alarm going off

[paul_brad]

hi guys, got a bit of a problem here tonight which has resulted in me having to leave the thing unlocked!

The alarm keeps going off - and there is a funny clicking sound going on in the boot/sub woofer area - even when unlocked this clicking seems to be trying to do something. Sounds like a relay or something.

Ive read and researched what i can on here, and i have recently started with the dreaded 4 beeps coming from the same area. Is it likely to be this central locking pump?

I had to disconnect my battery a few weeks ago, and the intermitent 4 beeps have been going on since that day - any connection?

Can I disable the alarm? I dont have the plastic key, and Ive not even bothered trying the interior switch, as everyone seems to say that doesnt effect anything. (And Im loathed to keep messing with alarms while my neighbours are in bed!)

Could it also be tied in with the temperature? its flipping cold outside, and ive seen one or two posts mentioning cold weather with central locking/alarm problems.

Ill try and get it in the garage tomorrow, but any help and advice would be most welcome

 

[god_thats_quick]

my door latch being knackered caused a similar problem to this, do any of the interior lights flash etc? I could hear the clicking coming from in the dash.

It would also set off the alarm frequently when it didn't think the door was shut.

 

[AndyMac]

Has the car been used recently. I had this problem on my wifes A3TS and I thought it was the dreaded alarm module underneath the sub. But it turned out that it was the backup battery in the alarm module that was down on charge, as the main battery was fairly low as we hadn't used the car for any motorway journeys for a couple of weeks. So when the temp dropped to freezing (at around 3am) the alarm thought it was being tampered with as the voltage dropped to below whatever the threshold is. I just trickle charged the main battery for a few hours and problem solved.
I didn't have the clicking though but had had the 4 beeps a few times.
The car was 6 years old so could probably have done with a main battery replacement, but as we were selling it we didn't bother.

 

[paul_brad]

The car had been used up to the point of locking it last night. (lengthy journey) The indicators dont flash, and the interior light isnt on when making a noise. Its a W reg, and ive not had any charge problems with the battery. (but this 4 beeps thing seems to be tied in with the alarm battery in the boot doesnt it)

Annoyingly, trying it this morning resulted in everything working OK. Ive booked it in the garage for Wednesday, but if the problem doesnt rematerialise then Im worried they will charge me without finding out what the problem is.

 

[paul_brad]

y'know andymac, thinking about it, when starting the journey that ended with the alarm going off 5 minutes after locking up, I had the 4 beeps. It had been stood for about 26 hours previous to this. But after driving for an hour, shouldnt the main battery have charged up the alarm backup battery?

 

[dickys3]

Perhaps the alarm backup battery is simply dead...

 

[paul_brad]

reading around again on this, it sounds like you have to replace a box of tricks with the battery in, rather than just the battery. (and what the hell was it trying to do with the clicking? I had it unlocked, and was peering into the subwoofer section of the boot, and it was still clicking away quite loudly, but theres all sorts in that area.)

 

[paul_brad]

this is fixed now (allegegedly) just so you know.
Ive had a new siren fitted - it was throwing up some errors on diagnostic.

including hour and half labour, it comes to £150 unfortunately! oh well, if its fixed....