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Alarm Randomly Went Off

1K views 13 replies 5 participants last post by  dbrick 
#1 ·
Hi, I searched the forum but I am not sure I have the same issues I have read or not. My car is in the garage and my alarm just went off. I thought maybe the cats had gotten my keys and pressed the alarm by accident but they weren't moved. I went out to my car and unlocked it and opened and shut all the doors and locked it. I noticed I left the dome light on, could my car just have been telling me it was on and set the alarm off or was it just a coincidence? I also noticed the lights don't stay steady while my car is idling, they ever so slightly dim and brighten, is that normal? It's very faint.


2002 GLX ATQ 106,050 miles.
 
#2 ·
Have you checked your battery to see if it's loosing juice? A weak battery can bring out the electrical gremlins. The interior light may have put a drain on it when you left it on.

Lights dimming while the car is idling then getting brighter when you increase the idle is a good indication that you need to have have both the battery and alternator checked. Check to make sure the battery cables are tight and in good condition.
 
#3 ·
When I got the car I forget if it's the positive or negative cable, it has electrical tape wrapped around it like it was split open at one point. I'll take it for a battery and alternator test to see what they say. I *may* have trans fluid on the battery terminals/cables. Alternator and battery were replaced about 20 thousand miles ago.
 
#9 · (Edited)
There actually is no harm in hosing down the engine as long as you avoid parts like the altenator. I do it all the time. Me and my buddies who detail do it all the time, even my automotive teachers do it all the time in class and there has never been any ill effects. It's the really old stuff you have to be carefull with. Getting water in the engine is the problem not on it.
 
#10 ·
I can say for certainty that you do not want to get electrical connections wet nor get water down into the spark plug boots. If the connectors aren't water tight and water gets in there you can short something out. Same with the plug areas. If you don't extract the water thats collected in there you can get misfiring till it's dried out.

Not saying any of this will happen to everyone. Just saying that it happened to me with an 01 Passat. Albeit. That cars PO was very neglecting so the plug boots could have been worn out and there could have been some loose electrical connections that caused my issues. It was the 1st car that I ever had issues with when cleaning the engine.
 
#12 ·
I thought I posted, but I guess it didn't work. I sprayed simple green all over the battery terminals and such and let it soak and then hosed it down. I sprayed it on the engine too and hosed it down. Nothing bad at all happened. Im gonna do it again to get the cake caked on grease off. Nothing better to do right now lol. I'm gonna disconnect my battery and clean the terminals with the metal
Wire cleaner my step dad has.
 
#14 ·
Hosing down the battery won't do anything useful. But

I'm gonna disconnect my battery and clean the terminals with the metal
Wire cleaner my step dad has.
is an essential step to make sure the battery's full current can reach the rest of the car's electrical system. You'll also want to check that the big cables are in good shape internally; sometimes the cables corrode from the inside, and while they look OK from the outside, they do a poor job of conductance.

I'll add that a random alarm also could be caused by errors in the switch that senses and indicates whether the door is open or closed. Solder joints in these connections sometimes fail, resulting in erratic control signals and random alarm and locking behaviors. Read more here and here.
 
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