LivinLong

Guys,
Not sure if I have 1 issue or several. Hoping for 1 problem causing several symptoms. Recently replaced my alarm siren to address problem with no chirp to confirm locking and frequent battery drains. That made the alarm start working. It chirps when I lock the car with remote or if I lock doors and then close the last one. Unfortunately, the alarm will typically trip about 20 minutes after it was armed. ( for no obvious reason). I've tried testing doors and hood to prove that closing the last one will arm the system, leading me to believe all the switches work. I've figured out that after one of these episodes with alarm going off, when I open the drivers door, I hear a motor run. This is usually followed by a low battery. Always seems to be this sequence. If the alarm does not go off, I do not hear the motor nor do I experience the low battery. I did replace the battery last week as it was 5 years old and I was hoping it was part of the problem. Other things going on include:
Driver door does not unlock based on proximity of fob like the other doors will (advance key on this car). You have to touch the drivers door handle and lift it once, then the door unlocks and can be opened on the 2nd pull. Drivers door soft close does not work. All other doors will self-close. Using the inside lock button on driver door, with door ajar, causes a locking sound, but if you then close the door, the driver door is not locked. All others are.

Can anyone tell me what motor is inside that driver door and why I would hear it run after opening the door?
Any thought as to whether a bad latch module could create all these problems ( no soft close, flaky alarm)?
I've considered that there may be a broken wire in the cable from body to door. Any good way to distinguish cable problem from module problem?

I have no need for the alarm, but I do want to be able to secure my car. Right now, the alarm arms everytime I lock the car. I have to live with the chance of spontaneous alarms in order to have the car locked. I might be willing to disable the alarm if it would stop these parasitic drains and let me still lock the doors..

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

volvopentaman

Fistly, you have a bad driver door handle, OR cable harness from the handle. I had both broken on mine, first replaced the handle, no work, repaired harness (3 cables out of 5 were broken at the handle). same problem on driver side rear door in my car. This does just as you described, you have to lift the handle twice to open the door.

The soft close motor (if you have) IS NOT in any way connected to the central locking etc. The motor i just áctivated By a switch in the driver door lock hand latch mechanism. Had to replace that on my 2006 W12, because the soft close motor didn't work.

You can check if the door switches work, By connecting a test Computer with VCDS or VAS or other diag software, and checking each door ECU (Driver door adress42, passenger front 52, driver rear 62 and passenger rear 72), and checking MeasuringValueBlock 001 readout01.

This block is for the door pre-catch latch switch, that actuates the soft close motor.


Audi Portal: ECU Diagnostic . Audi A8 4E (2002 -) . Door Electronic Driver J386

Sci-fi_Wasabi

How long does the motor run for, like 1 second or 20 seconds?

LivinLong

It runs about 3 seconds. Sounds a lot like the mirror adjusting but I have not observed the mirror moving. There seems to be a correlation between the alarm going off, the battery getting run down and then this motor running the next time I open the door. I'm reluctant to start prying off the door panel w/o a supply of replacement clips and fasteners handy but I'd like to have an idea of what to expect once I get in there.

LivinLong

I did some more testing. The capacitive sensor in the handle works, as it unlocks the other doors when I touch under the handle. The small button on top of the handle works as well. Close the door, push that button, doors lock and alarm arms. Siren chirps, led in door starts blinking. I have not yet tested the pre catch switch. When the door unlocks after the 1st lift of the handle, is this mechanically actuated by the movement of outside handle or electrically commanded? I'm kind of wondering if something in my us spec car might be coded wrong and engaging safe motors?

chokboywonda

If the door unlocks after the 1st lift of the handle then this is NOT how it should work. It should work by just putting your hand under the handle so Your handle is faulty I do believe. Mine is the same but never used to be and I just havent got around to doing it yet.