just had a very stressfull afternoon,2001 wrx (just bought on tuesday) lush car anyway ,went to cramlington retailpark parked right outside halfords front doors armed the car done some shopping came back couldnt get doors to open with key fob,so after 10mins trying went into halfords bought 2 new batterys $6.00,
put them in still jack sh7t,by this time getting v angry cut a long story short and 1.30hours later 2nd fob would not work???????.
had to over ride the alarm manually,
got home now alarm is workinh sweet as a nut???????????
any help would be greatly recieved.

 

Strangely I had the same problem withe Fobs, only happened once and work perfect before and after. I think it had something to do with interference, like powerlines or something. Maybe a car parked by you was blocking it ??

 

Mine does it as well. (51 plate bugeye) Its to do with the band the Alarm system works on, can be the same as other radio equipment such as Car Park attendants, police, other alarm systems!!

Mine did it trying to lock the bloody thing in luton airport while trying to get away to catch my plane - not impressed as nearly missed it. Didnt want to leave the car unlocked for a week!!!

Eventually just locked it with the key and stuffed the alarm.

There is supposedly a fix for this, you can get a plate to go over the alarm or something that fixes the problems with interferance.

 

Did halfords door have a automatic front doors with the sensors?

I'm sure i read somewhere that they can interfere with the remote alarm key fobs.

Just a thought.

 

Mine did it the other night. Turned out the car battery was knackered. Got a new battery and all is well, the car runs loads better aswell

 

mates 2001 wrx was exactly the same. Usually happens when parked near mobile phone masts etc. As said before it is the Cr*p alarm which was later upgraded. Many a time he had to bloody push the thing a distance and then everything would work ok.

You need either the plate to stop the interferrence which is not 100% effective or bite the bullet and upgrade the alram completely.

 

i was parked out side halford automatic doors?
mabey??????????????????
just pi ed off
its a good alarm aswell so must b doors

 

I have similar problems with my alarm. Usually fails to work at the most inconvienet places.
Anybody any idea on how to fix this?

 

This happened to me last week! Most annoying.
Its got a cobra cat 1 alarm but being an Ra it doesnt have central locking so i'm used to locking manually. It armed no problem but when i came back it wouldn't disarm. I'd heard about the problems of interferance so decided the only thing i could try was to get the key fob closer to the alarm its self, had to open the car knowing the alarm would go off got some funny looks. Opened the bonnet and pointed the key fob directly at the alarm which has got the antenna wire hanging out the side of it, thankfully it worked .
Since found out that the car park i was in is known for having some strange effects on car alarms, also noticed that my phone had no signal must be some kind of magnetic black hole

Kenny

 

Sounds like a case of Radio Lock out....


Radio Lock Out:
- All alarm systems manufactured for use in the UK in ’99 were required to operate on the frequency of 433MHz. Subsequently, in late 2000, the government allowed the introduction of the “Tetra” radio network for telecommunications companies, the military, police, fire and ambulance services etc, which was allocated the 420-430MHz bandwidths.

Although not exactly the same frequency, these “Tetra” transmitters are licensed and so are allowed to operate at around 20,000 watts, compared with the alarm systems 0.5 watt radio key (necessary so that your radio keys remain exempt from annual licensing fees!)

As a result, when you are near a transmitting “Tetra” mast you can get a degree of “bleed over” as their signal is so much stronger and this can swamp the transmission from the radio key. This problem is not exclusive to this system and can occur on any number of manufacturers systems produced prior to 2001.

The receiver boards were redesigned to focus more accurately on the 433.92HHz frequency as soon as this problem became evident, however, systems manufactured before 2001, with the older receiver boards, are not faulty and were not considered eligible for warranty, although as a goodwill measure, customers who suffered from “exceptional” radio lock-out (ie lived or worked below a mast) were offered an upgraded receiver board if the vehicle was still within the warranty period.

This goodwill period was extended for a further 12 months after the 3 year warranty period expired, but ended in December 2004. The later ECUs are still available from Subaru (part number SACC 3465) but these are now chargeable.

Avoidance:
There are a few points that should be remembered:

- All vehicles that passed through the import centre from January 2001 are equipped with the latest receiver boards that are "Tetra Resistant" and so should not experience this problem.

- A keypad is fitted to ALL models with the UK standard fit alarm system (from 99 MY) as an emergency override, in the event of loss, damage, flat radio key battery etc. (The keypad also allows the driver to access a number of features and is a complete programming tool for the dealers) and so pushing/recovery of vehicle’s should not be necessary provided you know your override PIN and ow to operate the keypad.

- The keypad can NOT be affected by "Radio Lock-Out", as it is hard wired into the system and does not rely on a radio transmission.

- The keypad allows only THREE PIN attempts and then will "Lock Up" if an incorrect number is entered a third time. This is a secuity feature to prevent random attempts at steeling the vehicle, however, it is also an inconvenience if you are suffering "Radio Lock Out" and enter your PIN incorrectly.

- The PIN number should not be entered too quickly or too slowly - when a digit has been pressed the small LED built into the keypad will illuminate briefly as confirmation and only then should the next digit be entered.

If an incorrect digit is pressed or the delay between entering digits exceeds10 seconds, then the LED above the keypad will flash rapidly and the PIN attempt should be aborted and started again after 30 seconds.

Due to the small size of the keypad some users may find a rubber tipped pencil easier to use. DO NOT use the sharp tip of a ball point pen etc, or press excessively hard on the keypad as this will only damage the membrane and cause a digit to remain pressed, causing a continual incorrect PIN.

My advice is to read the alarm system's instruction manual and practice entering the PIN before you need it. If you do not know your PIN, or bought the car second hand (in which case the PIN may have been changed by the previous owner) you can change the PIN to one of your own choosing, using the keypad, provided that you have a working Radio Key.

Changing your PIN:
- Arm and then Disarm the system using a working Radio Key.

- Within 30 seconds of disarming, type into the keypad- *17856*92*wxyz*wxyz# (where wxyz is your new PIN code)

- Arm the system with the Radio Key

- You should now be able to disarm the system using the new PIN code

Further information can be found in the systems Operating Instructions. If you do not have a copy of the Operating Instructions a link to a copy can be found in the post at:

http://www.subaru-impreza.org/subarutalk/viewtopic.php?t=2476

Ensure your keypad is operational before you need it on a dark night!

I hope this has cleared up a number of points that have been raised and will help to keep everyone mobile.

SS

 

Have got to say that Sigma Sam is on the ball with his advise. I changed my alarm unit in my Impreza MY99. With a little help from Sam, never had a problem again.

I've even searched out a few mobile phone masts (that used to stop the old system dead), no problems at all

 

that cramlington one has affected a few that i know off


best bet is to push the car away across the caraprk and try again

 

Yes, that method may well work.

You can also try some others:-
1) Clicking the transponder at different parts within your car. Inside the glove box, passenger and driver footwells and under the seats all produced good results for me when I had my old alarm
2) Hold the fob to the side of your head when you press it to enhance the strength of your signal
3) do 1) & 2) together when you are desparate, and are unable to move the car, and have a broken keyfob.

Methods 1 and 2 worked a few times for me. When I had to employ method 3 to get my car to go, much to the amusement of bystanders, that was the final straw. Alarm upgraded Cost about £80 and 4 hours of my time (don't believe good old Sigma Sam when he says it will take you 30 mins...it may take him that, but not me! )

 

also beside pattersons ford in shiremoor is the same, not sure if its the big *** pylons nearby or not, but my old car used to throw a fit around them parts depending on exactly where it was parked outside

 

talking about black spots ,i can hardly get a mobile phone reception niether can any1 in my street(u can c every1 cumin outside at night trying to get a signal)
i know if i goto retail park again im gunna park well away from halfords.

 

Look for the mobile phone mast. If you are in direct line of sight of it, you are pretty screwed if you are within 100 metres (from my experience).