VXR8 alarm going off !

[preciousmetal]

Not sure if anyone can give us some pointers where to start looking - as alarm on VXR8 goes off randomly but not constantly. May go off once in the night or once in a few hrs - then Resets and doesnt go off again. Battery seems fine. Nothing obvious like a moth in the car. Is there any self diagnostics on the car to check function of alarm. Thx

[Tattooboy]

I know on the Monaro it tells you on the dash which access caused the alarm to go off.

Also, when I had my Clifford fited, the alarm bloke said to once in a while, give the bonnet pin a good clean as it gets more dirt and crud chucked at it than the door or boot ones.

Might be worth taking it off giving and it a clean?

[preciousmetal]

i think the vxr8 doesnt have internal movement sensors, so its not that, cant seem to see a bonnet switch unless its built into the release catch. according to handbook the alarm only covers - doors, boot, bonnet and battery/voltage ??

any help appreciated

[DougieMc]

Usually door switches that havent been used for a while
As you boys usually use them as a 2 door car hahaaaa

[Tattooboy]

Have a look on the "this is why you have a centrifugal charger" thread, about half way down there are some pics Stevieturbo has put up, first and second one is an engine shot of a black car, the sensor the alarm runs off is the bullet looking push rod button next to the bonnet catch.

This is what you need to look for and clean...possibly?

[preciousmetal]

Thanks for that, will try the doors, i have the alarm switch as per pics on my monaro but the VXR8 doesnt appear to have a trigger switch thats obvious to the eye. some cars have them built into the bonnet catch ?

[donk r8]

preciousmetal said:

Thanks for that, will try the doors, i have the alarm switch as per pics on my monaro but the VXR8 doesnt appear to have a trigger switch thats obvious to the eye. some cars have them built into the bonnet catch ?

Don't think the 8 has a bonnet sensor. Mines on the ramp with the bonnet open but all locked up, usually it blips if something is ajar so check doors and boot..............

[preciousmetal]

has gone off on its own once today while locked up indoors, no heat or movement could have affected it. the handbook says that an error on dash should indicate what part of car set it off, but doesnt say anything on dash, so that function doesnt work.

any ideas ?

[the_ferret82]

preciousmetal said:

has gone off on its own once today while locked up indoors, no heat or movement could have affected it. the handbook says that an error on dash should indicate what part of car set it off, but doesnt say anything on dash, so that function doesnt work.

any ideas ?

may suggest attaching the car to a battery charger just to make sure it has full power, as it could be the signs of a dieing battery.

[StefanVXR8]

Does it do a full 30 second alarm cycle? Mine started going off randomly one night, but the length of time the alarm sounded was intermittent. Only did it the one night in 12 months and hasn't repeated.

Stef

[preciousmetal]

i will check the battery condition tomorrow thanks, could be that as it goes off after 4-6 hrs after being locked so far.

it went off late last night, turned it off asap as it was late. so probably only went on for 15 secs. so dont know if it went full cycle. the car doesnt appear to recognise the alarm went off as no tell tale signs.

is the alarm siren between o/s strut mount and o/s scuttle panel

[FoxdieUK]

Can you clarify what alarm it is?

Mine came with two alarms; The manufacturer horn-based alarm, and an aftermarket Metra alarm.

The Metra (to my knowledge) was only fitted because it's a battery-backed alarm in case a thief cuts the battery cable, it was the only way to achieve a Thatchams status.

That said, its a piece of sh*te, mines already broken once (diaphragm detached from the sounder, needed repairing). Now it keeps going off repeatedly, Gary reckoned it was a common problem with damp. Once the warmer / dryer days come it'll be reliable again.

I think I'm gonna get rid of it and replace it with a decent alternative.

[preciousmetal]

Std vauxhall (Holden) GM alarm from factory, has gone off and come up with code fault - bonnet trigger, but alarm switch appears to be built in to the bonnet catch, so looks like front bumper off to investigate fault -

[r-kid]

preciousmetal said:

Std vauxhall (Holden) GM alarm from factory, has gone off and come up with code fault - bonnet trigger, but alarm switch appears to be built in to the bonnet catch, so looks like front bumper off to investigate fault -

Mine did this. I just replaced the catch as like you said the sensors built in. You don't need to remove the bumper to remove the catch. For now you can just disconnect the wires to the sensor & the car locks fine with no further alarms.

IIRC they are £90 from Vauxhall or $25 from the states.

[preciousmetal]

r-kid said:

preciousmetal said:

Std vauxhall (Holden) GM alarm from factory, has gone off and come up with code fault - bonnet trigger, but alarm switch appears to be built in to the bonnet catch, so looks like front bumper off to investigate fault -

Mine did this. I just replaced the catch as like you said the sensors built in. You don't need to remove the bumper to remove the catch. For now you can just disconnect the wires to the sensor & the car locks fine with no further alarms.

IIRC they are £90 from Vauxhall or $25 from the states.

thanks, looks like a tight fit if you dont have to remove the bumper. i assume there are just two wires going to the lock.

out of interest i diconnected the siren (not the horn one) on the n/s strut and horn and alarm still work, so not sure what that ones for ?

[Scott W]

Did you end up replacing the bonnet sensor in the end? If so did it solve the problem? My car is doing the same but we have no warnings on the display telling us what the cause is. We've tried to see if anything is stored on the ecu but there is nothing there.

We've also put the battery on charge and our charger claims the battery is fully charged but the engineer mode menu shows it as 63%.

[preciousmetal]

hi, took the catch off, cleaned it checked and cleaned connectors and refitted, all started working okay again

[mik_ok]

Scott W said:

We've also put the battery on charge and our charger claims the battery is fully charged but the engineer mode menu shows it as 63%.

The engineer mode attempts to assess capacity by measuring its performance over time. It is suggesting your battery is 37% f00ked.

[Scott W]

preciousmetal said:

hi, took the catch off, cleaned it checked and cleaned connectors and refitted, all started working okay again

How did you remove it all? Did you end up removing the bumper in the end? Just had a quick look and there seems no obvious way to remove it.

Mik cheers for clarifying that.

[preciousmetal]

got a technician to do it, very tight space to work in, he managed to get i to clean and lubricate catch and get to the sensors / alatm connections and clean up and check, didnt have to remove bumper luckily