Car alarm chaos

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shiney
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Car alarm chaos

Post by shiney »

Hi
Citroen xantia 1.9TD T reg
The alarm is going off intermitently and drivng me nuts, I think it may be the wind.
Does anyone know h
if the sensitivity of the alarm can be altered?
Had to get up ttwice last night with it
Ta
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Kowalski
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Post by Kowalski »

My alarm goes off intermittently too, mine's a 97 Xantia TD. Disabling the interior sensors stops the alarm from going off.
To disable the interior sensors you press and hold (for 2 seconds) the alarm button on the dash (to the right of the steering wheel) before locking the car with the remote.
Does anybody know where the alarm ECU lives where it's earths are etc?
Dave Burns
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Post by Dave Burns »

The alarm ECU is under the carpet, under the passenger front seat (UK spec).
I use to disable the ultrasonics for the same reason, but lately its been going off even when this is done, I don't think the sensetivity is adjustable.
Dave
blueboy2001
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Post by blueboy2001 »

The best thing you can do with a Xantia alarm is turn it off completely using the keyswitch on the scuttle panel.
That way you get the flashing led which will put 90% of people off breaking in as they will think it's alarmed, but you don't have to get up in the middle of the night when the damn thing goes off!
David Goddard
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Post by David Goddard »

Newer Xantia's don't have a key operated switch.
I gave up on my alarm and fixed it by disconnecting the alarm ECU. As said above, it's under the carpet (front passenger side). The seat has to be unbolted to gain access. There are two multi pin connectors - remove both. There may be a couple of single core cables. These are left disconnected. I never found out what they are for, but if you connect them, the alarm goes off, but at a much reduced volume. Perhaps it was used for commissioning reasons?
Richard Gallagher
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Post by Richard Gallagher »

I had the alarm going off on my 1998 MK 1 Xantia, which I solved by getting a couple of sensors from the breakers together with the ECU for the princly sum of £5. As luck would have it I changed the drivers door sensor first then tried it and hurrah its worked correctly ever since.
Kered
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Post by Kered »

The alarm in my Xantia started going off for no apparent reason until one day a large spider descended from behind the drivers sun visor!![:0]
I had taken some garden waste down the tip 2 weeks before and the blighter must have been amongst the clippings and escaped. I guess it was large enough for the ultrasonics to see!
Derek
Diagsys
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Post by Diagsys »

if you get a new set of ultrasonic sensors they can be replaced in under an hour for both sides and i've found that this cures the problem 99% of the time. Just don't go to the bother of routing the cables allthe way back to the ecu, instead cut and join the cables just behind the sensors. Saves a LOT of time!
wheeler
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Post by wheeler »

don't the xantia sensors have a plug behind the door panel ? so no need to disconect at the ECU end.
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Kowalski
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Post by Kowalski »

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Diagsys</i>

if you get a new set of ultrasonic sensors they can be replaced in under an hour for both sides and i've found that this cures the problem 99% of the time. Just don't go to the bother of routing the cables allthe way back to the ecu, instead cut and join the cables just behind the sensors. Saves a LOT of time!
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
How much do the sensors cost and do you know what their part numbers are?
Dave Burns
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Post by Dave Burns »

Yes plugs are there so don't go hacking anything, leave that to citroen mechanics[:D]
They will set you back some £28 odd, well thats what they set me back a year or so ago, must have cured it for all of two months[:(]
One is a transmitter and the other one is reciever, they have differing plugs so they can't be installed incorrectly, unless you're a citroen mechanic in which case anything seems possible[:0]
Dave
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Kowalski
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Post by Kowalski »

If they only cured it for two months perhaps it wasn't the sensors as such but the fact that you disturbed the wiring i.e. unplugging and plugging the plugs.
Is that £28 for the pair or £28 each?
Dave Burns
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Post by Dave Burns »

That was the approx. price for the pair.
The alarm (mine anyway) can still go off when the sensors are disabled so one would think their wiring doesn't come in to it, could be wrong though.
When you have gone out to it a few times in the early hours you get a bit cheesed off, then the easey option is to simply leave it off rather than go buggering about taking the seat out and what have you.
Dave
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Kowalski
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Ex 97 Xantia 1.9TD SX 144k
Ex 94 Xantia Dimension 1.9TD 199k

Post by Kowalski »

My current Xantia is relatively new and shiny at the minute and I'm trying to get all of it's little faults sorted out so that it's "perfect".
I do agree that not setting the alarm is a possible solution to the car alarm problem, but I still want the deadlocks set and I can't set them remotely without setting the alarm as well, hence disabling the sensors.
My alarm doesn't go off if the interior sensors are disabled so that is why I think they are responsible for the problems.
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davek-uk
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Post by davek-uk »

It's just a thought (and you can shoot me down in flames as I haven't a clue what I'm talking about) but the handbook says the alarm senses the cabin pressure. This could be changed I'd imagine by wind blowing around the heater air intake - if the system was too sensitive it may be enough to set it off. Would it be worth trying the alarm with the heater fresh air/recycle switch set to recycle?
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