run the wires through then cleaned all the edges and used JB Weld around the entire seam and clamped the whole works together. While things were clamped together, I used black RTV to seal the hole the wires run through and added one half of a Weather Pack plug. Then went to pick up the battery pack and let the works sit overnight for the epoxy to cure. Next morning, I put the other half of the Weather Pack plug on the battery pack and downed a cuppa or two deciding how to mount the pack. Any project boxes I had were either way too big or just too small. I thought about heavy duty velcro, but didn't have enough on hand. Sooo, several heavy duty zip ties, and here we are. Reinstall, put the fuse back in place and give it a whirl. Put all the panels back in. If the unit is too far gone to repair by replacing the batteries, you have two options. Bite the bullet and get the upgraded unit from Audi. Or, just leave the fuse out. You won't have dome lights or an alarm, but your door locks will still work and you won't piss off your neighbors anymore. __________________ Cheesy ______________________________________ 07 Hi Bird Enduro-Flown the Coop 07 Ural Gear Up 79 Honda CX500 77 VeloSolex 4600 V3 73 VeloSolex 3800 I'm making this up as I go.-Indiana Jones Telling me something 'is for my own good', is a fast way to a fat lip.-Me I don't even care about my own problems, why should I care about yours?-Quote on one of my favorite t-shirts
	0

04-26-2016, 10:43 AM	#10
Bruce's Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Sudbury ,Ontario Posts: 855	We have a beetle ,the alarm is incredibly annoying ,we no longer ( actually never ) have working key fobs so if the alarm is going off we have to open the hatch with a key to shut it off .Does that sound like the same system ? If so I need to find the damn thing and remove it ,but I was told by the dealer it can't be removed .
	0

04-26-2016, 11:34 AM	#12
Bruce's Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Sudbury ,Ontario Posts: 855	I didn't get an owners manual with this car ,I bought it from a young university girl after somebody tried stealing it by breaking the drivers door handle and smashing one of the rear quarter windows .The alarm was going nuts so I got it real cheap ,$75.00 in parts later I had a great running car . I will look online for the owners manual .I don't see a motion sensor shut off ,but I will do some searching later today . Thanks for the help ! Bruce.
	0

04-26-2016, 04:27 PM	#13
FastDoc Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Southeastern Washington desert Posts: 14,761	Awesome work. You saved yourself a lot of money by diagnosing and engineering a repair. Maine residents (Downeasters) don't take kindly to their peaceful spring day being ruined by a scornful Audi. They have to be careful to stare at the horizon for signs of sommer so they don't blink and miss it. I'd have thought the natural song of an Audi would have been Wagner. At any rate, I'm very impressed with your thinking. __________________ Happy to serve.
	1