Chris Wilson Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 Damn the *loody things. Had a car with a Clifford sound the alarm in the middle of the night, the owner had obviously had trouble as the thing was wrapped in wet tissues. I cut the wires and it stopped soon after. I believe it did this as the main car battery was going flat. Now I have another, a car with a Toad alarm doing the same thing. How do you stop the bloody things, short of cutting the sounder wires and burying it? How people put up with these things I don't know, they bleep when you lock them, they bleep when you unlock them, they go off for no reason. First thing I do with my own cars is bin `em. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 LOL, The alarms are designed with a good 12v power supply in mind Chris. A battery going flat whilst the alarm is armed, will cause the alarm to trigger from it's own internal battery, because it 'thinks' that a thief has disconnected the main power supply, or cut the siren cable.... Ideally, if you're likely to have a car for a period of time long enough for the battery to go flat, (or the customers car has a duff battery that flattens within a couple of days), disarm the alarm and disconnect the battery. When you re-connect the battery, 'some' alarms will sound when power is re-applied, so just make sure you have the remote keys to hand. They generally only misbehave if they're misunderstood! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Wilson Posted August 3, 2007 Author Share Posted August 3, 2007 Thanks Matt, alarms and i don't get on! So if the main car battery is flat does the alarm key fob fail to turn the things off? Is there no way of turning them off in this state, even if you have a working key fob for them? If not, madness Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supra_surj Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 My battery went flat last week and the alarm kept going off even though i had the remote it still didnt turn it off. I guess if theres no power in the battery then no power to run the main brain which receives the remote signal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 No, once the car's battery is flat, the remote will become useless. The way they work is, the main control unit for the alarm is fitted to the car and it takes all it's power from the cars battery. If the car's battery is flat, the alarm cannot operate in any way. The only part of an alarm system that is 'self powered' is the siren. The only way to turn off a siren once power is lost, is to apply power to the car, so that the reciever board in the alarm system has power again. This will then allow the alarm and the siren to 'talk' to each other, and you can then use the remote control to fully disarm the system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 My battery went flat last week and the alarm kept going off even though i had the remote it still didnt turn it off. I guess if theres no power in the battery then no power to run the main brain which receives the remote signal. That's about the size of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkR Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 Mine goes off if i leave anything made of metal in the centre console, OR if the temperature drops enough for frost to be on the grass, OR if I park with the front of the car facing uphill... Clifford sucks!! Most expensive F***ing frost alarm I ever bought!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 You love 'em really. Poor alarm. It's only doing what it's been told to do you know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Wilson Posted August 3, 2007 Author Share Posted August 3, 2007 Mr Remingtons sorted it. Only joking Wayney..... For now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 Mr Remingtons sorted it. You gave it a personal hair trim? http://soundsofthecinema.blogspirit.com/images/medium_Remington_20_Hair_20Trimmer_20_Medium_.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 Mine goes off if i leave anything made of metal in the centre console, OR if the temperature drops enough for frost to be on the grass, OR if I park with the front of the car facing uphill... Clifford sucks!! Most expensive F***ing frost alarm I ever bought!! Sounds like it's been set up too sensitive. The alarm WILL cause problems if you put anything near the proximity sensor. Obviously your proximity sensor is under the centre console, which is a fairly common place for them. If it causes you too much trouble, it can be mounted in the roof, (assuming you don't have an Aero). Personally, Cliffords are my personal favourite. They can be complicated, and you will benefit from fully reading the instruction book. However, they do need to be set up fairly acurately for each individual car, and it's not easy to get it right first time, every time. If it's not right, don't be afraid to take it back to the dealer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Wilson Posted August 3, 2007 Author Share Posted August 3, 2007 My favourite is like the car that came in this morning. A pair of original keys, and nothing else Toad ones give me the least hassle, here, when working on cars. Those abortions with numeric keypads, or star and hash buttons need torching though If the amount people spend on alarms and security was spent on prisons and bringing back capital and corporal punishment I'd be a happier chappie! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 My TOAD goes off if the car is pointing down the slight incline on my drive and it rains heavy, yet there is no water anywhere near the alarm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steb9780 Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 Mine used to go off all the time in my old car. It took ages to suss out. I bumped into an old mate of mine who works installing ICE and alarms and the like, and he said make sure your heater vents aren't set to flow air in from the outside. So I did it the next day, and never heard another peep out of it. Well until the autumn winds started picking up and rocking the car. So then the alarm was off again. I took it to him and he said it was set with the sensitivity really high. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Wilson Posted August 3, 2007 Author Share Posted August 3, 2007 My TOAD goes off if the car is pointing down the slight incline on my drive and it rains heavy, yet there is no water anywhere near the alarm Toads will always find water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 If the amount people spend on alarms and security was spent on prisons and bringing back capital and corporal punishment I'd be a happier chappie! I'm gonna start caling you "Mr Filch!" (Ref. Harry Potter books) My TOAD goes off if the car is pointing down the slight incline on my drive and it rains heavy, yet there is no water anywhere near the alarm That shouldn't happen. Check the bonnet switch. You may find it's barely making contact, and it could be situated in a water channel. When it rains and water flows along it, it may just conduct enough to trigger the alarm. Mine used to go off all the time in my old car. It took ages to suss out. I bumped into an old mate of mine who works installing ICE and alarms and the like, and he said make sure your heater vents aren't set to flow air in from the outside. So I did it the next day, and never heard another peep out of it. Well until the autumn winds started picking up and rocking the car. So then the alarm was off again. I took it to him and he said it was set with the sensitivity really high. That's just very over sensitive ultrasonics that need adjusting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkR Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 Cheers for that. Anyone have the software/cable to set this up? Sounds like it's been set up too sensitive. The alarm WILL cause problems if you put anything near the proximity sensor. Obviously your proximity sensor is under the centre console, which is a fairly common place for them. If it causes you too much trouble, it can be mounted in the roof, (assuming you don't have an Aero). Personally, Cliffords are my personal favourite. They can be complicated, and you will benefit from fully reading the instruction book. However, they do need to be set up fairly acurately for each individual car, and it's not easy to get it right first time, every time. If it's not right, don't be afraid to take it back to the dealer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 What model Clifford do you have? - You probably don't need the cable... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkR Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 Ummmmmm... I think it's the concept 600 or 550 or something like that. I wanted the top of the range (650), but they suggested getting the one I have then adding the auto start, and tilt & motion seperately... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 FYI manuals available here - http://www.mkivsupra.net/vbb/forumdisplay.php?f=117 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkR Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 Cheers Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheefa Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 Well, at least you had fun with my old CODE Alarm and the spaghetti junction of wiring Chris while it lasted hey Flashback to the phonecalls. "Greg, your car is possibly the worst car I've ever worked on. Everything that could of gone wrong has pretty much gone wrong". Lol. How I still miss her though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver_bullet Posted August 8, 2007 Share Posted August 8, 2007 after you disarm the alarm count the beeps and it will tell you what is setting it off , if it is a cat 1 toad ai600 or ai606 do not cu the siren feed as it has a batery backup siren and will jus go mental for atleast an hour and thers no way of stoping it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ric Posted August 8, 2007 Share Posted August 8, 2007 cant you just put the clifford into valet mode? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.