Alarm Problem

[deathhead]

At 3am this morning i was wakened by my car alarm going off for no apparent reason.

When i unlock the door it goes off thankfully but as soon as i close and lock it, ten seconds later the alarm goes off again. I have had to leave my door slightly open all night to stop it going off.

Is there any way to disable the alarm or any fixes for this.

Any help greatly appreciated.

[TriggerFish]

To disable it, lock it with the key in the door. The red LED shouldn't flash, but if it does 'lock' it again with the key/door and it should be disabled.

[grr666]

Due to the exceptionally cold temparatures recently

I'd bet it sounded due to sensing a voltage drop as the battery got colder through the night.

How old is the battery? Had the car been sitting for a while since it's last use? Does it only get used for short journeys?

Don't forget that the alarm itself uses a small amount of power by being armed and monitoring the car.

Give the battery a charge and see if it happens again.

[DRJ]

To disable it, lock it with the key in the door. The red LED shouldn't flash, but if it does 'lock' it again with the key/door and it should be disabled.

Having read the manual I'm not convinced that will work

Safe securing

The central locking system is equipped with a safe securing system. Locking the

vehicle from the outside causes the door locks to be automatically blocked. It is not

possible to pull out the locking buttons. The indicator light in the driver's door

flashes. It is not possible to open the doors with the door handle either from the

inside or from the outside. This acts as an effective deterrent for attempts to break

into your vehicle.

You can deactivate the safe securing system. This is done by locking the vehicle with

the key or radio-operated key twice within 2 seconds.

Deactivating the safe securing system means that the warning light next to the

securing knob in the driver's door ⇒ page 34, fig. 23 will not flash. This is not the

case, however, for an activated anti-theft alarm system* since the indicator light is

showing that the system is active.

The safe securing system is again activated the next time the vehicle is unlocked and

locked again.

The doors can be opened from the inside if the vehicle is locked and the safe

securing system is deactivated:

• The door is unlocked by actuating the door-opening lever.

• The door opens upon actuating the door-opening lever again.

Anti-theft alarm system*

The anti-theft alarm system increases the level of protection against people seeking

to break into the vehicle. The system triggers audible and visual warning signals if

an attempt is made to break into the vehicle.

How is the alarm system switched on?

The anti-theft alarm system is activated automatically when the vehicle is locked

with the key on the closed driver's door or by using the remote control. It is activated

30 seconds after closing the door.

How is the alarm system switched off?

The anti-theft alarm system is switched off if the vehicle is unlocked by only using

the remote control. The vehicle is automatically locked again if the vehicle is not

opened within 30 seconds after reactivating the anti-theft alarm system.

Once you unlock the vehicle by inserting the key into the driver door you then have

to insert the key into the ignition lock and switch the ignition on within 15 seconds

after unlocking the door in order to deactivate the anti-theft alarm system. The

alarm will be triggered if you do not switch on the ignition within 15 seconds.

...

How is the alarm switched off?

You switch the alarm off if you unlock the car with the radio remote control in the

key or if you switch the ignition on.

Deactivation of interior monitor

The process of switching off and switching on the interior monitoring system is the

same as for switching off and switching on the safe securing system ⇒ page 32.

This function allows one to leave animals in the vehicle, for example.

So my reading of that is that using the key in the door twice disables the internal sensor and doesn't disable the door handles - but the alarm itself is still activated. There doesn't appear to be a way of disabling the actual alarm itself?

[DRJ]

I'd bet it sounded due to sensing a voltage drop as the battery got colder through the night.

Yes - that seems a very logical conclusion

When is the alarm triggered?

The following security areas of the locked vehicle are monitored:

• Bonnet,

• Boot lid,

• Doors,

• Ignition lock,

• Vehicle interior*3),

• A drop in voltage of the on-board power supply.

[TriggerFish]

Ah, sorry. I think it disabled deadlocking etc on my old Fabia (and possibly my Polo too, but not 100%), so assumed it did the entire alarm too, rather than just the sensors (which the Fabia didn't have).

I remeber hearing something somewhere about changes in temperature can cause issues with the bonnet sensors for the alarm, and that can end up activating it too (although I think that was mainly for heat in the summer causing it to expand slighlty).

[Huw Pugh]

I had the same problem too and was woken at 7am. I've ended up having to leave the drivers door unlocked :S

Mine had been sat for a day, but it's been used this morning for a 30 min drive to work and it's still the same when I went to lock it.

[Chris182]

You might have a frog trapped inside, it's movements triggering the alarm ! Unlikely but you never know.

[deathhead]

Cheers for the replies.

I got the battery tested and it is fine so not looking likely it was it. The night that it went I had been for a long drive during the day so wouldv'e gotten a good charge.

A mate had this problem with his a while back and he said to wd40 all the door locks, bonnet catch etc and so far so good. Alarm hasn't gone off since.

Fingers crossed its a one off.

[deathhead]

Anyone know which fuse is for the alarm siren?

It has started going off again during the night :(

[giandougl]

I had this bloody annoying alarm thing going off when car was parked-up outside house.

Someone on this site said check-out tailgate (black) alarm plunger locking mechanism area, (not tailgate itself.)

I pushed down on this plunger and released a couple of times, gave a quick squirt of WD40

hey-presto no more alarm going off anymore.

I triggered alarm off to make sure tailgate alarm could still be triggered, which checked out OK.

As mentioned car riddled with alarm sensors, good thing, but can be annoying as well, if one starts to play-up!!!

[DRJ]

Anyone know which fuse is for the alarm siren?

It shouldn't have one - it's an alarm after all - you wouldn't want someone breaking in and pulling the fuse out would you?

Interestingly though fuse 60 says: Horn for the anti-theft alarm system which rather advertises it!

Edited 6 December, 2010 by DRJ

[TriggerFish]

Has a backup battery too! I had mine disconnected for some reason, and managed to trigger the alarm.