Meta alarm siren problem.
Discussion
This afternoon, my alarm siren kept going off, but I noticed that the indicators weren't flashing. Taking the car to a quiet lay-by, I opened the window, set the alarm, reached in and opened the door - now the indicators flashed but no siren! So I am assuming that the alarm system itself is working, but there's a problem with the siren i.e. sounding without the alarm system activating, and now not sounding when the alarm is tripped.
It is now in my garage, and (fingers crossed!) behaving itself.
In March, I found whilst carrying out some checks (I bought the car in January) I discovered that the siren didn't sound when opening the door as mentioned earlier - this was fixed by having a replacement siren fitted. All worked well after that.
I shall contact the dealer tomorrow as it is possible that the siren has gone duff (after 6 months or so - and used mostly in the dry?), but was wondering whether anyone has any other thoughts on the cause of the problem.
Paul.
It is now in my garage, and (fingers crossed!) behaving itself.
In March, I found whilst carrying out some checks (I bought the car in January) I discovered that the siren didn't sound when opening the door as mentioned earlier - this was fixed by having a replacement siren fitted. All worked well after that.
I shall contact the dealer tomorrow as it is possible that the siren has gone duff (after 6 months or so - and used mostly in the dry?), but was wondering whether anyone has any other thoughts on the cause of the problem.
Paul.
ribol said: If the siren was not mounted pointing downwards water collects inside it and it dies very quickly.
Ivan
Thanks for the tip Ivan - I have just tried the open-window test again, and the siren and indicators both operate! I guess that water had got into the siren causing it to operate on its own, but by chance, it later stopped the siren working completely!
I shall try to reposition it as you suggest.
Cheers, Paul.
The siren just went off again! I'll leave it overnight to dry out completely - there wasn't too much spray around today...lots yesterday though!
I will call the dealer who fitted the new one tomorrow morning to see what they have to say.
I had thought about wrapping and sealing the siren in polythene...has anyone tried this?
I will call the dealer who fitted the new one tomorrow morning to see what they have to say.
I had thought about wrapping and sealing the siren in polythene...has anyone tried this?
Just a thought wolosp,
feel free to totally slate me if you already know this
...
The alarm goes into a test mode for 30 seconds after arming - if you trigger the alarm in this period (eg by leaning into the car as you mentioned) the indicators will flash once, to confirm that the circuit triggered is working but the alarm will not sound. This may explain one of your questions?
Cheers, Matthew
feel free to totally slate me if you already know this
... The alarm goes into a test mode for 30 seconds after arming - if you trigger the alarm in this period (eg by leaning into the car as you mentioned) the indicators will flash once, to confirm that the circuit triggered is working but the alarm will not sound. This may explain one of your questions?
Cheers, Matthew
Hi Matthew,
Thanks for the suggestions.
When I tested the alarm, the indicators flashed continually. I waited until the red lamp stopped its initial 'rapid' flashing which I think meant that it was fully 'armed'.
I have been in contact with the dealer this morning who initially suggested the following:
1) It may be due to the battery going flat - not so, the battery is in excellent nick (I keep it on a conditioner if I am not going to use it for a few days).
2) The unit may have got 'confused' and could need resetting - whatever that entails.
3) Water ingress - I have repositioned the siren so it points backwards (Ivan has suggested mounting it upside down, but the mounting bracket bolts don't appear to allow rotating it 90 degrees). The siren does have a sticker on the back saying 'water resistant' and the dealer said that new sirens are better than the original ones - it would be nice to think that such a common fault has been fixed.
4) Faulty siren - he said TVR only give a 6 month warantee on parts(!), though he did say he would talk to them about my case (the siren is nearly 7 months old and has mostly been used in dry weather).
I shall monitor the alarm meanwhile, though it is booked into the dealer for checking etc,. I would like to think that labour costs resulting from any replacement will be passed onto TVR and not to me.
Thanks for the suggestions.
When I tested the alarm, the indicators flashed continually. I waited until the red lamp stopped its initial 'rapid' flashing which I think meant that it was fully 'armed'.
I have been in contact with the dealer this morning who initially suggested the following:
1) It may be due to the battery going flat - not so, the battery is in excellent nick (I keep it on a conditioner if I am not going to use it for a few days).
2) The unit may have got 'confused' and could need resetting - whatever that entails.
3) Water ingress - I have repositioned the siren so it points backwards (Ivan has suggested mounting it upside down, but the mounting bracket bolts don't appear to allow rotating it 90 degrees). The siren does have a sticker on the back saying 'water resistant' and the dealer said that new sirens are better than the original ones - it would be nice to think that such a common fault has been fixed.
4) Faulty siren - he said TVR only give a 6 month warantee on parts(!), though he did say he would talk to them about my case (the siren is nearly 7 months old and has mostly been used in dry weather).
I shall monitor the alarm meanwhile, though it is booked into the dealer for checking etc,. I would like to think that labour costs resulting from any replacement will be passed onto TVR and not to me.
Have read this thread with great interest as my meta-alarm seems to have precisely this problem and my neighbours are presumably losing patience with it doubling as a rain detector in the middle of the night!
My alarm tends just to give some short introductory whoops (!) before launching into the full siren. Could this be an additional symptom?
Intend to have a good look at my alarm if it ever stops raining during daylight hours.
On a more practical note, is it possible to lock the car and activate the immobiliser WITHOUT setting the alarm?
My alarm tends just to give some short introductory whoops (!) before launching into the full siren. Could this be an additional symptom?
Intend to have a good look at my alarm if it ever stops raining during daylight hours.
On a more practical note, is it possible to lock the car and activate the immobiliser WITHOUT setting the alarm?
jev said: My alarm tends just to give some short introductory whoops (!) before launching into the full siren......On a more practical note, is it possible to lock the car and activate the immobiliser WITHOUT setting the alarm?
Hi jev,
After I had silenced the siren with the remote, I noticed that when I armed it again, it gave a couple of 'whoops' !
I too would like to know the answer to your second point, though I would guess that insurance company would not be too happy if you disabled the functionality of the alarm!
Paul.
david beer said: I have a Griff that the alarm went bonkers in the rain. In the nearide inner wing is the connector for the siren. Mine was submerged in water, not good. Drilled a hole to let the water out. Probably nothing to do with your Chimaeras, but just thought i would mention it.
Thanks David, When I repositioned the siren, I found that the cable and connector was lying on the bottom of the front valence, and most likely in the wet during rain. I have re-routed the cable so it is now on top of the siren and out of any water.
Took a look at the siren this morning. As Wolosp says you can only rotate it in around a horizontal axis. To get it pointing downwards would seem to be quite a major job…
So will try just pointing it backwards when I get hold of some metric spanners! And routing the cable away from rain water.
Whilst taking a look at the siren I found two unconnected terminal blocks with various wiring. Have started a new post on this. Anyone know what they are??
So will try just pointing it backwards when I get hold of some metric spanners! And routing the cable away from rain water.
Whilst taking a look at the siren I found two unconnected terminal blocks with various wiring. Have started a new post on this. Anyone know what they are??
jev said: Whilst taking a look at the siren I found two unconnected terminal blocks with various wiring. Have started a new post on this. Anyone know what they are??
I can see one terminal block on my car - showing some sign of weathering, don't know what it does though - maybe the Chimaera shares the same basic loom as the griff but doesn't have the extra lights????
N.E.Way, the siren started squawking again yesterday aftenoon, but this time it would not stop when I reset & set the alarm
. the indicators responded showing the alarm was enabling/disabling, but the siren just kept on doing what it does best!! Donning some ear defenders I set about removing the unit and wrapped it in several blankets until it eventually died after about 10 mins (I would have thought the internal batteries would have kept the thing working for longer that 10 mins though maybe that points towards the problem? Called local dealer who agreed it was most likely a faulty siren, and has arranged replacement in the near future.
taylormj4 said: Guys,
I'm thinking that it may be a good idea for me to check / move my siren too, so that it doesn't start giving similar problems. Where is it located?
Matthew
In front of the radiator to the right of the numberplate. Access through the oval 'smile'
hole at the front (can't get there through the bonnet. Hardly easy to get to! Paul - thanks for the reply - intend to leave the wires alone but just curious.
>> Edited by jev on Thursday 24th October 13:04
I had the same problem with my Chimp 450 - the alarm kept sounding at night or in rain.
There is a push-fit connector hanging loose under the siren which connects the siren to the car's loom. This was green so i cleaned and greased it. This was fine for 3-4 months then it went ape-$hit again.
I repeated the clean/grease but to no avail.
Using a pair of ear defenders and an adjustable spanner i removed the offending siren and lobbed it in a bucket of cold water (It was very late night and I was extremely pi$$ed off at the time), locked the car and went back to bed.
I am now trying to find a really good replacement system. Any sugestions??
>> Edited by plipton on Tuesday 29th October 14:29
There is a push-fit connector hanging loose under the siren which connects the siren to the car's loom. This was green so i cleaned and greased it. This was fine for 3-4 months then it went ape-$hit again.
I repeated the clean/grease but to no avail.
Using a pair of ear defenders and an adjustable spanner i removed the offending siren and lobbed it in a bucket of cold water (It was very late night and I was extremely pi$$ed off at the time), locked the car and went back to bed.
I am now trying to find a really good replacement system. Any sugestions??
>> Edited by plipton on Tuesday 29th October 14:29
Had a new siren fitted yesterday by Hendrys in Malmesbury. They called TVR who advised them that replacement parts have 6 months warrantee (the siren was only two weeks over that 
...and the months during which it was used were spring and summer! - and it is not my everyday car)
Fitting was free of charge as Andrew Hendry sympathised with my point of view - very decent of him. Talking with the technician who fitted the replacement (who also positioned it away from oncoming rain), he said that after disconnecting a siren, it typically continues to sound for many hours, whereas mine quit after five mins or so....suggesting all was not well with it.
TVR have requested the siren to be returned for examination before deciding on whether to waive the cost.
...and the months during which it was used were spring and summer! - and it is not my everyday car) Fitting was free of charge as Andrew Hendry sympathised with my point of view - very decent of him. Talking with the technician who fitted the replacement (who also positioned it away from oncoming rain), he said that after disconnecting a siren, it typically continues to sound for many hours, whereas mine quit after five mins or so....suggesting all was not well with it.
TVR have requested the siren to be returned for examination before deciding on whether to waive the cost.
Gassing Station | Chimaera | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff