A4 Phil

I have noticed on four occasions over the past two weeks that my hazards have been on when I return to my parked '02 S6 Avant. The hazards are extinguished simply by unlocking the car. I am hoping that this will be as simply a repair as changing a faulty fuse, however, I suspect that it could potentially be more involved. Does anybody here have any history with this or thoughts on why this may be occurring. Different parking spots, during the day.

Here is hoping this is not an involved problem.

TIA

georgeb944

I'm going to guess that your alarm system has been triggered by some event, and the alarm horn has shut off, leaving the hazard blinkers on. The alarm horns on these cars are not very loud, so you may not have heard it. Unlocking the car with the key or with the remote would shut off the alarm, and, thus, the hazard lights.

Of course, I haven't read the owners manual for your car, so I could be wrong...

A4 Phil

I understand your theory. That was mine at first. However, to have gone from zero alarm events ever, to four in two weeks, leads me to think it may be a fault or some sort, though maybe with the alarm system.

SloopJohnB@mac.com

If someone isn't bumping it it could well be the winds in Chicago are rocking the car enough to trip the alarm.

Check the owner's manual, I think you may be able to just lock the car without setting the alarm. If the car doesn't beep when you lock it the alarm probably isn't set.

On my 02S6 one push on the key fob lock locks the door…it takes two presses on the button to get the car to beep back at me.

A4 Phil

Interestingly, I had the opportunity to watch the hazards trigger themselves three times yesterday afternoon. There was no audible horn in any case. Because it happened in rapid succession I was able to test locking with one press of the FOB and two. The hazards initiated in both cases. This weekend I am going to change the fuses which control the hazards. There are two. I have little confidence that this will solve the problem, but it is an inexpensive starting point.

I almost wonder if light or heat are setting off a cabin sensor, but that sounds far more complicated to troubleshoot.

jcman

Vag-Com/VCDS could reveal the culprit, do you have the interior sensor off button?

pr0xZen

As jcman pointed out - you can toggle the interior sensors on/off on the button in the driver door frame, towards the rear door. If hazards go off, and they stop when you unlock it - its very likely to be the alarm acting up. Why and how, a Vag-Com/VCDS scan or similar might give you some pointers.

A4 Phil

Follow up and solution to my situation.

1. For two months, while I had no time, I simply pulled the fuse to the hazards. That gave me no hazards, however, my alarm light would also not randomly turn on throughout the day.

2. Once I finally had time to troubleshoot and diagnose, the hood release sensor wire had melted through and shorted. The alarm system simply could not determine if the hood was closed or not. Very simple repair. In the end, replacing and re running the shielded wire took an hour including buying the wire and new retainer clips. It would have taken somebody who knew what they were doing ten minutes if they had the parts.