My blooming alarm

Velcro

Naive Newbie :(
Jan 25, 2008
26
0
Edinburgh, Scotland
I don't like my Leon FR's alarm.

It started playing up a few weeks ago, randomly going off in the middle of the night. I'm sure my neighbours must love me.
I've never been 100% on it as in general when I lock the car my indicators don't flash. They have occasionally in recent weeks, but that was usually quickly followed by the alarm.

I spent many an hour reading through the manuals about the alarm and all the postings about alarms here, without any real joy. I've had the issue with the rear screen wash that's been mentioned. I looked at the boot lock and it was dry.
Nothing else seemed to fit my experiences and my vehicular knowledge is such that I'm not really in a place to start playing about with the car.

Car went into garage 2 weeks ago to get it looked at. Car was now out of warranty and I knew it wouldn't be pretty. The issue initially began in warranty but I didn't have the funds to cover anything needing done that wasn't covered by it.

Anyway, the garage ran through the diagnostics on it and the report said that there were a couple of faulty internal sensors. Which I agreed they could replace (not sure if the codes are needed or even the right ones):

S1J0951171DY20 021888/READLIGHT
S1J0951172FY20 021888/READ.LIGHT

They cost £200+vat

When I lock it the indicators ain't flashing still.
I was quite happy until 12:15 and 04:30 this morning when the alarm went off again.

Anyway. It's back with the garage now for another look.
I'm just pretty damn annoyed at a fix that cost £260 hasn't worked and what is gonna happen from here on.

If anyone has any further tips or advice it'll be much appreciated. I wish there was an easy way to disable the alarm on the car if it does happen. I'm not sure I want to go hunting about in the fuse box (I'd have to find it first).

I think I'll be having to contact Seat about my recent experience, and I'll be writing to the garage head office too about what I perceive to be not the best customer service.

Joy. I'm too tired for all this :(

Thanks for listening...
 
Oct 17, 2006
1,015
0
northwest
My alarm has started to go off but I have a fault in my door

If i slam my door(drivers) the alarm will not lock or will lock with no lights and then the alarms goes off after a bit...

you could try slamming your door as you say it has worked a few times

wont the drivers B pillar button disable the alarm sensors?
 

Velcro

Naive Newbie :(
Jan 25, 2008
26
0
Edinburgh, Scotland
Thanks for your reply allh2k.

I had been trying the B pillar button prior to the initial garage visit, and that didn't have any impact on the situation. If the internal sensors were faulty as reported by the diagnostics that might explain that situation though.

Interesting aspect w/r to slamming the door. I can't say I've closed it any differently particularly in recent times, and obviously I've had 2 weeks without the issue until last night.

I have a theory that it's a sensor in either the bonnet or the boot.
The boot relating to the rear screenwash.
Bonnet is a maybe after a mate drove mine without properly securing the bonnet after topping up the screenwash (you'd think he would know better since he owns the same car!).
But that should have shown up on the diagnostics and it's didn't.

Cheers
 

stan53

Guest
I had exactly this problem with a Mark 4 Golf..£700 at a garage chasing a problem to no avail,they changed sensors, siren,door looks, in the end i removed the correct fuse which is the same for the Leon, and had to lock the car with the key not the tag.
 

Velcro

Naive Newbie :(
Jan 25, 2008
26
0
Edinburgh, Scotland
No surprises in seeing that the garage couldn't find a fault.

The best they could come up with was to slam all the doors to ensure they were shut properly and ensure internal vents were closed in case incoming airflow was causing it.

I don't even think it's the internal sensors!
So I'm at risk of this happening again tonight.

I think I need to be aware of the fuse situation and which one should be pulled.
I had a look through the manual, but there is no individual fuse that focusses on the alarm.
Can anyone advise which fuse(s) to pull?
I'm guessing the central locking maybe, but I don't want to totally screw over my car either.

Advice is most welcome (and definitely needed!)

Thanks
 

wurzel

Full Member
Jun 2, 2003
600
0
East Anglia
Visit site
If you lock the car with the rear seats down is the boot light staying on? It could be a fault with the boot lock.

You said on the rare occasions the indicators do flash the alarm goes off straight away - this would either be boot or bonnet as I think there is a delay on interior sensors arming, also a delay on opening the door with the key in the lock before alarm sounds. Is the central locking working correct? (i.e. all doors locking?)

You can disable interior sensors fully by using the vagcom.

Does the red LED flash on the door when locked?
 

Velcro

Naive Newbie :(
Jan 25, 2008
26
0
Edinburgh, Scotland
I've just had a look at the boot situation and theboot light does go off when the boot is shut and the car is then locked.
All the doors lock fine when using either the keyfob or key in the door itself.
The red LED do indeed flash.

Interestingly the car alarm went off twice again last night - 12.45 and 4.30
Previous night it was 12.15 and 4.30.

Last night I tried everything I could think off, double lock on keyfob, double lock via key-in-door. Vents closed, all doors firmly shut.
Only thing I wasn;t really sure on is the internal sensor disable button on the B pillar - I'd press it but there is no indication if it actually does anything as nothing changes on the button.

Thanks for your help....
 

andycupra

status subject to change
Think i know the answer:

The indicators not flashing is not a fault. This is actually a correctly working alarm telling you that something is not shut.

and before you all tell me im wrong, try this:
1 Arm/disarm the car with all doors boot etc shut. Indicators flash ok :)
2 now unlock the car, then close boot very very gently so it looks shut but is not properly closed.
3 try arming the car with the boot not closed fully and correctly. Voila, the car locks and arms but the indicators do no flash!

Therefore its going to be bonnet, boot or one of the door sensors.

My money is on the boot sensor.
Why?
well these are known to fail and can be intermitent. Therefore this may explain why sometimes the indicators flash and other times do not.
This also means you may not detect a fail with a simple one off check as it may appear to work but unless you stand there all night you dont know for sure.
Not sure if its part of the circuit or not, could try taking the boot light bulb out for a while to see if it solves the issue, although im not sure if the alarm uses this for detection. But worth a try.

Doors, id not expect it to be these (although not impossible) as they tend to fail to read the door being shut. (does the interior light come on ok for each door when opened/closed)

Bonnet, could be, just not aware of any failing.

Also given the fault code was interior sensor, this fits with these possible issues.

Let us know what how you get on.
 
Last edited:

wurzel

Full Member
Jun 2, 2003
600
0
East Anglia
Visit site
what happens when you lock the car with the boot open? do the lights flash? do the same test (but seperately) with the bonnet open.

If the lights flash and the alarm arms there is a problem with the relevant pin / switch as the alarm shouldn't arm until all bits are closed.

If you have had internal sensors replaced you can rule them out, does your rear washer work properly?

Double lock will do nothing other than diasable dead locks. I'd say the times were irrelevant, was it raining at the time the alarm went off or had it just rainded?

Do the interior lights come on when you open each door?
 

Velcro

Naive Newbie :(
Jan 25, 2008
26
0
Edinburgh, Scotland
Thanks to AndyCupra and Wurzel for their time in responding.

In response to questions posed:

Andy - getting the indicators to flash on locking is quite a rare occurence. Actually happened last night though.
I closed the boot gently as advised. Upon locking the car indeed the indicators didn't flash. I then closed the boot properly and locked it, indicators flashed again.
Alarm went off about 10 minutes later. I stopped the alarm and then re-locked it. This time the indicators didn't flash, without any doors/boots/bonnets being opened.

Wurzel - rear wash is working fine. Alarm went off at 6am today (actually got a full nights sleep!) and it was dry. Couldn't say how windy it was.
I've not been able to check the test with the bonnet open, it was late last night when I locked it and the lights flashed so didn't have the chance to try it out.
The interior lights come on for each door being opened.

I'll be getting a 2nd opinion today so I'll let you know what comes off it. I still think it'll be the bonnet, as this all started a few days after the driving with the bonnet not fully shut, whereas the rear wash issue was a couple of months prior.

Cheers
 

andycupra

status subject to change
Thanks to AndyCupra and Wurzel for their time in responding.

In response to questions posed:

Andy - getting the indicators to flash on locking is quite a rare occurence. Actually happened last night though.
I closed the boot gently as advised. Upon locking the car indeed the indicators didn't flash. I then closed the boot properly and locked it, indicators flashed again.
Alarm went off about 10 minutes later. I stopped the alarm and then re-locked it. This time the indicators didn't flash, without any doors/boots/bonnets being opened.

Cheers


It may well be that the boot light switch is intermitently working/not working and this change in state sets off the alarm?
This seems to be confirmed by the fact that you say the indicators rarely flash, but when they did flash last night the alarm went off soon after. (presumably the sensor changing to the state that its normally in when arming).

Hope it gets sorted.
 
Last edited:

lc_allan

Northern Monkey
Sep 15, 2006
3,389
4
I'd be a pissed off paying £260 on parts that haven't fixed the issue. What are you meant to keep them and be grateful you have new internal sensors?. I'd be getting some cash back as the issue still remains.
 

Velcro

Naive Newbie :(
Jan 25, 2008
26
0
Edinburgh, Scotland
I'd be a pissed off paying £260 on parts that haven't fixed the issue. What are you meant to keep them and be grateful you have new internal sensors?. I'd be getting some cash back as the issue still remains.


You ain't kidding there. Another garage has today hopefully found the issue. Bonnet sensor with micro switch needing replaced. That'll be another £130.
Considering the car is just out of warranty i'll be trying hard to get something in return for my pains (and lack of sleep)
 

andycupra

status subject to change
£130 for a micro switch...
i dont know how handy you are, but if they are not going to do it under warranty id be very tempted to source a micro switch and do it yourself.
There are some thread on here with issues regarding door micro switches. £80 forpart from dealer (as is part of something else..) or next to nothing for micro switch from maplins...

How have they decided the bonnet switch is faulty? has this been logged somewhere? Im just worried its another 'educated guess' thats expensive..

If you get it done i do hope it solves this mystery, electic faults can be a nightmare.
 

Velcro

Naive Newbie :(
Jan 25, 2008
26
0
Edinburgh, Scotland
I have no skills whatsoever in terms of car maintenance, so i'm best leaving that to the pro's.
I'm confident this will be it. The mechanic has come recommended (if only i'd had that recommendation 2 weeks ago) and is more specialised in the electrical aspects of cars. I always thought it was possibly bonnet related after it started just after the drive with the bonnet not securely shut.

The part itself itself is only £25, it's the fitting that is more expensive, but I'm able to get a discount on that :) Car is over 3 year old now sadly, though only just so I'll be writing to Seat and seeing what I can get
I've also been told that I might have a case for getting this done free as the garage doing this is unde the same chain as the Seat dealer who've not resolved it so I can this garage can do it and they then claim the costs from the Seat garage.

Fingers crossed!!
 

NinjaFlavour

Guest
Not sure about your FR, but my 110TDi has a plug and socket for the bonnet alarm running in from the left of the engine bay that clips in just behind the bonnet mechanism. Have you tried unplugging/plugging in that and playing around with the alarm?

I'm having the problem of my indicators not flashing ever but the alarm apparantly being activated, any ideas there?
 

Velcro

Naive Newbie :(
Jan 25, 2008
26
0
Edinburgh, Scotland
Thanks for the idea Ninja

Hopefully I'm all sorted. Since I had the sensor in the bonnet replaced all has been well.

From my understanding the lack of indicator flash shows something is not right in the alarm system. I think the first step if you've not done it already is get the diagnostics run to see if it finds any faulty parts. Mine found the dodgy internal sensors. My indicators then worked, but found the alarm still going off 2 weeks later.
Hope that's a start for you.
 
Feb 22, 2009
3,618
1
South Wales
sorry to resurect an oldie here but my alarm has started being naughty today - but I noticed my boot light staying lit with engine running and this is new so would i be correct to think boot switch fault?
 

Willie

LCR Track car
Aug 6, 2004
8,939
1
Sunny Scotland
Sounds like it Mark.

i've got this sort of problem that has resulted in me removing my battery and not driving the car for 3 months.
Mine I think is the drivers door locking mechanism.

when I get a chance I'll be stripping this out to see what the Printed Circuit Board looks like as this is a common fault.
But unfortunitly it involves stripping out door card, window glass and door mechanism. Easy for me with a stripped out car but a PITA for most of you guys
 
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