Alarm went off and Trunk Light stays on and won't go off

[Poodlebugz]

A bit of weirdness that I'm hoping someone can enlighten me about. I did a search, but I'm not sure I worded it correctly, so forgive me if this has already been discussed. I'll keep searching as well.

This morning, we had a lot of wind and rain--major wind, and the car alarm went off, which I thought was odd, but plausible. I clicked it off from inside the house and re-armed it, checking to see if there was anyone lurking about the Bug, but nothing was going on. About 5 minutes later, it went off again, and I clicked it off again and then re-armed it. As I left for the day, I noticed that the trunk light was on (I had put something in the back), so when I got to my destination, I made sure to open and re-close the trunk. I then locked it and tried to arm the alarm, but no dice. I needed to get to class, so I thought I would deal with it later.

I got back in the car after class, and after I had opened and re-closed the trunk lid, and the trunk light was still on. I got out, opened the trunk, made sure the hideaway cover was down and that nothing was blocking the latch, etc., but the darn light still will not go off...and the alarm will not arm. The doors will lock, but no beep-beep when I hit the button.

Are these two things related? Any ideas on what I should do? Are the wind setting off the alarm and the trunk light issue related? Should I re-set the alarm code on the remote? Can I do that myself?

Thanks in advance for any advice and insights!

[deeflora]

If the trunk light is on it is not latching completely. I had this problem on my '98 beetle. You can adjust the trunk latch bar mechanism up & down by loosening the 2 bolts that hold it in place. I would do that first to see if it solves the alarm problem. Good luck.

[jimmags214]

Have you gone through a car wash recently? It happened to my wife's 01 Beetle once. The alarm went off in the middle of the night, scaring the crap out of me. Well, I couldn't arm the alarm anymore. After searching some other sites, I came to find out that at times, the trunk sensor can get wet, esp. with a high pressure car wash. I left the trunk open for overnight to air out the latch and sensor. I haven't had a problem with it since.

Hope this helps.

[SilverSportNOLA]

There is also a switch on the light ... you may want to try that too.

[geezerb]

I went through the car wash yesterday and have the trunk open light too. Because of the local weather, it will be April or so before it will dry out naturally. Would I be right to assume that the switch is in the trunk lid and not in the sill? I just may grow annoyed with that thing staying on into the next year and take agressive action.

[gypsy73]

I would do what
jimmags214
suggested.

I've had this happen as well ,
it all started after I had Gypsy
painted.The painter had accidently
broken the third brake light and now
water can get into the rear hatch.

Same problems with the trunk light on
and alarm going off by itself.
Let it dry out, source out how water is getting down in there
and hope it does'nt happen again.

[dickiebaird]

Having the same problem on my wife's 2002 bug.

I noticed the boot light coming on now and again even when the boot appeared to be closed snug. Then, middle of the night comes (and there's no rain) and the alarm goes off. Key fob worked to disarm the alarm, but locking the car with the fob would not flash the lights as though the alarm wasn't arming properly.

Opened an reclosed the boot lid, and the bug locked, armed and slept quiet for the night.

One morning afterwards, I noticed a small pool of water near the boot latch. I can't for the life of me see where this could be getting in, but I am guessing it's the main boot seal as the rear window has been misting up a bit lately.

Nightmare.

Has anyone had experience with resealing the boot? Can you even buy the seals or is it stricly a VW job?

[70autostick]

Replace the 3rd brake light seal.I've had the same problem for 2 to 3 days after it rained.Use your key manually,not the button,to open your hatch,turn the key both ways.Should,in theory,reset the mechanism.idk,worked for me and some other folks,give it a shot

[MichelleRoze]

Sadly though, for those of us who have 2002-2003 models, we don't have a key hole in our rear hatch

I've been having some slight issues with my hatch lately. When I go to pop it open, I actually have to hit it twice. The first time, it doesn't completely come undone, it makes all the noises, but I can't open it. So I have to hit it a second time before I can actually open it. Really wish I had a key hole in my rear emblem. Cause in the winter, when it freezes (when i'm visiting those cold areas), makes it next to impossible to open the hatch.

Couldn't you use a blow dryer or something to dry it out if it's too cold to sit out and dry naturally?

[Smileybug]

You can dry it out, but then the next time it rains you will have the same problem happen. I got lucky and my problem stopped without me replacing anything. I wasn't having my alarm go off but my trunk light would stay on after it rained. Now, no problems. No clue what happened there.

[dixiechicksdreambig]

Originally Posted by MichelleRoze

Sadly though, for those of us who have 2002-2003 models, we don't have a key hole in our rear hatch

I've been having some slight issues with my hatch lately. When I go to pop it open, I actually have to hit it twice. The first time, it doesn't completely come undone, it makes all the noises, but I can't open it. So I have to hit it a second time before I can actually open it. Really wish I had a key hole in my rear emblem. Cause in the winter, when it freezes (when i'm visiting those cold areas), makes it next to impossible to open the hatch.

Couldn't you use a blow dryer or something to dry it out if it's too cold to sit out and dry naturally?

I have a 2002 and the keyhole is under the VW emblem. If you will swing the emblem, you should find a keyhold under the emblem. Give it a try. However, I tried using the key to reset and it didn't reset mine. I am going for resealing my 3rd brake light as it is not secure...noticed that today. But my trunk will just unlatch on its own and when I reshut it, a few minutes later it will pop open on it's own.

[Smileybug]

dixie, no reason to post your same issue in multiple threads.

You could have an early 2002 model. I'm pretty sure that 2002 was when the emblem stopped being swivel in general. Early builds might still have it though.