Over the last few weeks the Concept 50 on my Scooby has started playing up. The alarm and immobiliser both work as normal but the unit only chirps when the engine is warm. The alarm will sound if triggered when cold but not chirp at all. Any ideas?

 

Erm, cracked wire in the wiring loom or loose connection? Rationale behind this thought is that metal expands when it gets hot, so a broken wire may make contact...

Get it to a clifford dealer - there's a lifetime warranty.

 

Cheers for that - I've rung my local Clifford dealer and he seems to think it's not that serious a problem. He'll be taking a look at it soon.

 

You did say Concept 50 didn't you? Not 50X or 500? If it is the old 50 then that would make it at the very least two to two and a half years old, in which case the internal batteries will have pretty much expired in the siren. Don't worry, it doesn't mean the siren has completely packed up, just the battery backup part won't last long if the power is disconnected. When you don't get chirps it is the siren diagnostic to say it's internal batteries are flat or goosed, but if you trigger the alarm fully, it should still go off.

Regards, Max

 

MaxTCD - is the 50x still thatcham approved? I have one fitted to my car along with the standard Sigma unit but I am getting a tracker installed soon and was wondering about removing one.

 

Max,
Yep it is a Concept 50. It was fitted to the car when it was new in 1997 - never thought about the internal battery backup

GraemeC,
Your alarm should still have Cat 1 approval if it was fitted before the date its thatcham staus was revoked (November 1998 I think it was) but you MUST have an installation certificate to prove this. I've got an Acrobat copy of the latest Thatcham approval documents (published April 2001)which explains this better and could come in handy if your insurance company tells you otherwise. Let me know if you want a copy

Alex