Car Alarms

[12DrinkMore]

I had a car alarm fitted to my new vehicle. They told me not to use the key to open the doors, only the remote control.

But I forgot and off went the dam_n alarm. Horn blaring and lights blinking.

I had to drive 20 kms through a largish town, along the main roads to get to the garage that fitted the alarm. Instead of being chased and stopped by police all that happened was that the vehicles in front pulled over to let me pass.

(at the garage I was shown the "secret" reset button and given instructions how to use it)

[bkkjames]

I had a car alarm fitted to my new vehicle. They told me not to use the key to open the doors, only the remote control.

But I forgot and off went the dam_n alarm. Horn blaring and lights blinking.

I had to drive 20 kms through a largish town, along the main roads to get to the garage that fitted the alarm. Instead of being chased and stopped by police all that happened was that the vehicles in front pulled over to let me pass.

(at the garage I was shown the "secret" reset button and given instructions how to use it)

Thanks for the tip! Might come in handy on Friday night in Bangers.

[RoyJones]

The police probaby thought that a thief wouldnt be dumb enough to still be driving the car when the alarm is going off.

Also why did you not turn the alarm off by the remote?? Sounds like a cheapo alarm system if you cant turn the thing off withong the remote lol. Are you sure this wasnt a dream instead of reality??

[Denim]

Its worse when they install an alarm with a hair trigger. Several cars in my gf's village jump into life in the middle of the night at the first onset of heavy rain, which is quiet often in the rainy season.

[mmushr00m]

Cant use your keys???

What if the battery on the remote runs out???

[MKAsok]

Its worse when they install an alarm with a hair trigger. Several cars in my gf's village jump into life in the middle of the night at the first onset of heavy rain, which is quiet often in the rainy season.

There's about 20 going off right now in the car park of my building. Crazy thunder storm going on outside. They are a real pain (car alarms, not thunder storms).

[bkkjames]

Its worse when they install an alarm with a hair trigger. Several cars in my gf's village jump into life in the middle of the night at the first onset of heavy rain, which is quiet often in the rainy season.

There's about 20 going off right now in the car park of my building. Crazy thunder storm going on outside. They are a real pain (car alarms, not thunder storms).

Just be thankful you don't live in Japan with their daily earthquakes to keep the car alarms on their toes.

[Kerryd]

Too many alarms are set too sensitive. Thunder sets them off, rumbling exhaust pipes set them off, almost any loud noise of any kind.

Even some little 125cc motos have these alarms. They can be tuned to be less sensitive (and annoying to everyone around), but most people can't be bothered.

It is especially annoying when they park somewhere, set the alarm, and go away for an hour or two (or more) and the alarm goes off for an eternity (so it seems).

[MKAsok]

Too many alarms are set too sensitive. Thunder sets them off, rumbling exhaust pipes set them off, almost any loud noise of any kind.

We used to use this as the 'gold standard' test for car stereos in London. If your car stereo was powerful enough (in terms of bass output), you could drive slowly down a street and set off every single car alarm that you passed.

[Beardog]

Cant use your keys???

What if the battery on the remote runs out???

If your remote is dead or unresponsive- You can open the door with a key , place the key to the on possition & hit the hidden kill switch to the alarm usually placed near your right knee(maybe left on right hand drive vehicles.)It should make a confirmation chirp.

Edited November 4, 2008 by Beardog

[JetsetBkk]

And this is why I fitted a switch under the bonnet (hood ) between the horn and the alarm box so I can turn off the horn manually if it goes off accidentally, e.g. if the pick-up's battery is disconnected/reconnected.

I still have to get to the "secret switch" (which everyone - especially a car thief - knows the location of) to reset the system, but at least I can do it in peace and quiet.

Edited November 4, 2008 by JetsetBkk

[yabaaaa]

Dunno if alarms are any use these days in modern cars now they just break into yuor house to steal the keys as the cars ar e near impossible to take without the keys, well in the UK dunno if Thai cars have the same level of protection?

[Kerryd]

I once had an anti-theft device (not an alarm, but an engine "kill" switch), which used a remote as well. As long as it was on, you couldn't start the engine.

Sure enough, I ended up in the mountains one day and accidentally killed my (car) battery using a plug-in cooler. Try as I might, with a dead car battery I couldn't deactivate the "kill" switch (and the place that installed it never mentioned a bypass of any kind). Even though it was a standard transmission, I couldn't even push start it.

Luckily dad was able to find a pair of jumper cables and we hooked up to his truck. Shortly after I had enough power to deactivate the switch and start the engine.

Lesson learned. Got rid of the cooler, and stopped using the kill switch, especially in remote areas.

[soundman]

Best anti theft device I ever had was on my first (old Toyota POS) car. A loose gearstick, you just pulled it out of the gearbox when you parked the car and hid it somewhere.

The car was never stolen.

[elkangorito]

Expensive car alarms are problematic & irritating (noisy). Get a good quality steering lock.

[basjke]

Something I don't understand.My yaris has an factory installed alarmsystem which works with remote control.However if you open the door with the key only it will deactivate the alarm also.Doesn't this mean that if a car thieve manage to open the door lock without the key,e.g. iron wire or something similar,that the alarm also will be deactivated?

[MasterOfDisaster]

Don’t know to much about alarm’s but im wiring up the door handles with 2 big battery’s voliting up the mettle rods I will install. Im hoping a police man will try and open the door. It going to be hilarious.

[yabaaaa]

Expensive car alarms are problematic & irritating (noisy). Get a good quality steering lock.

I thought most of these could be overcome in seconds??

[RoyJones]

Expensive car alarms are problematic & irritating (noisy). Get a good quality steering lock.

I thought most of these could be overcome in seconds??

They can, no steering lock can last more then 1 minute against a screw driver and a hammer. Most can be broken by pulling and pushing the middle of them for 10 or 20 seconds. There pretty much a waste of time

[johnsurin]

As someone stated earlier, it must be a cheapo alarm.

First off, alarms that activate the horn are a sign of a poor alarm as you only need to cut the cable to the horn to silence the alarm.

Secondly, if it was a good alarm it should have had an engine immobiliser on it, preventing you from starting the vehicle and driving it through a town.

To answer your question. The point of having a car alarm that does not prevent or at least make it difficult to steal the vehicle is entirely useless.

Hope this helps.

John.....