Other S60 Problem: Side effects of removing alarm fuse?

[ilmiont]

New to me 2005 MY S60 with the inevitable "Alarm System Service Required" but no symptoms (that I've seen!) yet.

Quoted about £400 by a Volvo independent for new alarm module + labour.

I'm tempted just to pull the siren fuse (#8 on mine) but although there are a lot of threads on this, I can't find anything which states with any certainty what else I'd lose.

1. Would the sunroof still work?
2. Would it prevent eventual battery drain by the alarm module?
3. Would the dying alarm module still be able to trigger the lights alarm?

I'm comfortable with the siren being disabled but I don't want to lose anything else, or still end up with it flashing the hazards unpredictably and so draining the battery. Is pulling the fuse just a temporary solution to stop the siren or do people keep it like this long-term?

Car's parked a bit away from the house so can't have the siren sounding spontaneously.

[Brendan W]

On our 03 car the fuse was F38 in the box at the end of the dash. Removig it isolated the siren and prevents possible main battery discharge. The only difference was no siren. Everything worked normally. There was an alarm service message at each start up and if you dug for codes there was a persistent P0004 iirc
The siren module should be about the £200 mark and access is easy enough through the wheel arch. You would need a dremel or similar to remove the tamper proof screw holding it on.
If you get in early enough the battery on the old module can be replaced by rechargeable batteries and you are good to go. Again you would need to be comfortable cutting it open and resealing but what have you got to lose. Too late and they have probably leaked over the board and ruined it. That said some boards have appeared ruined but still magically worked.
No sunroof so can't comment there. There is one easy way to find out

[jnmonaghan]

Same as Brendan says. I removed fuse 38 and it has no effect on the operation of the sunroof-- works OK
There might be car insurance implications.

Jude

[ilmiont]

Thanks both (My manual shows fuse 8 and I think it's because it's a facelift car).

I might pull it and just see what happens short-term. Like I said, there's no bad symptoms yet except the Alarm System Service Required message at every start; previous owner said it started happening about two months ago so perhaps I've still got a chance of the board being intact and being able to replace the battery.

Not got the resources to get it off the wheelarch myself though so likely still get a hefty labour charge when I take it in...

[oragex]

Facelift alarm fuse has a different location https://youtu.be/_5a5rHlRS8Q
This is perhaps the easiest way to install a new siren https://youtu.be/Wt1kp5HPgWc

[barrybritcher]

400 plus labour?

The part is only £165 jesus!!!!

[barrybritcher]

do not go through the wheel arch.

Take the front bumper off and the passenger light - bobs your uncle

10mm stubby ratchet spanner

[barrybritcher]

apologies, UK = drivers side

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mt7qGODnWwk

[ilmiont]

Originally Posted by barrybritcher

400 plus labour?

The part is only £165 jesus!!!!

Including labour; apologies that it wasn't clear in my post.

Thanks for the link, I'll take a look at that video...

[Deadloak]

Mind has just gone to Volvo's with the similar issue. The Assist guys ran the diagnostics, and found that the passenger door double lock failure, Siren permanent fault, and an ABS faults. They cleared all of them, eight in total. but on locking the car the alarm went of straight away, and the 1st 2 faults were back.

All this 1.5 months after a Volvo service. Not the first time things were not noted. Like the brake pads down to the metal, and needing new discs (£700+), 2 weeks after a major service. It doesn't fill you with confidence that they do a diligent job.