Door security light doesn't come on

[GazK]

On my recently purchased '11 FL Octy 1.4TSI, the small red immobiliser light on the drivers door never comes on. Ever. Should I be worried? Everything else operates perfectly.

[ryan-re]

i'd be willing to bet its come unclipped in the door. 

 

Take the door card off (2 minute job with a torx screw driver set) and see if its still wired up. There is a connector so you can remove the door card and it will unplug its self whilst in situ 

[pipsyp]

That or do you click the lock button twice instead of once? VAG for some reason have deadlocks and alarm activate on first click and deactivate on second. LED doesnt flash if clicked twice.

[GazK]

It's not me misplipping - one plip doesn't light up the LED. Will take the door card off and take a look.

[trundlenut]

You will break some of the plastic clips that hold the door card on. They appear to be made of the most brittle plastic known to man.

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[GazK]

Are they the same round plugs that you get on Seat Leon Mk1 door cards? If so I have a bag of them.

[ryan-re]

Probably

[trundlenut]

Are they the same round plugs that you get on Seat Leon Mk1 door cards? If so I have a bag of them.

No, they're different.

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[88rsr]

I didn't think mine was coming on when I first got the car but I then found it just wasn't very visible from more than say a foot away from the drivers window. It does look as though the LED is set quite low in the doorcard.

Also are your indicators flashing when you lock the car? If not then the alarm isn't even being activated, which could be a faulty microswitch on one of the doors, boot or bonnet.

[GazK]

I had the door card off today, and as suspected, the light had been disconnected at some point in the past. In the process of reattaching the door card I found out for myself how easily this can happen.

 

For anyone else coming across this thread and wanting to know how to get the drivers side door card off and fix the problem, the steps are:

 

1. Lower drivers side window all the way. Switch off car, remove ignition key
2. Prise up the side window control panel with the 4 window buttons, start at the handle end and dont be afraid to give it some
3. Remove electrical connector to the control panel using long nose pliers to squeeze the green spring-loaded retaining clip
4. Unscrew 3 no. large torx screws and 1 no. medium torx screw from the space left exposed behind the control panel
5. Prise away the mesh section containing the tweeter speaker in front of the door handle
6. Unplug the electrical connector to the tweeter
7. Unscrew 1 no. medium torx screw from behind the tweeter panel
8. Unscrew 2 no. small torx screws from the very bottom of the door panel
9. Insert a large prise tool at the front bottom of the door panel and pull until the first of the plastic retaining clips gives
10. Work your fingers around the gap at the bottom of the door card, working upwards both ways until all 5 retaining clips - 2 front and 3 rear - have popped
11. CAREFULLY lift the door card out of the window lip but keep supporting it - at this stage there are a number of electrical connections which are still connecting the card to the door
12. Remove the door latch cable by pulling the black clip backwards until the plastic section releases, then pull it forward to release the cable itself
13. Release the other electrical connectors and lift the door card away

Reassembly is essentially the same thing in reverse.

 

The plastic retaining clips may well break and need replacing, or fall out of their downward facing housing during reassembly. What were you thinking of Skoda? Also, the immobiliser light electrical connection comes apart again during reassembly if you're not careful - there is very little slack in the cable - so inspect the connection before popping the retaining clips back in.

Edited 30 March, 2014 by GazK

[GazK]

.... mike, your timing sucks! Well I'll know for next time...