Alarm going off on Gen 4

[barrycoll]

Anybody any ideas on random alarm sounding (and loudly too!)

Only 5k miles, and everything shut properly, but only using the remote to open the car stops the alarm....have now left it unlocked

12v and fob Battery “should be OK”??

 

[barrycoll]

Actually, i have just plugged in my CTEK smart charger to the Battery, and it was showing

a level of 3, out of a top of 7....despite a 50 mile run yesterday.

?????????????????????

maybe it IS the Battery?

 

[kithmo]

You just got your post in before me there Barry. I was going to say, I'd check the 12v Battery first. Most alarms have an internal voltage drop sensor e.g. it goes off when a door is opened and the interior light causes a voltage drop. If the 12v is low, it may be going below the sensor's threshold and setting the alarm off. Also check that there are no other leakages on the Battery, interior lights (especially boot) or aftermarket fitments like permanent feed dash cams etc. If it's none of the above then the interior sensors are the next suspect.

[barrycoll]

Thanks Keith, and yes, the Battery has come back (overnight) to 7+ (FROM 3) on the CTEK and so far nO repeat of th alarm problem.

...but after a longish run on 2 successive days, it seems strange that the Battery is so low?

Is 50 miles not enough to bring a lowish Battery back up?

 

 

[barrycoll]

Just checked, and found that a phone was plugged into the 12v socket...but had always ‘assumed’ that this was not live when when car was snoozing quietly.....

wrong.......or right?

[PeteB]

Maybe there was a batch of weak batteries, or some were mistreated (i.e. left flat) during shipping.

Mine got very dodgy at about 6 months old with 7,000 on the clock.  Several times I had to jump start (luckily I keep a mini jump-starter in the seat-back pocket).  I didn't get the alarm issue, but on restarting I did get all sorts of warnings and systems unavailable until I'd restarted several times.

Fortunately, my excellent dealer replaced it under warranty and no problems since.

[PeteB]

2 minutes ago, barrycoll said:

Just checked, and found that a phone was plugged into the 12v socket...but had always ‘assumed’ that this was not live when when car was snoozing quietly.....

wrong.......or right?

Mine certainly goes off when the car does.

[furtula]

It should be off when the car is off. As for the Battery, it should recharge after 50 miles. Check the voltage after the car has been sitting for some time, to get an accurate reading.

As for the alarm, you can try this, but not sure if it will work.

Open your door, try to lock the doors using the button next to door handle. Close your door, should be locked. If it works, alarm should not be armed.

[Heidfirst]

or if you lock the door with the mechanical key the alarm should not be set.

[kithmo]

Another thing to try if it re-occurs is to turn off the interior theft sensor, this will eliminate that as the fault if the alarm goes off again.

[PeteB]

5 hours ago, Heidfirst said:

or if you lock the door with the mechanical key the alarm should not be set.

You can also press the lock button on the driver's door armrest, then shut the door while holding the outside handle outwards, making sure the key is not in the car.  This will also lock the car without deadlocks or alarm.

[Joseph D]

16 hours ago, barrycoll said:

Is 50 miles (80.47km) not enough to bring a lowish battery back up?

It depends on how flat the Battery is, but if it is so flat that there are issues, then no, a 50 mile run is nowhere long enough.

A completely flat Battery would take a drive of 16 - 20 hours to fully recharge.

It is because of this behaviour, I regularly am using my CTEK (MXS 5.0) on our Prius. In fact, it is on the charger as I type this, as has been, for the last few days (this charger goes to maintenance mode automatically), as the car is not being driven regularly at the moment.

If you are not driving your car daily for at least 20 - 30 mins duration, and you have an automatic multi-stage battery charger (with AGM setting) then my advice is to use the charger regularly rather than just have it sitting in the shelf looking pretty.

[barrycoll]

Dear furtula didn’t mention holding the door handle OPEN to negate the alarm Pete, but I am sure your advice is water tight.

however, does the alarm re set itself, if the a keyless lock is subsequently performed??

or is the alarm permanently disabled?

perhaps Scott’s mechanical key is needed for a proper Off Switch?

an alarm seems a real waste of time these days, as despite making a hell of a racket for quite some time, nobody showed any interest (except me, that is)

 

but basically, as I have a current CTEK, and a driveway, and the car is only used to take bikes out into the country,  and the IQ is used around town, then Joseph’s  proper maintenance plug in, seems the best advice

[Mike169]

On ‎6‎/‎19‎/‎2018 at 12:53 PM, barrycoll said:

Thanks Keith, and yes, the battery has come back (overnight) to 7+ (FROM 3) on the CTEK and so far nO repeat of th alarm problem.

...but after a longish run on 2 successive days, it seems strange that the battery is so low?

Is 50 miles not enough to bring a lowish battery back up?

 

 

Hi Barry.

Re Battery recharging time, each time you start your car it takes approx. 30 mins to put the same amount of current back into the Battery also if it is fairly flat it can literally take hours to put a good capacity back into the Battery. If you do lots of short runs if it is possible for you access wise, where you park etc you need to charge your battery on a regular basis and if you are keen enough say every Sunday for the day or if you have a garage with 240v power then each Saturday night until the morning to be battery charge trouble free.

Mike.

[kithmo]

2 hours ago, Mike169 said:

Hi Barry.

Re battery recharging time, each time you start your car it takes approx. 30 mins to put the same amount of current back into the battery also if it is fairly flat it can literally take hours to put a good capacity back into the battery. If you do lots of short runs if it is possible for you access wise, where you park etc you need to charge your battery on a regular basis and if you are keen enough say every Sunday for the day or if you have a garage with 240v power then each Saturday night until the morning to be battery charge trouble free.

Mike.

The 30 minute thing may be true for a non hybrid where the starter motor takes quite a chunk out of the Battery but for the Prius, the 12v just boots up the computers and throws the relay across to connect the HV Battery, very little power is taken out of the Battery for that. The HV battery does tend to charge the 12v very slowly, unlike an alternator on a non hybrid, but it should regain the level it was at in around 10 minutes. If the 12v battery was low to start with then to fully charge it would take longer. I do agree that if the car is not used often then it is a good idea to condition the 12v every so often, I do mine once a month or so.

[PeteB]

3 hours ago, kithmo said:

... for the Prius, the 12v just boots up the computers and throws the relay across to connect the HV battery, very little power is taken out of the battery for that...

Don't forget there's also the compressor for the brake hydraulics and one or two other little electric motors that energise before you even try to start the car.  What you say still holds good as these draw nothing like the current of a conventional starter motor.

When my 12V Battery was giving out when the car was 6 months old, it was the attempt to pressurise the brakes that defeated it, as it couldn't complete, which meant it was continually trying and not giving the Battery a chance to recover just enough to get to READY.