Looking though old posts Ive managed to locate, remove and dismantle my alarm siren which is not working. Just wanted to ask before I start trying to repair it wether it is worth the hassle. Aparently these alarms are about as much use as a chocolate ashtray even when fully functional. Is that true, and if so is there a replacement uprated alarm avaliabe that plugs straight in (or near enough) or do I have to get an aftermarket one? Thanks in advance.
Alarm...
- Thread starter dan_a3
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SimonP said:
Eeeeer No, I have recently changed mine to the updated unit, it's still the same pathetic little chirp that gets all the local bird tweeting like it was christmas.
I've taken the unit apart and repaired it- as described in an old post one of the terminals had corroded so I've repaired it and cleaned it up, plugged it in and it beeps. You turn the alarm off with the key fob and it switches off. Fine. When the alarm is set off so that the hazards flash though it does not work. I know the siren works because i can hear it going off when i plug it in. Any ideas??
I had an aftermarket alarm fitted, Cat 1, made by directed/Viper (who own Clifford).
It has all the normal CAT 1 alarm functions and also a warnaway sensor, so if someone gets too close to your car, it beeps at them. However the best bit is it comes with a keyring with a radio reciever, so if the warnaway is tiggered of the alarm is triggered it instantly beeps and tells you where it was triggered (which sensor).
As its Directed/Clifford you can add anti hijack, remote start etc easily.
Fully fitted by Motorguard for £350!
The remote:
It has all the normal CAT 1 alarm functions and also a warnaway sensor, so if someone gets too close to your car, it beeps at them. However the best bit is it comes with a keyring with a radio reciever, so if the warnaway is tiggered of the alarm is triggered it instantly beeps and tells you where it was triggered (which sensor).
As its Directed/Clifford you can add anti hijack, remote start etc easily.
Fully fitted by Motorguard for £350!
The remote:
![[Dave B]](/xf/data/avatars/m/0/100.jpg?1478806902){kind=avatar}
Dave_Bayern said:I had an aftermarket alarm fitted, Cat 1, made by directed/Viper (who own Clifford).
It has all the normal CAT 1 alarm functions and also a warnaway sensor, so if someone gets too close to your car, it beeps at them. However the best bit is it comes with a keyring with a radio reciever, so if the warnaway is tiggered of the alarm is triggered it instantly beeps and tells you where it was triggered (which sensor).
As its Directed/Clifford you can add anti hijack, remote start etc easily.
Fully fitted by Motorguard for £350!
The remote:
I'd be wary of having a warnaway system on my car, they have a tendency to wind people up meaning you end up with more unwanted attention than if you didn't have it.
A guy has one on a corsa in our works car park, makes me want to kick it every time it goes off (not that I would....well maybe as it is a corsa).
Warnaway can be disabled by one keypress, but I have found it keeps people away more than it encourages them to kick it!
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Dave_Bayern said:I had an aftermarket alarm fitted, Cat 1, made by directed/Viper (who own Clifford).
It has all the normal CAT 1 alarm functions and also a warnaway sensor, so if someone gets too close to your car, it beeps at them. However the best bit is it comes with a keyring with a radio reciever, so if the warnaway is tiggered of the alarm is triggered it instantly beeps and tells you where it was triggered (which sensor).
As its Directed/Clifford you can add anti hijack, remote start etc easily.
Fully fitted by Motorguard for £350!
The remote:
That looks pretty trick, bet if the batteries run out in your remote, not even YOU can get home!
To be honest i dont really want to spend money on a new alarm when ive already got one, just need to find out why mine works but doesnt go off when it is triggered. Any ideas???
dan_a3 said:
The only suggestion I can offer is to get the multi-meter out and check the alarm system is actually trying to power the siren unit when the alarm is going off. I guess it's possible that the corrosion problem you've described may have caused something else to go wrong in the alarm controller box.
Yeah maybe the alarm system isnt sending the signal to the siren? Although the siren does click loudly when it should be going off? 
Dan, like you I found corroded terminals inside the unit after sawing it to bits.
I've just fixed my alarm unit.
hooray!
What I found is that the corroded terminals were caused by one of the batteries leaking. Upon closer examination of the circuitboard in the siren it was apparent that one of the tracks close to where the battery terminals were attached had completely corroded away due to the battery leaking. I'd check for this on the board, as the chances are the corrosion was due to leakage...... and if you are lucky you can solder on a wire to jump any gaps that have appeared like I did.
next issue is the batteries inside the unit. The chances are that one or both of these are knackered.
2 small 3.2volt Nickel-Metal Hydride batteries which tracing the numbers on them were made by a german company who don't trade any more.
What I did was to replace them with a NiMH 9v pp3 (£4 from Maplins) and mount this to the outside of the siren unit. (yes its 8.4v but it still works fine)
Granted it still sounds like a timid very small bird but it does work.
I've just fixed my alarm unit.
hooray!What I found is that the corroded terminals were caused by one of the batteries leaking. Upon closer examination of the circuitboard in the siren it was apparent that one of the tracks close to where the battery terminals were attached had completely corroded away due to the battery leaking. I'd check for this on the board, as the chances are the corrosion was due to leakage...... and if you are lucky you can solder on a wire to jump any gaps that have appeared like I did.
next issue is the batteries inside the unit. The chances are that one or both of these are knackered.
2 small 3.2volt Nickel-Metal Hydride batteries which tracing the numbers on them were made by a german company who don't trade any more.
What I did was to replace them with a NiMH 9v pp3 (£4 from Maplins) and mount this to the outside of the siren unit. (yes its 8.4v but it still works fine)
Granted it still sounds like a timid very small bird but it does work.
What was wrong with yours in the first place? Was it working but not going off when it should do? Today i tested the plug with a multi-meter. Its a 3-pin plug so there should be a live, an earth and a trigger i guess. I was getting 12v from the live, nothing from the earth and nothing from the trigger even when the alarm was going off. I recon the siren is not getting the signal from the alarm to tell it when to sound. I know that the siren actually works becuase when i plug it in it goes off until you reset it.
