pjeaton Posted May 18, 2003 Share Posted May 18, 2003 Hello All, I have a MKIV TT which I had fitted with a Concept 300 about 3 1/2 years ago by Paul Edwards of Cartronics in High Wycombe. It's all been working fine, but due to a job change my car's been standing over the winter. Over the period, I disconnected the battery. Now when I put it back on, fully charged, my alarm remotes don't work, and I don't seem to be able to get the alarm system to disarm using the valet switch. There nothing wrong with the volume that comes out of the siren, so that seems OK. I want to get the car back on the road, but I can't even start the engine at the moment. Has anyone else had this problem? I've called up Cartronics a couple of times, but whilst he did a great job of fitting it, he doesn't seem too keen to return my calls regarding servicing of my unit. Can anyone else recommend a Clifford engineer who covers St. Albans? Thanks for your time, Phillip Eaton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted May 18, 2003 Share Posted May 18, 2003 Firstly, is the battery definatly fully charged? - It sounds like the alarm has crashed/locked up. Disconnect one of the battery terminals, leave it off for about 30 seconds and reconnect as 'cleanly' as possible. Whats the LED doing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjeaton Posted May 18, 2003 Author Share Posted May 18, 2003 LED? What LED? I guess I'll have to open up the bonnet and find the main alarm unit then... Any idea where the alarm installer will have hidden it? Any distinguishing features to look for on the casing. (I suppose the answer to that one is 'look for the box with the LED on it'.) The battery is definetely charged up. It was a brand new battery just before I took it off the road, and I've kept it fully charged using a charger. Voltage check shows it to be fine. Cheers, Phil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaz Walker Posted May 18, 2003 Share Posted May 18, 2003 Originally posted by pjeaton LED? What LED? I guess I'll have to open up the bonnet and find the main alarm unit then... Errrr.... you should have an LED somewhere on the dashboard, its the status LED for the alarm - tells you if its armed/disarmed etc?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjeaton Posted May 18, 2003 Author Share Posted May 18, 2003 Oh, that LED - Dur! It's acting...normally. I haven't reconnected the battery for a week or two, but as far as I remember, it was acting normally. The remotes don't work and when you open the car door and try to use the valet switch instead, it the siren goes off etc. After that, you get the standard LED pattern showing you the alarm has been triggered. Phil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted May 18, 2003 Share Posted May 18, 2003 If you're getting the LED pattern showing you what's gone off, you must have disarmed it ????? When using the valet switch, are you sure you're entering the code correctly? - With the ignition fully on? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjeaton Posted May 18, 2003 Author Share Posted May 18, 2003 Originally posted by Matt Harwood If you're getting the LED pattern showing you what's gone off, you must have disarmed it ????? When using the valet switch, are you sure you're entering the code correctly? - With the ignition fully on? No, it's not the pattern telling you the sensor that was triggered, I think it's the different LED flash duration that tells you simply that it's been triggered. (Remember I'm working from memory.) I'm sure I was using the valet switch correctly. I've used it several times over the years, but this time it's really stumping me. This time around I followed the manual word for word, but it just wouldn't respond. My neighbours must be getting real pis*ed off with me now! Does anyone around this area have the RS232 interface? Can I just plug one in, or does it need to be factory fitted? Cheers, Phil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted May 18, 2003 Share Posted May 18, 2003 It won't work unless the alarm is disarmed! Are you definatly, absolutly, positively sure that the battery is properly charged? - You can still get a 12v reading even when flat. Try measuring the voltage with some of the cars electrics on, lights, radio, wipers etc. If the battery is undoubtably good, (and don't presume it is because it's almost new, if its been on charge with a normal charger for a few months, I'm not sure if this could have damaged the battery), and you've tried the disconnect/reconnect routine, then I'm afraid to say there is nothing more you can do... it's broken. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjeaton Posted May 19, 2003 Author Share Posted May 19, 2003 Originally posted by Matt Harwood It won't work unless the alarm is disarmed! Are you definatly, absolutly, positively sure that the battery is properly charged? - You can still get a 12v reading even when flat. Try measuring the voltage with some of the cars electrics on, lights, radio, wipers etc. If the battery is undoubtably good, (and don't presume it is because it's almost new, if its been on charge with a normal charger for a few months, I'm not sure if this could have damaged the battery), and you've tried the disconnect/reconnect routine, then I'm afraid to say there is nothing more you can do... it's broken. Thanks for your ideas, Matt. They really are appreciated. I'm 100% sure the battery is OK. I used it for 3 months before talking the car off the road, and I charge it for 1 hour a week, and the voltage is 13VDC off charge. I have a nasty suspicion that the unit might well be broken. Fortunately, I believe Clifford guarantee against failure for life. However, I still have to get the thing off. So coming back to the 3nd part of my original question... Can anyone recommend a Clifford engineer around my area of St. Albans? Thanks, Phil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveRex Posted May 19, 2003 Share Posted May 19, 2003 I'd give Paul at Cartronics another try, he did a very good job and he's been very helpful since fitting mine (and Snowmans) get his moby number from the office Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted May 19, 2003 Share Posted May 19, 2003 Failing that, call Clifford on 0800 929949. The do cover they're units under a 'limited lifetime warranty' providing you have your proof of purchase. The warranty only covers the unit for repair though, not call-out charges or labour to remove/re-fit. If you're a bit hand with a screwdriver, I can talk you through removal of the control unit. I've no idea how easy it is to trip the starter motor, but if it's possible, it would be a sure-fire way of ruling out the battery. Sorry I keep on about the battery, but I'd guess that at least 80% of non-responsive/immobilised cars are due to flat batteries and it's amazing how many people insist that their battery is good until proven otherwise... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asim Posted May 19, 2003 Share Posted May 19, 2003 Dude, this might sound like a silly question but have you changed the batteries in your remote controls ??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted May 19, 2003 Share Posted May 19, 2003 Damn, why didn't I think of that! Although, it doesn't explain why the valet switch doesn't work... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MONKEYmark Posted May 19, 2003 Share Posted May 19, 2003 remote start supposed to eat remote batterys, they are only a couple of quid from motorworld dont know how you change small one though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjeaton Posted May 22, 2003 Author Share Posted May 22, 2003 OK, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and call him up again. Regarding the remote batteries, this was the first thing I tried. I though it strange that both remotes would fail at the same time, so I bought 2 new batteries, but it didn't make any difference. The remotes wouldn't affect the operation of the Valet switch anyway, which doesn't work for me. I'm 100% sure the battery is OK. I also have another battery which I've tried from my girlfriends car, and it still makes no difference. All I can think of is that the unit is buggered. Not being allowed to fix it myslef is annoying, as I was an electonics engineer until a few years ago... Wish me luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doughie Posted May 23, 2003 Share Posted May 23, 2003 I've got a Clifford alarm in my Golf. XL10 I think... I remember from the manual that whenever you disconnet or reconnect the battry, you should ALWAYS switch to valet mode first. that's swtich on the ignition, flip the valet switch, then switch off ignition. The LED should be fully light now (showing valet mode active). When you reconnect battery, i think you should always disconnect the earth lead first, and reconnect the earth lead last. I have a suspicion that you've fried some of the circuits in the alarm maybe by not following the above procedure 100%. (although my alarm is a different model i'm pretty certain that the procedure will be universal to Clifford alarms). the alarm itself has behaved impeccably for years now. doesn't give false alarms, (i know cos it tells you if it's gone off when you disarm it). The only thing it does do that's a bit annoying is the siren goes off when reconnecting the battery, even though in valet mode. and when the bonnet is up, when you're reconnecting it's BLOODY loud. 128db or something. good luck with fixing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowman Posted May 23, 2003 Share Posted May 23, 2003 Phil I would just like to say something about Paul at Cartronics. I can not recommend this chap high enough. I know he is very very busy this week as he was round sorting out some other stuff on my car last week. He has spent a great amount of time and effort putting right problems that were caused by another alarm installation company. He has also done a fair bit of work on my Dads Skyline and in both cases we have been incredibly impressed with the care and attention to detail that he has taken. Please just try him again before publicly complaining about his service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjeaton Posted May 23, 2003 Author Share Posted May 23, 2003 Originally posted by Snowman Phil Please just try him again before publicly complaining about his service. Hi Snowman, Thanks for you thoughts. Perhaps the tone of the original email was misleading. I'm not complaining about his service, I'm just telling it how it is! As I said in my initial email, he did do a great job of original fitting. When I found an installation error, he came back a couple of days later and sorted it out free of charge and made sure I was happy. I'm sure that a number of fitters wouldn't do that. (Although they might not stay Clifford approved for very long.) However, I called him up a about 6 weeks ago, and he said he was busy but would get back to me. When he didn't, I called him up about 3 weeks ago and his missus said he'd been very busy and she'd get him to call me up striaight away. Unfortunately that hasn't happened yet. That's not a complaint, it's just fact. If I'm unhappy with a service, I'll go elsewhere. I think the fact that I'm still willing to give Paul the work shows my satisfaction of the service he has previously provided. Lets hope I can get some more, cos at the moment, I'm still without wheels! Cheers, Phil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjeaton Posted May 23, 2003 Author Share Posted May 23, 2003 To follow up on this, I just called up Paul up again, and he remembered who I was (which is always a good start). He was very apologetic for not calling me back and we've agreed a solid date in a couple of weeks. If I don't post again, assume it's all gone well! Thanks to everyone for all their help so far... Phil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjeaton Posted June 7, 2003 Author Share Posted June 7, 2003 Paul from Cartronics came around today to sort out my alarm. Apparently the Clifford Concept 300 (and possibly other Clifford models) have a wire ariel installed in the car for picking up the signal from the remotes. For some odd reason, sometimes this 'stops working'. Clifford's official solution is to replace the wire ariel with a more substantial one, which has a little box on the end and looks more like an ariel than a simple piece of wire. After adding this new ariel, the remotes started working again. The reason why the Valet switch wouldn't disable the alarm for me was because one of the two valet switch buttons was buggered. Paul tried a new one in it's place and it fixed that problem. I checked the new and existing switches with a multimeter. The new one has resistance of 10 Ohms and 0 Ohms for the two buttons respectively. My broken one had 10 Ohms for one and some random value on the other, which changed the harder you pressed it. According to Paul this apparently happens now and again as well. So, fortunately, I didn't have to replace the main unit. Total bill was 76 quid including the new ariel, the new switch and VAT. He had to travel for about 1/2 hour each way to get to me and worked around the car for about 2 hours. Sounds like a fair price to me. Another useful trick he mentioned was to put the alarm into Valet mode when you disconnect the battery, and this will stop it immediately wailing when you reconnect the battery. That'll cheer the neighbours up :-) Phil (Happy now). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willson Posted June 7, 2003 Share Posted June 7, 2003 Glad you got it sorted . Sounds like a top bloke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowman Posted June 9, 2003 Share Posted June 9, 2003 Good news. I'm glad you are all up and running again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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