a few alarm service questions

[richard s]

i have had the alarm service message come up on my dash this morning with a yellow triangle in the middle of the dash then nothing when i left work and then the message with a red triangle this evening but it goes off after about 10 seconds and when i press the read button it says no messages. i have seen loads of posts about this and they seem to suggest siren back up battery faulty resulting in a new siren unit. i have seen some posts suggesting you can get a battery from maplins that you can solder in to repair it yourself so has anyone done a guide as to how its done. also after the message clears from the dash if i press the read button it says no messages is this because power is going to the siren unit and does the car keep the fault logged in its memory until it is scanned witha code reader
cheers

[chiptivo]

The red triangle may be a red herring, you will get that with your door open and ignition on.

[richard s]

i have had a look at the triangle and message today and it has been yellow both times.
the battery from maplins for the siren has anyone done this or know of a guide to fitting

[60041]

You don't give the year of your car, but the alarm problem seems to appear after about 6 years on average, some much earlier, some later.
I received the same message as yours and ignored it for a year or so before changing the alarm siren (£95 from FRF) a few weeks ago. When I replaced mine, I cut open the old unit and found that the battery had leaked and the wires had dropped off; there was not any other damage, so it would be repairable but I have seen others where the leaking battery has corroded the circuit board and ruined it.
If you can do without the car for a day or two, or are prepared to remove the wing liner and then replace it before doing the whole job again a few days later, then the best thing would be to remove your old unit and cut it open along the welded joint and see what has happened. If it is just a new battery needed then take the old one to Maplins and match it up. Once replaced it would be a simple job to resolder the wires and stick the casing back together with some silicone and refit the unit. If you can't spare the time, can't be bothered or the old one is unuseable, then get a new kit from FRF.
Removal and replacement is easy, just remove the O/S/F wheel, drill out 3 pop rivets and one 10mm nut that hold the wheel arch liner in place, then pull it back to reveal the siren. Unbolt it from the car, the bolt will need a tap from a chisel to loosen it, then unplug the unit and remove it. Replacement is the opposite. The whole job took me less than a hour. You will need a 4mm drill, a pop rivet gun, a 10mm spanner and a small hammer and chisel.

[richard s]

car is a 2001 s60 so it would seem the message is well overdue
i need to keep the car mobile as its the only car we have on the road at present but i would rather try the battery 1st because £95 for a knackered battery in a little box just goes through me

[60041]

Originally Posted by richard s

car is a 2001 s60 so it would seem the message is well overdue
i need to keep the car mobile as its the only car we have on the road at present but i would rather try the battery 1st because £95 for a knackered battery in a little box just goes through me

There is nothing to stop you using the car like it is for quite a long time until you have more time to repair it, or you could take the alarm unit off and just refix the wheel arch liner and use the car while you take time to open up the unit and find a battery. You may be lucky and get away with a battery, but many units seem to have suffered from corrosion because of the leaking battery.
The battery on mine had started to leak and had corroded the wires and the tabs that they were soldered to; it had just started to cause problems with the circuit board but I have seen others that were a real mess and irrepairable - it just seems to be pot luck either way, you might be lucky.
In the attached pictures you can see that the area around the white plug and the coil is a bit of a mess, I did not bother checking if a new battery would fix it as I had already bought a new unit.
I don't have a Maplins catalogue to hand, but the battery is a 3 cell NiMh battery 25mm diameter and total length of 30mm if that is any help.

[richard s]

cheers mate
i will take it off tomorrow if it isnt raining and have a look. im hoping its not done too much damage as its only being puting the alarm service message on the dash for about a week

[richard s]

well i took the siren off and split it today to find one of the wires had come away from the battery and it had been leaking and the circuit board looked like it has had a fire on it where the battery plugs nto it. i went to maplins for their opinion on the board and they said it looked like the curcuits would be knackered and the smell wasnt too healthy either also they dont do the batteries. they do the same style of battery but they dont do ones with terminals. so its new siren time for me

[Rossi-fan]

Originally Posted by richard s

well i took the siren off and split it today to find one of the wires had come away from the battery and it had been leaking and the circuit board looked like it has had a fire on it where the battery plugs nto it. i went to maplins for their opinion on the board and they said it looked like the curcuits would be knackered and the smell wasnt too healthy either also they dont do the batteries. they do the same style of battery but they dont do ones with terminals. so its new siren time for me

Get a kit from Rufe, if i think back, he's cheaper than buying one from other volvo dealers. Its a straight swap over, no software needed.

[richard s]

i dont suppose anyone has the part number as you have to phone rufe now as he is too busy to deal with all the requests alone. i dont mind phoning but my gaffer gets arsey if you use the phones for personal use or go over on your breaks.