Alarm woes

[Gray_101]

Hi, well after 2 and a bit years of ownership i thought id finally got all the little niggles and jobs that TVR couldnt be bothered to fix sorted out,

But then today with no warning my alarm packs ( well sort of )

i got the car out , travel to my desination, turned off the engine, all ok till then. But then i press the door opening button and nothing, the bh wont let me out
So i drop the window and press the button on the door mirror and still nothing.

So i resorted to pulling the emergancy door release on the floor to open the door ( thank god TVR got one thing to work first time on my car )

i then close the door and then the window refuses to close. but after a bit of alarming, un alarming, opening and shuting the door, every thing starts working again, so i walk away thinking its door control box reset time again.

I then drive home and find its doing the same thing once i get home, so i un plug the control box for five mines while i go in search of a base ball bat so i can fix it propley.

After failing to locate said base ball bat fixing device. i replug the control box and begin to test the doors and window only to noitce i can hear i loud buzz behind the helmit holder, and after removing it , it looks like the alarm control box has had it.

my door and window now open and close ok, but no matter how many times i alarm the car, the doors and boot wont lock and the siren will not sound,i just get a bleep every time the motion senors detect movement.

Has any one else had this sort of alarm problem , and if so what is the fix ?

Edited by Gray_101 on Saturday 6th November 19:32

[Gazzab]

Give Karl a call?
http://www.tvruk.tv/

Or Raceproved who are meta agents.

[Pursyluv]

Gray_101 said:

Hi, well after 2 and a bit years of ownership i thought id finally got all the little niggles and jobs that TVR couldnt be bothered to fix sorted out,

But then today with no warning my alarm packs ( well sort of )

i got the car out , travel to my desination, turned off the engine, all ok till then. But then i press the door opening button and nothing, the bh wont let me out
So i drop the window and press the button on the door mirror and still nothing.

So i resorted to pulling the emergancy door release on the floor to open the door ( thank god TVR got one thing to work first time on my car )

i then close the door and then the window refuses to close. but after a bit of alarming, un alarming, opening and shuting the door, every thing starts working again, so i walk away thinking its door control box reset time again.

I then drive home and find its doing the same thing once i get home, so i un plug the control box for five mines while i go in search of a base ball bat so i can fix it propley.

After failing to locate said base ball bat fixing device. i replug the control box and begin to test the doors and window only to noitce i can hear i loud buzz behind the helmit holder, and after removing it , it looks like the alarm control box has had it.

my door and window now open and close ok, but no matter how many times i alarm the car, the doors and boot wont lock and the siren will not sound,i just get a bleep every time the motion senors detect movement.

Has any one else had this sort of alarm problem , and if so what is the fix ?

Edited by Gray_101 on Saturday 6th November 19:32

"I then drive home and find its doing the same thing once i get home, so i un plug the control box for five mines while i go in search of a base ball bat so i can fix it propley"

PMSL , seriously I hope you get sorted

[Gray_101]

Thanx Gazzab, i ll give karl a ring on monday, unless some one comes along with a DIY fix for me to try.

I think the problem stems from the flat back up battery in the siren, but im not sure.

Pursyluv, at the time i was deffo having a Basil Fawlty moment. what a perfect end to a stress full week

Edited by Gray_101 on Sunday 7th November 00:47

[JensenA]

I've experienced very similar problems to you, it ended up with the immobiliser box frying itself. I contacted Carl and the upshot was that he explained that if the Alarm battery dies, it is not at all unusual, in fact he said it will definitely happen sooner or later, that id the Siren battery dies, the immobiliser or Alarm box will also eventually die. Apparently they are quite sensitive, and as they are all linked together, a fault on the Siren, will 'jump' back up to the 2 boxes and cause a fault their. Something to do with capacitors failing, causing an increase in voltage which the other capacitors can't handle, and they blow. A repair can cost £400, so if your Alarm battery starts failing, get it changed quick.

PS When you speak to Carl ask about this, just in case I got it wrong when he explained it to me.

[Gray_101]

JensenA said:

I've experienced very similar problems to you, it ended up with the immobiliser box frying itself. I contacted Carl and the upshot was that he explained that if the Alarm battery dies, it is not at all unusual, in fact he said it will definitely happen sooner or later, that id the Siren battery dies, the immobiliser or Alarm box will also eventually die. Apparently they are quite sensitive, and as they are all linked together, a fault on the Siren, will 'jump' back up to the 2 boxes and cause a fault their. Something to do with capacitors failing, causing an increase in voltage which the other capacitors can't handle, and they blow. A repair can cost £400, so if your Alarm battery starts failing, get it changed quick.

PS When you speak to Carl ask about this, just in case I got it wrong when he explained it to me.

Thanx Jensen, that makes sence to me.

Ive just been testing the car and all is working fine now, doors locking and un locking ok.
im gonna order a replacement siren this afternoon and hope ive caught the problem in time and not fried the alarm control box

[JensenA]

Gray_101 said:

JensenA said:

I've experienced very similar problems to you, it ended up with the immobiliser box frying itself. I contacted Carl and the upshot was that he explained that if the Alarm battery dies, it is not at all unusual, in fact he said it will definitely happen sooner or later, that id the Siren battery dies, the immobiliser or Alarm box will also eventually die. Apparently they are quite sensitive, and as they are all linked together, a fault on the Siren, will 'jump' back up to the 2 boxes and cause a fault their. Something to do with capacitors failing, causing an increase in voltage which the other capacitors can't handle, and they blow. A repair can cost £400, so if your Alarm battery starts failing, get it changed quick.

PS When you speak to Carl ask about this, just in case I got it wrong when he explained it to me.

Thanx Jensen, that makes sence to me.

Ive just been testing the car and all is working fine now, doors locking and un locking ok.
im gonna order a replacement siren this afternoon and hope ive caught the problem in time and not fried the alarm control box

He also said you can't fit just any old siren, it has to be compatible with the rest of the alarm system - I'd wait until you speak to Carl before ordering one - never easy is it

[tejr]

Fwiw, not saying its your best solution but its worth noting there is an option. My siren began playing up around a month back and I got the whole alarm system swapped out for a more reliable/modern Viper Cat 1 pager alarm (They also do a mobile fitting service). Doesn't seem to be a big draw on the battery either.

So it is possible to get the whole thing removed and get it working with rest of the system as normal. I got it fitted by Awesome Automotive in Colchester, speak to Ken and tell him Tej sent you and I'm sure he will look after you (if you decide to go down this route)

[Gray_101]

Ive only just got my car back from Raceproved this week, i dont really wanna spend any more money on it than i have too.

this is what im thinking of ordering

http://abacuscaralarms.co.uk/alarmshop/index.php?a...

Im 99 % sure this is the right siren for the alarm

[Gray_101]

Gray_101 said:

Ive only just got my car back from Raceproved this week, i dont really wanna spend any more money on it than i have too.

this is what im thinking of ordering

http://abacuscaralarms.co.uk/alarmshop/index.php?a...

Im 99 % sure this is the right siren for the alarm

Edit to add,,,,,, Raceproved has had nothing to do with my alarm woes, it just bad timing the alarm has packed in now, as always there have done an excellent job on my car

[VPower]

Have you unplugged the old siren?
In the centre of the alarm unit at the back with a white plug.

You need to pull the main plug out to get to it and then plug the main plug back in.
It should allow the system to then reset, if you quickly lock and unlock using the remote.


I managed to get one of the last original sirens left from Abacus Alarms.
Which works OK.
The Meta alarm was used on other cars, so that replacement siren should do the job if unplugging the old one cures the symptoms.

[Gray_101]

VPower said:

Have you unplugged the old siren?
In the centre of the alarm unit at the back with a white plug.

You need to pull the main plug out to get to it and then plug the main plug back in.
It should allow the system to then reset, if you quickly lock and unlock using the remote.


I managed to get one of the last original sirens left from Abacus Alarms.
Which works OK.
The Meta alarm was used on other cars, so that replacement siren should do the job if unplugging the old one cures the symptoms.

No i hav nt un pluged the siren as yet.
Are you saying i can un plug the siren and still use the car, lock it and un lock it with the fob ?

[GT4 Baz]

Tej does that new alarm completely replace the factory alarm and immobiliser? Seems like that might go on the list, mine always seems to be playing silly buggers when I try to start it!

[VPower]

Gray_101 said:

Are you saying i can un plug the siren and still use the car, lock it and un lock it with the fob ?

YES!

Just unplug the wire to the siren and you can use the car.

My car ran like that for 2 years until I found Abacus and got the replacement siren.



Do your indicators flash when you lock the car?
Mine stopped doing that as well!
The relays in the alarm unit eventually give up, as there is just too much current for them.
Electrical contact cleaner got them going for a while, but they have packed up again.

I was going to try LED indicator bulbs to lower current, but been told the flasher unit does not like LED indicator bulbs. It needs the current to operate apparently (old style).

I have been meaning to get some relays and then bypass the internal alarm relays, so that the internal alarm relays only trigger the new external relays. Might work then I hope.

[tejr]

GT4 Baz said:

Tej does that new alarm completely replace the factory alarm and immobiliser? Seems like that might go on the list, mine always seems to be playing silly buggers when I try to start it!

Yep. Everything was ripped out, alarm/immobiliser unit and siren were all replaced and moreover everything else works as it should, ie door locks, windows (full closure) etc You can add on all sorts too like glass break sensors, tilt sensors etc etc.but I just went with a basic replacement

[Steve_T]

I had Carl take a look at mine because the doors weren't locking. He's in regular contact with the chap who designed the various control boxes around the car and apparently they're sensitive to the voltages they see. Long story short in my case there was very little that needed to be replaced on the car, but he did go through testing voltages everywhere and cleaning up connections as needed. I can understand the frustration if things are playing up, but I suspect you'll spend a lot less if you go to someone like Carl who has the knowledge to fix the problem rather than gutting the whole car and replacing.

Steve.

Edited by Steve_T on Tuesday 9th November 08:20

[Gray_101]

Update to alarm woes

After a bad couple of months, ( Contracting Swine flu (( i thought i was gonna die ! )), starting a new job and havin to work every hour God sends )

I finally got round to looking at my alarm. all ive done is order and fit a new siren from abacus car alarms

http://abacuscaralarms.co.uk/alarmshop/index.php?a...

It was any easy job to do, once i got ma head round the instructions

So far all is working ok. but today is the big test. The Cerbs coming out for Big Hoon today.

First time its turn a wheel since october.