Rex93

I have a MY00 with Sigma M30 alarm fitted, recently had an `idiot` drive into the front of it whilst it was parked on my driveway! the damage to my car was a dented front bumper and a dented bonnet, problem is it did`nt set the alarm off, is there a way that the sensitivity can be set a little higher? i have got the security system operating instructions but theres no mention in there.

thanks in advance

wannaB4

The alarm has no shock sensor, it uses pin switches for doors etc and ultra sonics for the interior. If you want it to trigger with an impact you will need to have a shock sensor fitted. I would suggest against it, they are generally not a worthwhile sensor for protection against break in vs false alarms. Although it could be set to be of use in the situation you've had.

Sigma Sam

Although a shock sensor could be added to trigger the Sigma system, I would agree with wannaB4 that shock sensors can often be troublesome if not set up correctly - triggering when large vehicles etc pass close by creating vibrations.

I am surprised, however, that the impact you describe did not trigger the system via the ultrasonic sensors. Although designed to provide volumetric interior protection by monitoring air movement, due to the way the ultrasonic sensors operate on the Sigma system, such an impact should create enough air movement within the cabin to trigger the alarm system.

It may be that the ultrasonic settivity is set too low on your vehicle.
Keying in the following sequence through the systems keypad will set the sensitivity to the recommended setting for an Impreza/Forester:

- Arm then disarm the system.
- type: *17856*20*55#

When using the keypad always observe the following points:
- The digits should not be entered too quickly or too slowly - when a digit has been pressed the small LED built into the keypad will illuminate briefly as confirmation and only then should the next digit be entered.
- If an incorrect digit is pressed or the delay between entering digits exceeds10 seconds, then the LED above the keypad will flash rapidly and the PIN attempt should be abborted and started again after 30 seconds.
- Due to the small size of the keypad some users may find a rubber tipped pencil easier to use. DO NOT use the sharp tip of a ball point pen etc, or press excessively hard on the keypad as this will only damage the membrane and cause a digit to remain pressed, causing a continual incorrect PIN attempt leading to keypad lockout for 30 minutes.

Obviously once the ultrasonic sensitivity has been adjusted it will be difficult to test/confirm if the adjustment will now cover such an impact without replicating the accident - in my experience though it should.

SS

evolutionice.com

If you have only the above 2 options then i would go for the shock sensor. Raising the level of the ultrasonics to pick up impacts will result in more false alarms than you can shake a stick at.

DEI make some pretty good impact sensors that could be interfaced into the standard system.

Rex93

Thanks for the replies so far,

sigma Sam,
I was surprised that the alarm was not set off by the impact too! I have been looking on the net and found the coding to turn the ultrasonic sensors up, as you posted earlier. The only difference being that you suggest the setting to be 55 and they suggest 15 ? am I right in thinking that the 1 - 99 setting is 99 lowest sensitivity and 1 the highest sensitivity?

as a quiery should you be able to set the alarm off by rocking the car sufficiently for the ultrasonics to detect movement? I have sat in the car and set the alarm and waited to fully arm and then moved my head and the alarm sounded almost straight away ! so the ultrasonics seem to work. But I can rock the car alot and not set it off.

If I do decide to add another sensor to the alarm what would you suggest being the best route to go? and will they be plug and play? oh and where do I get them?

evolution, wannaB4

I know adding extras may cause false alarms but, I am now becoming paranoid about what goes on around the car without giving any warning, ie having the valve caps knicked from the car and front badge taken!? I was lucky that the idiot that drove into mine was seen and caught, it could have been that I just awoke the next morning to find the damage to the front of the car ! and then `blame the wife` ha ha I personally feel that if the alrms set up right with the extras added, false alarms should be minimal, after all the Sigma is a pretty decent alarm.

Sigma Sam

Yes you're right in thinking that 99 is the lowest sensitivity and 1 would be the highest - think of this value as a threshold
The ultrasonic system on the Sigma alarm is unusual to other systems as it also monitors the number of times that the threshold is exceeded in a timed period before activating a trigger - this allows the sensitivity to be increased without the usual occurance of false alarms, hence my suggestion of the setting in the post above would provide a trigger with the impact you describe (due to the large degree of sudden air movement) without causing you false alarms the rest of the time - as evolution suggested you would have. This is also the reason that rocking the car does not trigger them put breaking a window would.

The best real world test is to bang on a window with all the windows up and the alarm armed for 30+ seconds - the dashboard LED should latch on for a second (indicating that the degree of air movement has exceeded the threshold, but did not occur in sufficient quantity to cause a trigger). Then bang on the window 6 or 7 times in very quick succesion the LED should latch with the first impact as before but remain lit through the remaining bangs and trigger the system.
Due to the complex nature of the sonics you do really need a full understanding of the system to set it up correctly - this makes testing the sonics yourself any other way difficult.
Remember that unlike most systems, the sensors are inactive during the first 15 seconds of arming the system (dim LED flash rate), then 15-30 seconds into the armed period (bright LED) they monitor the interior of the car for any background movement that exceeds the set threshold. If this is detected (indicated by the LED latching on for a second) the system will automatically increase the threshold accordingly to prevent false triggers.
Due to this, setting the ultrasonic sensitivity too high in the first place (such as the default setting of 15) may cause the sensors to detect air movement in the 15-30 second period, causing the system to increase the threshold.

Possibly a little indepth I know - try the setting I suggested before (55) and the window test above - if it works as described this is the optimum setting.!

For the other issues you mention, nicked badge etc I would recommend a microwave sensor which can be wired through a buzzer to warn away "no goods" when they get too close without actually triggering the system whenever the neighbours walk close by.

SS

wannaB4

The Sigma is a good alarm, but adding crappy shock sensors to it is not going to make a crap sensor good. If you want that kind of sensor then I would use a Clifford Dual-Zone Omni sensor
( http://www.clifford.com/g5/access/de...asp#omnisensor ) which is probably the best shock sensor around. If your worried about valve caps being nicked then look at putting a dual zone prox on, although this may not work particularly well as it will not sense through metal. If you do get a prox put on then dont get it wired in using the Sigma DZP input as the sound for the outer warning is next to useless (sorry Sam)

evolutionice.com

The omni sensor is digital so it only works with Clifford systems. It is made and sold by DEI who also sell other, more suitable and certainly not crap, shock sensors.