Help.....can anybody identify the part in the attached photo

[delboy735]

A friend of mine has a problem with her 2001 VW transporter TDi 2.5.
The part in the photograph appears to be loose, and started smoking quite badly earlier today.....not sure what it is though......trying to identify it prior to getting vehicle to garage to keep repair costs down, can anybody in the PH massive identify the part please.



Any help would be hugely appreciated, as my friend is stuck without the van....( Based 20miles south of Oban )




Also have a thread running in VW section

[J4CKO]

Alarm siren ?

[Getragdogleg]

It looks like an alarm system or alarm sounder. Possibly retro fit and now faulty.

If the van is not starting then its because the alarm has an immobiliser feature that has done its job permanently !

[delboy735]

Thanks for swift responses. Alarm siren sounds feasible ( no pun intended ). Looks like it was shorting against the bulkhead. Only showed itself as a problem this morning....Would it shorting against the bulkhead throw up some other electrical anomolies ??

[gilbo]

If it's shorted out, make sure it's not blown any fuses else where or damaged any other wiring that could stop it from starting. If it also has an immobiliser built in it could be this that's the problem. Trace it all back and rip it out I'd suggest.

[V8forweekends]

That looks to have at least one loose frayed bare wire poking out on the first picture - that won't be helping!

[delboy735]

Van starts okay, and drives okay...but has developed some issues with lights coming on when engine switched off, and with windscreen wipers cranking up to full speed and not stopping even with key removed from ignition !!!
Just wondered if they could all be connected. The "siren" looks like it has been removed from bulkhead, had some wires cut and then just stuffed back into place as they couldn't be bothered to do a proper fix.

[PAUL RUN]

If the wires have as you said been cut and stuffed...
whats the odds that some wires are also shorting out...(touching each other)
then causing electrical issues...
strip back the cable thats been cut...and make sure the copper strands arn't touching...
then in an ideal world cover each wire with heatshrink...or as a temp bodge use electrical tape.
paul.