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Woke up at 1am to my car alarm!!

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Old 08 December 2006 | 12:24 PM
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From: Mighty Wrexham.....XBOX Gamertag: WHM Scoobaru
Default Woke up at 1am to my car alarm!!

For those that have experienced this you will know the sudden pain you get in your heart when you think your scoob is being stolen. I ran down stairs in a pair of shorts and turned as many lights on as possible to try and deter any would be theives! I actualy grabbed a yard brush that was in the cupboard as a weapon!(not a lot of use that would of been) I went outside to find my alarm still sounding but no one to be seen. No security light on and my indicators weren't flashing either with the alarm.

All seemed a bit odd. I walked the car and found no damage. I used my key fob to silence the alarm and open the locks but nothing hapened. Tried again and the the locks released but the alarm continued. In a panic i tried to start the car to silence the alarm (I was very wary of my new neighbours being woke)

Now the engine was dead. Car would not start! The only thing that bloody worked was the alarm!!! Eventually I got my tools and disconnected the battery and all was quiet. My only thinking what caused this was the battery needs replacing as its played up a couple of times since I've owned the car. I'm still not sure why the alarm was sounding but I'm buying a new battery later.

Anyone had a similar experience??

P.S I apologise to anyone who may have had their car stolen recently if this post is a bit insensitive. Bubba etc
Old 08 December 2006 | 12:31 PM
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Where I live there was a lot of wind and rain including atmospheric pressure changes. It set off several alarms last night. The immobiliser probably kicked in so you could not start the engine.
Old 08 December 2006 | 12:33 PM
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Originally Posted by nathanb
My only thinking what caused this was the battery needs replacing as its played up a couple of times since I've owned the car. I'm still not sure why the alarm was sounding but I'm buying a new battery later.

Anyone had a similar experience??
When my battery was dead it kept letting out a few chirps from the alarm when i tried to start it so it sound like that could be the problem.
Old 08 December 2006 | 12:48 PM
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Does the alarm have a back-up battery? Car battery goes flat, alarm thinks the power has been cut so sounds, powered by backup battery. Obviously car won't start, central locking won't work etc. Chirping is a symptom of this. New battery should cure it.
Old 08 December 2006 | 01:37 PM
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Originally Posted by speedking
Does the alarm have a back-up battery? Car battery goes flat, alarm thinks the power has been cut so sounds, powered by backup battery. Obviously car won't start, central locking won't work etc. Chirping is a symptom of this. New battery should cure it.
so how did disconnecting the battery stop the alarm
Old 08 December 2006 | 03:33 PM
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From: Mighty Wrexham.....XBOX Gamertag: WHM Scoobaru
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Good question! New battery fitted. All seems ok!
Old 08 December 2006 | 06:07 PM
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my mate did the same a coulple of years ago and he actually shot a would be thief with dart from an air rifle which def caught him up the rear end.My mate then returned to his house in his wellys and wifes dressing gown..things you do when panicked
Old 08 December 2006 | 06:19 PM
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First thing to play up on a car when the battery is half-dead is the alarm.

You can thank the cheap budget-driven electronics used inside them that makes them picky on low voltages.

Things to look out for when your battery is dying:

False alarms (typically in the small hours - don't ask me why, blame it on the gremlins )
Immobilser not always turning off.
Remote control not responding (although could be interferance on older systems)
Central locking not working properly, or not locking/unlocking all the doors
Chirping siren on start-up

Any signs, get the battery load tested. By that I DO NOT mean a voltmeter across an idle battery. What I do mean is a huge resistance coil that puts a load on the (fully charged - NOT half flat) battery and measures the drop in voltage over a set period of time and compares it to the rated CCA/SAE capacity of the battery. Doing the test with a half charged battery will show up as a fail and will make the kwik-fit guys rub their hands with glee.

Last edited by Shark Man; 08 December 2006 at 06:22 PM.
Old 08 December 2006 | 06:21 PM
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From: In RS land......
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sounds like the battery to me was defo the problem.... while on hols in october ( mrs had also packed her car keys as well as mine) my sister is looking after the house, we get a phone call @ 5am in barbados saying the car alarm is going off where are the keys so we can turn it off.... both here with us.... rac were called and they got into the car and disconnected the battery... sis wasnt happy.....
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