Why is the alarm not. If the alarm key fob does not work

When the car owner cannot "come to an agreement" with a capricious security system, one has to contact the service station specialists. But what to do when the problem has arisen far from civilization? Experts advise not to panic and try to fix the "glitch" that has arisen on your own.

The door opens but the alarm does not go off

One of the most common car alarm malfunctions is "silence" when opening the doors or trunk of the car. One of the signs of this problem is that the interior lighting does not light up when the door is open, as well as the absence of a corresponding indication on the instrument panel. Most car enthusiasts will immediately go to the service station, hoping that the specialists will solve the problem in a few minutes. But you can perform simple actions yourself to return the alarms to their original performance.

First, you must turn off the alarm so that it does not go off during repair work. It is enough to put it on standby and start servicing.
The next step is to unscrew the alarm limit switches connected to the doors, hood and trunk. Then they are disconnected, the wire tokens are disconnected.
Using fine sandpaper, the contacts of the end switches are cleaned.
Using a tester or test light, you can check the integrity of the wiring and the health of the sensors.
It remains to assemble the alarm in reverse order, turn on the security system and test it in different modes.
If broken limit switches are found during the disassembly process, then you should purchase new parts in the store and integrate them into the alarm.

Problems with turning the alarm on and off

Often, car owners receive complaints about the difficult switching on or off of the alarm. For example, when you press a button on the key fob, the system does not react in any way. Sometimes the owner of the car cannot get into the car, and sometimes it remains in the parking lot without protection. Experts advise to pay attention to such probable reasons.

The car alarm is poorly configured. Because of this, the signal to open or close the machine is untimely triggered.
The machine is equipped with a fake security system that cannot perform the assigned tasks.
The installation of the alarm was carried out in an artisanal way, some of the sensors are hidden in the back of the car. A weak signal simply does not reach the sensor.
A common problem is a dead battery in the remote control.
For older protection modules, changes in the control unit are a common cause of signal delays.

If none of these reasons can be seen in a particular car, then it is better to contact an experienced master. Sometimes it is necessary to change individual elements of the system or to reconfigure the alarm.

Unpredictable alarm behavior

A common "glitch" in many alarms is its complete disobedience to the owner of the car. For example, while the car is moving, the protection module is triggered, the doors or the engine are blocked, the siren turns on, the lighting blinks, etc. With such symptoms, the algorithm of actions is as follows.

Check the state of charge of the battery. It is a dead battery that often becomes the reason for the unpredictable behavior of the security system.
Find the alarm control unit and check the reliability of the connection of the contacts. One of the chips can fall out, which is why the module behaves inadequately.
If in the future it is planned to replace the alarm, then you can ask the workshop master to block the operation of those functions that are untimely triggered.
When none of the manipulations gave a positive result, it is necessary to replace the security module. This is the only way to prevent accidents on the road.
You can temporarily disable the alarm by pulling out the wires from the control unit or by simultaneously pressing a certain combination of buttons.

Depending on the situation in which an unexpected triggering of the security system happened, the car owner can call in to the service station or fix the malfunction on his own. Clear and quick action will help to get rid of communication with police officers.

There is no sound and light accompaniment

A typical "glitch" of car alarms is the lack of sound and light support when turned on. The reason can be quite commonplace, so you should immediately look under the hood.

One of the possible reasons may be a dropped or oxidized contact on the control unit. It is easy to remove corrosion products or carbon deposits with sandpaper, rags and thinner.
Carefully inspect the wires connecting the security module with the relay of the dipped headlights or "emergency gang". It is recommended to replace damaged wires.
The cause of a malfunction can also be a control unit that controls the operation of various sensors and relays.
A faulty relay, to which the wire from the alarm is connected, also leads to the loss of sound and light signals.
The siren may suddenly fail due to a breakdown of the device or oxidation of the supply wire. To test the siren, you must directly apply voltage to the contacts.

A malfunction in the alarm can give the car owner many unpleasant minutes. It is not easy to find a breakdown due to the many possible options. Sometimes a familiar electrician, armed with a tester, solves the problem within ten minutes. But it happens that a real council of specialists gathers at the service station, trying to solve the riddle of the security system. It is important for the car owner not to get confused when a "glitch" appears, to include his brain and ingenuity in the work in a timely manner.

As you know, a car alarm is an electronic device that reacts to attempts of unlawful intrusion into your car. A little earlier, we already wrote about this device and the problems that cause false alarms, but today I would like to talk about the opposite malfunction - the failure of the security system. Why this happens and how to deal with it, you will learn from this article.

1. Common Causes of Alarm Failure

Any problems with car alarms are most likely the result of carelessness and untimely system maintenance. From the theoretical side of the issue, the problem can appear anywhere, but in practice, especially taking into account the quality of modern electronic components, any "breakdown" is not only the negligence of the motorist, who, for example, replaced the battery in the control key fob at the wrong time, but also the result not very high quality parts produced today. Of course, the cheaper the device, the more problems arise in its operation.

The most typical signs and the corresponding reasons for "unexpected" car alarm malfunctions include:

Lack of response to the control panel (key fob). In such a situation, first of all, you need to check the power supply of the device. If everything is fine with the battery, make sure the buttons are working properly, as it happens that they sink and touch the contacts inside the case. In the absence of obvious deformation of the battery and mechanical damage, it makes sense to purchase a new remote control and "register" it in the program that coordinates the actions.

In addition, there are times when the elements of the device are exposed to strong external radiation. Considering that the alarm unit consists of rather peculiar parts, it is not surprising that it is not protected from external influences, which often interfere with the operation of the alarm, and sometimes even disable the microprocessor, that is, the basis of the unit. In urban conditions, indeed, serious radiation is very rare, therefore, cases of device breakdown due to its impact are often expressed in the disappearance of the "firmware" from the unit's memory, and without this program the device will not work. As a rule, such a breakdown is eliminated by a service specialist where this alarm was installed by "flashing" the electronic unit.

Lack of reaction to impact on the body (if a shock sensor is installed). This type of malfunction is most often the result of an illiterate installation and configuration of the security system - in particular, the settings of the shock sensor, the parameters of which are not always configured correctly.

Lack of reaction of the car doors to the "commands". If there are no problems on the part of the control unit, the place of signal loss should be looked for between it and the electromagnetic drive. In the case when all the electrics are intact, and when current is supplied from an alternative source, the drive is triggered, it is worth looking for the problem in the alarm unit. Perhaps it is he who sends the impulse to lock the door.

No siren signal when the alarm is triggered. In this case, it is quite possible that the siren unit simply does not receive current, which means that you need to look for the breakage point in the wiring. Not every car owner can independently find the cause of an alarm malfunction, and if you already at the initial stage of repair understand that your knowledge may not be enough for this, it is better to immediately contact the service where the alarm was installed.

2. What to do when the alarm suddenly refused to work?

First of all, do not panic, even if problems with the system appeared halfway to the house. Suppose that the alarm does not respond to the “instructions” of the key fob, and you cannot arm or disarm the security system. If the battery is charged and there is no second key fob, you can try to restore the operation of the remote control in the following way. First, check (and replace if necessary) the battery. And do not forget about the type of battery, because even 12-volt key fobs can be of different sizes and can be powered by 6-volt or 3-volt batteries with different body types. Moreover, even if the diode is on, this does not mean at all that the battery is "good", even if it is new.

The state of this battery depends on a number of factors, for example, on the storage period and temperature, the quality of the material of manufacture, etc. Naturally, if you buy a part in the bazaar in winter, when the temperature is freezing outside, and it is sold, as they say, "hand-held", then somehow you don't have to wait for a long service from such a battery (if it will work at all).

So it turns out: the battery seems to have been replaced, but the remote control still does not work. In such a situation, it is likely that the device will need to be programmed. Often, all the required actions are described in the operating instructions for the alarm and provide for the "violent" opening of your own car. And then, to the sound of a siren, it is necessary to turn off the system using the "Valet" service mode button (the need to manipulate the ignition is also possible). But here, too, there is one problem: you also need to know where to look for the aforementioned button.

Specialists who installed the alarm, the former owner of the vehicle, or the same operating instructions for the system can help with the solution of the problem. The specified control element helps to carry out an emergency shutdown of the alarm and the subsequent programming of functions in the memory of the control unit. If it is impossible to perform the specified action (for example, you still could not find the button), you should turn off the power supply to the insulation along with the interlocks and immediately go to the service station.

In addition, there is such a thing as "freezing" of the key fob. There can be many reasons for this phenomenon. For example, a vehicle is located in the area of operation of powerful radio transmitters, when starting a car engine, synchronization failures are caused by a dead battery, and some, especially "sensitive" systems cannot tolerate repeated presses of the remote control buttons outside its range of action. Most often, in such cases, the above algorithm for emergency unlocking of the alarm is used, after which, after driving a little, you can check the operation of the key fob again. If the device starts working, you may need to quickly press the buttons or re-sync it.

Consider another possible option for the appearance of problems in the operation of the security device. Imagine that the car stalled (or you turned off the ignition yourself), and when you try to start the vehicle, the alarm system is triggered. The reason for this behavior most often lies in the lack of battery power: the battery is dead - the car does not start. In turn, the alarm reacted to a low voltage (below 8V), which is programmed in the system to prevent theft attempt by removing the terminal from the battery. In such a situation, it is necessary to turn off the siren and troubleshoot the battery.

Summing up all of the above, it should be noted that the most common cause of problems with car alarms is the lack of reaction of the system to the "commands" of the remote control, which are expressed in the failure of the function of arming / disarming the car. What you need to do: bring the remote control (key fob) closer to the location of the central unit and try again to press the buttons. It didn't help - restart the system by disconnecting the battery terminal, because often the causes of failures are radio signals from large industrial facilities, which "jam" the keyfob signal.

These are, in fact, all the main reasons for possible malfunctions of a car alarm. Of course, like all other breakdowns, malfunctions in this system are an annoying nuisance, but you still should not panic, since malfunctions can be eliminated through repair and reconfiguration. In some cases, it is possible to restore the systems to work on their own (when it comes to conventional devices), while in others it is better to turn to professionals for help, especially when it comes to complex GSM alarms.

Car alarm - a device that allows you to protect the "iron horse" from hijackers and intruders who are trying to get into the car. Situations may occur when the alarm ceases to function stably. For example, when returning to a parked car, pressing the button on the remote control does not turn off the alarm. After that, the driver tries to open the door with the key and the alarm starts working. The article will discuss how to turn off the car alarm in such cases.

It is easy to solve the problem of a broken alarm. The main thing is to know the sequence of actions. Photo: news.pn

Why is the alarm not working

Radio interference. In big cities, there are many operators of mobile networks, reinforced concrete structures, car parks. It is they who can cause malfunctions in the operation of the alarm, creating interference. In this case, you can turn off the alarm by approaching the place where the anti-theft protection system is installed. It is necessary to direct the key fob to the alarm unit and press the button to turn it off.

Dead battery. The alarm can stop functioning if it does not have sufficient power supply. To restore its work, you need to recharge or purchase a new battery.

If the car alarm does not turn off, you should check the condition of the battery, which is located in the key fob. Photo: cartore.ru

Problems with the power supply of the alarm key fob. First of all, the indicator lamp should light up on the key fob when any of the buttons are pressed. In more advanced versions of the alarm, on the key fob with a screen, there is information about a low battery charge. In both cases, it is recommended to take it out, tap it lightly and insert it back.

In winter, during frosts, the keychain can also fail, for example, after a long stay on the street. To do this, you need to place the alarm key fob in a warm place, which will allow it to “warm up” its battery and turn off the protection system.

Ways to turn off the alarm

If, after the above diagnostics, the problem is still not resolved, you must manually turn off the alarm. First of all, under the hood, you need to find the installation location for the alarm. After that, the contacts of the speaker emitting the siren should be de-energized.

It's better to hide the Valet button in a less obvious place. Photo: car-key.by

Disabling the alarm can be done using a special hidden button, which is located in the car, under the dashboard. It's called Valet. The rules for using this button can be specified in the instructions that are attached by the car alarm manufacturer. If it is absent, then after detecting the button, you must take the following options:

Turning on the ignition, quickly pressing the button and turning off the ignition;
Turning on the ignition, quickly, four times pressing the button and turning off the ignition;

If there is an alarm with the GSM communication standard, you must read the instructions, which contain instructions for entering the pin code. After its introduction, the vehicle is started and the alarm loudspeaker is connected.

In any case, try to follow the instructions that came with the alarm.

Below we will tell you how to deal with the most common alarms.

Disabling the alarm of popular models

Starline (525)

To turn off the alarm, you need to follow the instructions, according to which you need to:

Opening the car interior;
Turning on the ignition;
Holding the service button for no more than 6 seconds. If the above actions are performed correctly, the car will emit a sound signal, and the indicator on the key fob will occasionally blink.
Switch off the ignition.

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Starline (A6)

Disabling this alarm model differs in that it is unlocked using a special code. To enter it, you need to comply with the following algorithm of actions:

Opening the car with a key;
Turning on the ignition;
Pressing the Valet button for at least 20 seconds. The first digit of the code means the number of clicks;
Pressing the button again. The number of clicks corresponds to the second digit of the code;
Switch off the ignition.

Tomahawk (RL950LE)

Two sound and light signals of the car will indicate the successful disabling of the alarm. Photo: aries-auto.ru

To completely disable the security system of this model, you should adhere to the following sequence of actions:

Opening the car with a key;
Turning on the ignition;
Pressing the alarm service button four times;
Switch off the ignition.

Sheriff

This signaling model is quite common. To unblock it, you must:

Opening the car with a key;
Turning on the ignition;
Pressing the car alarm service button;
Switching off the ignition and switching on again;
Pressing the Valet button again;

The above steps will help bring the alarm from a faulty state to the repair mode, which will allow you to search for problems in its operation.

ALLIGATOR (D-810)

This alarm has two shutdown modes - standard and service, which is activated using a special code. To turn off the car alarm in standard mode, you must:

Open the car door with the key;
Turn the key, light the control lamps on the dashboard;
After 10 seconds, press the Valet button;
Switch off ignition.

To enter the security system into service mode, you should:

Open doors with a key;
Insert the key and turn on the ignition;
Turn off all warning lamps by turning the key to its original position;
After a few seconds, press the alarm service button. The number of clicks is equal to the first digit of the code;
Turn the ignition on and off;
After waiting up to about 10 seconds, press the Valet button. The number of clicks corresponds to the second digit of the code number;
Switch the ignition off and on.

If you enter more than three times to a row of an incorrect code, the car alarm system will be temporarily unavailable.

The transition to the service mode of this signaling is rather complicated, in contrast to the models of other manufacturers.

ALLIGATOR (LX-440)

To transfer the considered model to the service mode, you need to sequentially execute:

Opening the door with a key;
Activate all warning lamps on the dashboard with the ignition key;
Pressing the Valet button;
Switch off the ignition.

An emergency shutdown of a car alarm from this manufacturer is carried out in this way:

Opening the car door with a key;
Turn the ignition key until the control lamps turn on for a while (up to 10 seconds) and turn it off;
With the ignition on for at least 10 seconds, hold the service button of the alarm until the car beeps. It will mean that the alarm went into service mode.

If your alarm remote control stops working, pay attention to this video:

Outcome

Despite the variety of existing manufacturers, models of car alarms, their maintenance and repair is almost the same. It is important to know where the Valet alarm service button is located in the vehicle. With its help, you can turn off the faulty alarm with your own hands. Therefore, it is important to know the features of the transition to the service mode of a particular model of the car security system.

An alarm is the most common means of protecting a car from intruders. Its work is controlled remotely using a remote control, which is commonly called a "key fob". As with any electronic system in a car, the alarm can malfunction. Problems with it begin unexpectedly, and when leaving home or work, the driver may find himself in a situation where the alarm does not respond to the key fob. In this case, the car will have to be opened with a key, but you need to figure out what the problem is, so as not to have problems with the alarm in the future.

Why the alarm does not respond to the key fob

Not a single master on the go will be able to name the exact reason because of which the alarm does not turn off when you press the corresponding button on the key fob. Possible causes will be listed below in order of prevalence, from most common to rare.

Key fob problems

The first thing to check is the keychain itself, since in most cases the problem is with it. Chances are good it has run out of batteries.

It is necessary to inspect the keychain. If it has a screen, you need to check if it lights up when you press the buttons. When there is no screen, you can look for a diode on the key fob, which is often installed to signal the driver about the lack of charge in the batteries installed in the remote control.

If you don't have new batteries on hand, you can use the common “charging” method. It is necessary to get the batteries out of the key fob and knock them a little against each other or on another solid object. After that, you need to correctly install the batteries back into the key fob and try to remove the alarm from the car.

The key fob itself, or rather the transmitter installed inside it, may fail. This problem occurs if you have repeatedly tried to transmit a signal by pressing a button on the remote control. For example, a button could be pressed spontaneously in a pocket. In this situation, you can try to remove the alarm from the spare remote control, if there is one.

The car battery is empty

The second most common problem, due to which it is impossible to remove the alarm with a key fob, is a dead or heavily discharged car battery. In such a situation, you can try to get closer to the car and press the button on the key fob. In some situations, this will remove the alarm, but with such a battery, the engine is unlikely to start.

Please note: This problem occurs frequently due to the carelessness of the drivers. Many drivers forget to turn off the lights when the engine is turned off and the car is parked. Because of this, the battery charge is completely spent on lighting, especially if you leave the car like this for several hours or days.

Radio interference

The signal of radio waves can be "jammed" for various reasons, and if the driver is in such an area, it will be difficult to remove the alarm. For example, radio waves are deliberately jammed near airports, military enterprises and important government facilities. You can check the radio waves on your mobile phone by looking at the connection quality and GPS performance.

To remove the alarm in such a situation, it is recommended to bring the key fob as close as possible to the signal receiver and try to transmit the command.

Lost communication between key fob and control unit

Due to a software failure, communication between the control device (key fob) and the signal receiver (alarm control unit) may be lost. In such a situation, the only way to fix the problem is to reprogram the bundle. To do this, it is necessary to turn off the alarm control unit in emergency mode (by pulling the wires out of it), and then synchronize it with the key fob. The driver can program the alarm key fob on his own, you just need to find a manual for a device of a specific manufacturer.

Important: In rare situations, the loss of communication between the alarm key fob and the control unit may be accompanied by the loss of software from the device memory. In this case, you will not be able to synchronize the remote control and the ECU on your own, since you will first need to restore the device firmware at the service center.

Problems with car electronics

If the car has faulty wiring or other electronic problems, this can affect even when the engine is off. For example, a voltage surge will occur in the alarm control unit, which will lead to its failure, as well as to serious wiring problems.

The alarm control unit itself may be faulty, which will disable the wiring. In this case, often before the failure, the driver can recognize that a trouble will soon happen. Signs of a malfunction of the control unit are its strange "behavior": the alarm goes off for no apparent reason, the system reacts incorrectly to commands from the remote control, some functions fail completely. If there is a suspicion that the control unit will soon fail, you need to send it to a service center for diagnostics.

What to do if the alarm does not respond to the key fob

Alarm triggering is accompanied by a loud sound, which must be turned off as soon as possible. If you open the door with a key, the sound will not disappear, but there are two effective ways to turn off the alarm in this case:

After the alarm can be turned off, you should go to the diagnostics to determine what the problem was.

Alarm goes off by itself

Another common problem that drivers have to face is alarms for no apparent reason. There are three main problems that lead to such alarm operation.

Failure of contacts

If the car is operated carelessly or in poor conditions (for example, with high humidity), the contacts of the buttons, from which the alarm is commanded, may oxidize. Most often this happens with buttons that hold the hood open or closed. The alarm can be triggered if it receives information due to corrosion of the contacts that the hood is opening. In such a situation, it is necessary to replace the limit switch.

Problems with door mechanisms

Sometimes a situation arises in which, by pressing the key fob, a notification appears that the car is unlocked, but in reality this is not the case. In this case, you need to check if the central locking works (you can do this by ear). If there are no problems with it, you need to check the fuses and, in extreme cases, the wiring. In cold weather, this situation can be observed due to freezing of mechanisms.

Incorrect sensor operation

Cars are crammed with sensors, and the alarm is guided by the readings of many of them. If the shock sensor is configured with increased sensitivity, the alarm will be triggered by itself constantly - from wind, falling foliage, air flow from a passing car, and so on. In this case, you need to adjust the shock sensor or others that can trigger the alarm.