Volvo alarm warning advice needed

HHarry

Brie said:

Thanks @HHarry
Does the alarm still work?  I'm assuming no if there's a warning. 

Of course I could try to break in to it and check that way I guess.....

Yes(ish).  I’ve left the dogs in the car, locked it up and come back to find the alarm going off, so certainly the interior sensors still work.  Difficult to test anything else.

 Not many Scallys in rural Wales looking for a 12 year old diesel Volvo with dings on most panels.  It’s not much of a joyride!

photome

chrisw said:

The warning - Alarm System Malfunction -  is most likely due to failure of the rechargeable batteries in the siren under the front wing and is extremely common at that age,

The unit is very easy to remove but you would have to grind out the rivets to replace the 2 AAA batteries and often doesn't work, so it's usually easier to just replace the siren. The siren is common to a number of vehicles such as Ford and Land Rover. I replaced mine with a unit from a Mazda 2 for £12 off eBay. Theirs live in the car rather than in the wheel arch and seem to last much longer.

Plenty of information about it on the Volvo owners site:-

https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/forum/technical-topics/s60-v60-11-18-xc60-09-17-general?f=187

That’s interesting as I have a 17 year old mondeo with an alarm system warning every time I start the car , was told to change the key fob batteries but that made no difference, I have ignored it now for over a year but wondering if your fix would work or if my car is to old

Mildly_Miffed

Brie said:

Volvo 2016 XC60 Diesel 

OH's vehicle and in my opinion has too many bells and whistles but he likes it.  Anyways currently there's a alarm warning that comes on every time you turn the car on. 

The Volvo dealership has said it will take £150 to check if it's an actual problem but it might be that the battery needs to be replaced which would be another £250.  

Halfords offers a free battery check (not the same thing I know) and then there's a variety of batteries available for £185 - £223 including fitting.

Now I know very little about cars these days - I was ok with simpler vehicles where it was just mechanics but with all the electronic stuff I wouldn't want to even try to sort this myself.  So is the alarm warning due to the main battery or is there something else that in there someplace?

Theft alarm sirens have a separate battery in, to stop scrotes preventing the alarm from sounding by disconnecting the siren.

Those batteries have a finite life. Your car has been registered for nearly ten years, and has quite feasibly passed the tenth anniversary of the siren being manufactured.

Is it unreasonable for those batteries to have reached the ends of their lives?

You have a choice:
Replace the batteries and/or siren.
Accept that the siren may not sound if a thieving scrote disconnects it while trying to steal the car, and live with the warning message.

chrisw

Brie said:

Thanks @HHarry
Does the alarm still work?  I'm assuming no if there's a warning. 

Of course I could try to break in to it and check that way I guess.....

I lived with the message for a while until the alarm started going off randomly through the day and night. I ended up pulling the fuse under the glovebox which stopped it, although the message remained, until I replaced the siren.

Bigwheels1111

Another brilliant idea from manufacturers to cost you thousands to fix.
My 2007 Vectra had what looked like a heated wire round the edge of the two rear side windows.
This would set off the alarm if windows were broken.
Around 8 years old, them alarm would go off for no reason.
Paid dealership to scan, money wasted as they couldn’t find issues.
Forum lead me to glass. Due to being in the heat of the sun and cold of winter it degraded and started to crack.
Two fixes, one break glass and claim under insurance or dealership wanted 1k to replace.
Fix Two, remove side panels in the boot, find the spade connectors attached to side screen, remove and join them together. My friend cut off connections soldering the wires and heat shrank them to seal it.
Cost me £10 for his breakfast.

Brie

Well I don't mind the warning coming on.  And I'll put up with an occasional siren for no good reason.  As long as it's not like with a previous vehicle of OH.  We were on holiday in France and I went to put something in the car and broke my key in the lock.  The siren started off and it took us maybe half an hour to get it to stop - something that did not delight the people enjoying a sunny afternoon at a monastery.