So the only thing I was disappointed with when I got my car was the range of the keyless entry. I had to be within 25 ft. of my car for it to work, also my 2000 Jetta had about double the range. Well, I fixed that today. I got the idea from an A4 TSB that fixed a routing problem with the security antenna. After failing to find info online for this task on my car, I went to work to figure it out myself.
First I had to find the antenna, which turns out to be under the right-side A-pillar trim panel. The problem with this position is that is near metal so it doesn't have good reception. For those who don't know, the antenna wire is nothing but a length of coaxial cable to shield it from interference. The antenna itself is just a length of the cable with the outer insulation and shielding wire removed. The length of this section is important as it is tuned to the frequency of the transmitter. I'll get to the length in a bit.
I then traced it back to its source. The security module is located in a plastic box under the driver's feet. To get to it I had to remove the dead pedal, cowl trim panel and the front of the driver scuff plate. Use caution when removing these panels as they are easily damaged. If you have problems with any of them, let me know and I'll explain the specifics of removing them. Once they are removed, I peeled up the carpet to partially expose the security module. This can be removed by lifting up the forward edge and sliding the whole box forward about an inch to free a clip.
Once it is out and dangling by the wiring, I pushed in the two tabs and hinged the top open. Inside there is another box with two connectors. This box will come free by pushing the forward side tab and lifting the box out.
This is the point where I pulled the negative battery terminal. I'm not sure that there would be any problems, but I didn't want to chance it.
The smaller connector (tan) has the antenna wire in it, actually both the antenna and the coax shielding wire. You can tell which one is the antenna by looking for the wire with clear insulation. If you trace this one up you can see where it joins another wire, this is the shielding. Now you can tell which pins these wires connect to in the security module. I looked inside the connector portion of the security module and found mine corresponded to pins 7 and 10, 3rd and fourth over from the left on the top row. I then pulled the cover off the security module. The cover is held down by four tabs that can easily be disengaged. I traced the pins to where they connect to the computer board. To these two pins, I soldered the ends of a 12 ft piece of antenna extension wire I got from Murray's Auto Parts (chain parts store similar to pep boys or auto zone). I had clipped off one end of the wire and separated the shielding wire from the inner insulated wire. The inner wire (antenna) was soldered to antenna wire pin on the backside of the computer board and the shielding to the shielding pin next to it. Any exposed portions were covered with electrical tape to protect the system.
I ended up having to put a notch in the top of the security module box to allow the new antenna out. BTW, I decided to leave the old antenna, as didn't seem like having two would be a problem. I then reinstalled the security module in the hinged box and ran the new antenna between the existing wiring grommet and where the top would close on it. I closed the lid and put it back under the carpet, careful to slide it under the retaining hook before lowering the forward edge.
I then ran the wire (end connector and all) rearward under the scuff plate, under the edge of the rear seat and behind the left side trunk trim. I then took out the rear tail light by removing the three nuts on the inside side of the tail light. I ran the wire through this opening.
The reason I left the connector on was in case the wire was not long enough to get here. It certainly was tight. You may do a better or worse job running the wire and may have extra or not enough. If it was not enough, I would have gotten another short length and the connector would have made this easy. However, for me, the longest piece I could get (again 12 ft) turned out to be perfect.
I then made the antenna by cutting off the connector and removing the outer insulation from the end to 8.5 inches from the end (very important to match the length of the OEM antenna), I also cut away the shielding wire from this section. I was left with 8.5 inches of semi-transparent insulated wire. I wrapped the end of the wire and the interface between the shielded and unshielded sections with electrical tape to keep out the elements and keep it from grounding to the body. I then attached the antenna to the backside of the plastic part of the bumper, away from the metal of the body and reinstalled the tail light (careful that the antenna wire was on lower portion of the tail light opening and would be sealed well by the foam gasket on the tail light).
Everything was re-installed and I tested the system. I found that I could get about 400 ft from my car and the key FOB still worked! I know that I may not have explained perfectly and I apologize, but I haven't got a digital camera to make this easier. If you've got questions, please ask. Good Luck.
First I had to find the antenna, which turns out to be under the right-side A-pillar trim panel. The problem with this position is that is near metal so it doesn't have good reception. For those who don't know, the antenna wire is nothing but a length of coaxial cable to shield it from interference. The antenna itself is just a length of the cable with the outer insulation and shielding wire removed. The length of this section is important as it is tuned to the frequency of the transmitter. I'll get to the length in a bit.
I then traced it back to its source. The security module is located in a plastic box under the driver's feet. To get to it I had to remove the dead pedal, cowl trim panel and the front of the driver scuff plate. Use caution when removing these panels as they are easily damaged. If you have problems with any of them, let me know and I'll explain the specifics of removing them. Once they are removed, I peeled up the carpet to partially expose the security module. This can be removed by lifting up the forward edge and sliding the whole box forward about an inch to free a clip.
Once it is out and dangling by the wiring, I pushed in the two tabs and hinged the top open. Inside there is another box with two connectors. This box will come free by pushing the forward side tab and lifting the box out.
This is the point where I pulled the negative battery terminal. I'm not sure that there would be any problems, but I didn't want to chance it.
The smaller connector (tan) has the antenna wire in it, actually both the antenna and the coax shielding wire. You can tell which one is the antenna by looking for the wire with clear insulation. If you trace this one up you can see where it joins another wire, this is the shielding. Now you can tell which pins these wires connect to in the security module. I looked inside the connector portion of the security module and found mine corresponded to pins 7 and 10, 3rd and fourth over from the left on the top row. I then pulled the cover off the security module. The cover is held down by four tabs that can easily be disengaged. I traced the pins to where they connect to the computer board. To these two pins, I soldered the ends of a 12 ft piece of antenna extension wire I got from Murray's Auto Parts (chain parts store similar to pep boys or auto zone). I had clipped off one end of the wire and separated the shielding wire from the inner insulated wire. The inner wire (antenna) was soldered to antenna wire pin on the backside of the computer board and the shielding to the shielding pin next to it. Any exposed portions were covered with electrical tape to protect the system.
I ended up having to put a notch in the top of the security module box to allow the new antenna out. BTW, I decided to leave the old antenna, as didn't seem like having two would be a problem. I then reinstalled the security module in the hinged box and ran the new antenna between the existing wiring grommet and where the top would close on it. I closed the lid and put it back under the carpet, careful to slide it under the retaining hook before lowering the forward edge.
I then ran the wire (end connector and all) rearward under the scuff plate, under the edge of the rear seat and behind the left side trunk trim. I then took out the rear tail light by removing the three nuts on the inside side of the tail light. I ran the wire through this opening.
The reason I left the connector on was in case the wire was not long enough to get here. It certainly was tight. You may do a better or worse job running the wire and may have extra or not enough. If it was not enough, I would have gotten another short length and the connector would have made this easy. However, for me, the longest piece I could get (again 12 ft) turned out to be perfect.
I then made the antenna by cutting off the connector and removing the outer insulation from the end to 8.5 inches from the end (very important to match the length of the OEM antenna), I also cut away the shielding wire from this section. I was left with 8.5 inches of semi-transparent insulated wire. I wrapped the end of the wire and the interface between the shielded and unshielded sections with electrical tape to keep out the elements and keep it from grounding to the body. I then attached the antenna to the backside of the plastic part of the bumper, away from the metal of the body and reinstalled the tail light (careful that the antenna wire was on lower portion of the tail light opening and would be sealed well by the foam gasket on the tail light).
Everything was re-installed and I tested the system. I found that I could get about 400 ft from my car and the key FOB still worked! I know that I may not have explained perfectly and I apologize, but I haven't got a digital camera to make this easier. If you've got questions, please ask. Good Luck.
