Hi all. My first query here. I've noticed a quietish beep of abouit a second from the back of the car every minute or so and can't find out what is causing it. Any ideas anyone?

Might be a long shot, my father had a similar problem with his MK1 Audi TT and it turned out to be the alarm system battery failing.

Not sure whether such a thing exists in the Mk2 Octy though??

Same here. Audi A4 though.

 

Battery drain, turned out to be a faulty window module which was preventing the convenience controller from turning off, so continuous current draw.

 

Look for the hazard triangle remaining lit, probably only noticeable in the dark. (the car has to be locked & left few minutes to check).

 

If it stays lit then you have a battery drain. The alarm is saying that the battery has little charge (I think).

Interesting thoughts - thanks. I should have mentioned that this happened whilst we were driving. After about 30 mins of a 50 min journey these quiet beeps would happen from the back of the car - a bit like a mobile phone saying it's running out of charge (we checked ours!). It was at night and was raining, with 5 adults in the car. We have just had a tow bar and electrics fitted but I haven't had a chance to check whether it's related to that yet. Nothing apparent on the dashboard displays just this understated 1/2 second beep every minute or so.... 

Hi Mike. Thank you for your extensive comments - I've looked at the towbar electrics by taking off the rear plastic trim in the boot edge - all looked in order. The rear wash works well and no sign of any water anywhere. It had its MOT done last week when we bought it and I've just checked the bulbs as best I can. Does the fog lamp work on both sides or just on the drivers side? Could it be a warning that there is a bulb out somewhere? I might have to take it on a drive and get my better half to see if she can detect exactly where the beep comes from but it's so infrequent and short that it is hard to find...

Only one rear fog lamp on VAG cars - my three Passats were the same.

The beeper is to indicate the turn signal lights are working so check the wiring for those at the trailer socket. I had some problem with water in the back of the socket where the rubber cover did not seal around the cable.

Thanks Pikpilot - I've visually checked the trailer sockets and they look pretty sound to me.

 

Just another thought - if the remote key battery is running down would that lead to a bleep of some sort? I did try driving with both our keys and the same problem occurred so I didn't think it was to do with that.

 

The only other information to add is that the car has a retro-fitted Motorola TK30 Music and Handsfree Car kit. I can find nothing in the information sheet about warning beeps and I would have thought any alarm would have come through the Bolero entertainment system anyway.

 

The mystery continues...

I'd go for tow bar electrics - how are they wired in?

 

Also worth checking the wiring in the socket too.  When I fitted mine the quality of the "wiring" in the pre-made socket was poor (screws loose, etc), and incorrect (wires in the wrong places)....

Tilt above mentions the convenience controller not switching off on his Audi, but I can't see that as the convenience controller should be running whilst the car is being driven.

 

 

Mike

 

At the time of my post Mike, I was not aware that the car was being driven when the beeping sound was heard.

Edited 26 April, 201511 yr by Tilt

Quick update for the record... No recurrence of the mystery 'beep' but we had our first outing with the caravan and the indicator 'beep' sounds very familiar....

 

Still have no idea why it was beeping without the caravan fitted....

Is it when you indicate? my towbar electrics beep during indication to confirm that the towbar electrics are showing the indicator....

Yes indeed - that is what i was alluding to. Now that we have heard the indicator beep when it should be sounding, ie with the caravan fitted and indicators on, we are wondering if the mystery beep originally referred to was that beep being activated by an as yet undetermined cause...

Sorry to raise an old thread, but did you ever find out what this was at all? I have had exactly the same sort of weird 1-2 second beep coming form the back of the car every few minutes in our Superb and I can't thin of what it could be other than something up with the tow bar or reversing sensors.

Its the towbar relay.

 

Whenever you indicate  the relevant relay contact opens to allow voltage to the relevant pin on the socket, if no current is sensed as flowing through the contact (trailer not connected) then the beep should not occur.

 

It may be a failure of the module but they are much more reliable than the old type with a winding around a reed switch, its more likely water ingress and/or shorted wires in the trailer socket, there usually is no strain relief and the contact screws can also come loose.

I have been having this issue for a few months and fingers crossed may have have discovered the issue. I opened the boot and it started beeping.  When I put my head inside the boot I noticed that the beeping was coming from behind the interior boot light on the nearside.  Suspecting it maybe a faulty brake light bulb/ connection, I took out the bulb holder. On removing it I noticed that one of the female connections on the connector plug looked slightly corroded and the corresponding male plug too. I cleaned off the corrosion.  The brake lights had been working fine previously with no warning lights on the dashboard. The boot light on the offside was blown but the nearside bulb still worked.  As the noise was definitely emitting from the nearside boot light I fiddled with it but in doing so blew the bulb when reconnecting it .  However the beeping has completely stopped. So check the light bulb holder for any corrosion or check to see if your boot light connections are faulty. 👍🏽👍🏽

9 hours ago, NoseyP said:

I noticed that the beeping was coming from behind the interior boot light on the nearside. 

As said earlier in this thread, that is the beeper associated with the tow bar electrics which confirms that the trailer indicators are working. 

It would be worth looking at all connectors behind the side panel, especially where all the brown earth wires go to a body fixing. Look for corrosion similar to that which you found earlier. It is not unknown for the washer pipe to disconnect itself in freezing conditions and the liquid cause corrosion. (Note it only happens when the washer liquid is too weak. With a stronger concentration it will not freeze).

 

Again as said earlier, check the wiring to the towbar socket as corrosion there can fool the electronics into thinking a trailer is attached if the corrosion provides a sneak path.

 

Edited 2 June, 20224 yr by pikpilot
Last paragraph added

2 hours ago, pikpilot said:

As said earlier in this thread, that is the beeper associated with the tow bar electrics which confirms that the trailer indicators are working. 

It would be worth looking at all connectors behind the side panel, especially where all the brown earth wires go to a body fixing. Look for corrosion similar to that which you found earlier. It is not unknown for the washer pipe to disconnect itself in freezing conditions and the liquid cause corrosion. (Note it only happens when the washer liquid is too weak. With a stronger concentration it will not freeze).

 

Again as said earlier, check the wiring to the towbar socket as corrosion there can fool the electronics into thinking a trailer is attached if the corrosion provides a sneak path.

 

I don't have a tow bar. The boot lights dont work and the beeping sound has stopped

For future reference for people finding this thread, the only other beeper is the reversing distance warning located at the bottom off the B pillar behind the trim.