stiscooby

I have a Clifford 300 alarm, which was on my scoob when I got it, and now every so often I have a problem with it.

If for example I have been washing my car (car is unlocked) and once I have finished I go to lock/alarm it I get a different tone from the alarm (I would normally get two bleeps). If I leave it locked a little while later the alarm will go off.
If I drive it about for a while then come back & lock it it then locks as normal and is fine.

As this has only been happening after I have washed it I thought maybe water is getting into a sensor or something but last weekend it was parked out side over night (normally in garage) and in the morning the car was wet with moisture/rain and the alarm went off again & I hadn’t even been out to my car & then went off another 3 times and again wouldn’t sound the normal alarm tones when locking it until I had driven it for a while.

So after all that, can any one tell me if my alarm is on its way out or can it be a sensor or something? Also how long is the warranty on a Clifford alarm?

Thanks for any help


[Edited by stiscooby - 10/31/2002 4:59:33 PM]

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

Very simple one to sort out
Its basically water getting onto the bonnet sensor, what happens is that the heat melts the grease thats protecting it, then when the water gets on it it acts like a conductor and thus setting the alarm off because it thinks there has been a breach on security on that part of the car
You just need to re grease the bonnet sensor, this should sort it out (should say to use a slightly more heat resistant grease so it doesnt do it again )

Tony

stiscooby

ok, thanks very much will give it a go

doctor CLIFFORD

FAO Tony
Do you fit vehicle security because you seem to know your stuff!
I need a mobile fitter to cover from Stoke to manchester!!!
Do you fancy a job????
Mail me if interested?
Cheers Doc

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

Doc,
no i dont fit alarms but the guy who fitted mine is very good and ownes his own company (even though he is a one man band) and hes also mobile and has a fixed base of operations but i dont know if he'll go working for anyone else as he seems to be doing very well on his own

Tony

PS did i mention hes very helpful?

Max the Clifford dealer

One tip for the eternal 'water on the bonnet switch' query:

Each alarm I prepare for installation gets a 1K ohm pullup resitor on the bonnet switch input. As a bonnet switch switches to ground, and usually it's input is a FET style input on a chip which means something as minor as a drip of water can conduct enough electricity to make the alarm think that input is grounded, a 1K resistor obviously has far less resistance than water and keeps that input 'pulled up' to 12V until the bonnet switch contacts genuinely switch to ground. Plus the switch should still be installed somewhere less prone to water ingress.

This method can also be easily retro-applied to a 'problem' car.

Harry_Boy

Hi Max,

Wondered how long it would be before you cam up with the scientific solution

PS. Mine's still perfect - another job well done, Max!

Max the Clifford dealer

Harry boy, by the way has yours been in for nearly 12 months yet? I forget with having had so many Scoobs in since. I've given up sending people reminders about their annual inspection/service a few years ago now, hoping they remember to get back in touch themselves. It's not mandatory, but well worth it, and one or two of the clued up insurers are asking to see proof of Cat. 1's being serviced annually. In fact, proof that they are still there each year and haven't been removed for some reason!

mccltd

Blimey seems to be some installers on here that know their stuff.
I used to work for Clifford Electronics and train installers, but hey they were not as intelligent as these guys.

Keep up the good work, it's about time there were descent engineers out there and not the people who look at a relay and wonder what it is.( & I trained plenty of them to, well tried to)

[Edited by mccltd - 11/13/2002 10:33:26 PM]

doctor CLIFFORD

you know when you used to train them in ELCETRONICS did you teach them to spell as well!!!!

mccltd

Spell,
hmmmmm, now that was the easy bit but trying to tell them which way round a diode went( or should I say 'what a diode was'),now this was the difficult bit
The real average percentage of people passing after a days course was approx 25%, but had to be a bit friendly and try and raise that to 75% otherwise we would have had no dealers.
It was scary reading them test papers though, alot of the time it did make you laugh, exspecially when looking at the relay diagrams for central locking driving a servo.(Scary very scary, hope they use fuses)

Dave.


[Edited by mccltd - 11/13/2002 10:34:04 PM]

Max the Clifford dealer

mccltd, I've been with Clifford for coming on nine years now, but I've never heard of anyone other than Paul Bonner (ex-Clifford tech guru with the 80's hairstyle, moved on/pushed out about '96 or so) and Sean, the current head of Clifford Tech who ever did any training. Mind you, the last seminar I went to was the G4 launch at Granada Studios (-:, and that wasn't training. If you were there back in the days when Mr. Bonner and Mr. Rowntree were the inseparable duo, it would be good to have a chat with you, as there doesn't seem to be anyone left from that era, other than John Tromans.

mccltd

I was there around 4 years ago under Sean, with Olly and Chris the repair guy.
I set up the Robofax system, took me bloody ages and got no credit for it.
Anyway got fed up with all the travelling, loved the job and the Clifford team was well cool.
Still got me Blue Jacket to remind me of the days.
Anyhow run my own Computer Trade supplies company now and enjot that more.

doctor CLIFFORD

I went to that thing as granada studios it was a bit crap apart from the free beer at the end
What was that wizard on about????

Max the Clifford dealer

Yeah, I remember the Wizard too. Rather cheesy, I know. Mccltd, at least you've still got your jacket to remind you of the good ol' times. That autofax system works well, even before you were there too I think, although if you've tweeked it somewhat, it's still very good, although some of the data they enter on it is a bit vague and unreliable. Still, what they do with it isn't your doing (-: . Glad to hear you're doing well though, still with your Clifford jacket. I've worn through several over the years and even my nephew has one of the 'limited' blue jackets. The fairer half is fed up with me as the only clothes I have seem to say Clifford on them (-:

mccltd

Rather cheesy yes, but cost a bloody fortune.
They always liked to do it differently.
Anyway if anyone needs any computer equipment visit my webshop:
www.medwaycomputers.co.uk.
Always willing to help and keeping down the prices.

Dave.

Max the Clifford dealer

Will have to check your site out as I might be needing some bits in the near future