somean49

My autosparks pulled the fuse on the siren yesterday. But unhappily that left the hazards running. He doesn't have equipment to check out the entire system so bypassing that siren-hazards circuit couldn't be achieved. Given the age of the car and of this driver I am reluctant to fork out for a new siren unit. Does anyone on this Forum have any suggestions for stopping the alarm related hazards flashing without compromising their safety/MOT use?

Thanks for that. Quite encouraging because, although I live in S London, I suspect most vehicles which are 'alf-inched' for joyriding are BMW or the like

👍

I abbreviated the sequence of events as the greatest problem arose when the alarm siren went off during the night. But other glitches had occurred. For some weeks fob#1 had been showing reluctance to open the doors cleanly, needing a second press sometimes. One one occasion all four windows opened as if I had kept constant pressure on the unlock button. I had not. I got into the habit of unlocking the doors at night by fob#1 then relocking with the key in the driver's door. This was mostly successful at keeping the alarm silent. Leaving the vehicle unlocked also kept the alarm silent (of course?). These things had led me to blame the fob#1. During these weeks I had checked the fob#1 battery, good at 2.9V. And I did not know that the alarm had its own power source. My auto sparks disconnected the interior alarm to establish whether that might have been the source of my neighbours' and my misery. The continuing siren soundings showed it had not been implicated. It is now reconnected. The 12v battery had been disconnected until just before the autospark's last visit. As soon as I reconnected it, the siren sounded. It continued with the key in the ignition. It remained sounding when the engine was started. The use of fob#2 appeared to stop the phantom siren soundings. But these have occurred once since the change-over.

That is quite true and alarming (no pun intended)

Thanks to all the correspondents so far. I think I shall follow-up on Alasdair's suggestion first before engaging in slightly bizarre tests on the alarm battery itself, mainly because that unit is 'hidden' somewhere in a wheel arch amid 16 years of filth.

Thank you Warrior183.

Octy 2 1.4TSI ESTATE CAXA Quite uncertain where to enter this question. The keyfob#1 has started to cause serious problems with the car alarm system. So far keyfob#2 is working with no problem. Car alarm starting randomly and only disconnecting the battery helped. Yesterday the alarm kept sounding/flashing even when the engine was running - undrivable. Is there a home cure whereby I can remap/reset the key fob? My very helpful auto sparks is unable to help

thanks Alasdair, I shall scout around

During routine maintenance I saw a 'star' crack in a door mirror shell suggesting an impact by a small object. What type of plastic would it be?

The wheels et cetera are original so presumably the old style roundel would be more appropriate.

Very kind to have followed up on my belated report. Much useful info. I have had the car cleaned by a very thorough group of Kurdish blokes locally ; it no longer looks as if I have been growing potatoes in it. It looks so smart I have been trying to find a wheel centre roundel to complete the look. Any idea? Incidentally the MOT station I have used for 40 years is the local council (which can't risk skimping) : their oil is Morris's delivered in bulk. Might try it?

Sorry to have appeared to ignore your enquiry. Initially I tried to find the offending filter but I must've chucked it. I do know that it wasn't Crosland. (Having bought an air filter in that brand and researched the brand I now never buy Crosland. I suspect your question is prompted by the strong suspicion that Crosland are rubbish trading on an historical name) Then Christmas intervened. I have checked the Halfords website to find their recommended oil filter is a Bosch. So it must have been a dud I bought. To finish the saga here I should say that surprisingly the oil alarm is triggered by too low a pressure not too high. My Foxwell code reader is happy : another drain using my siphon/pump toy, a new Blueprint filter obtained from the most reputable independent in Croydon, a measured fill of Castrol GTX, assiduous attention to the dipstick and off I set with a brand new battery installed. I have now stopped praying to the automotive deities and all is well. Fears for my tyres having suffered from months of inactivity were unfounded as the MOT tester saw no cracks etc yesterday.

Thanks for following this up so swiftly. I feel I should report that the dud filter was bought in Halfords together with the oil.

Hi all I thought I should finish off this thread I started. Months have gone by and I have only just managed to correct faults and resurrect my car ^First I must thank my mechanic friend who suffered a fierce trauma when his motor was written off in September leaving him unhurt but very badly shaken ^ ; secondly I should thank my local hospital who dealt with the consequences to me of a bad fall. Now I am mobile but more disabled. Initially it appears the cause of the oil warning alarm going off was the absence of any oil circulating because of a dud oil filter. When removed this had never seen a single drop of oil: it was as clean as if just removed from the box. The lubrication system was seriously over-filled. About 6 litres - incredibly - have been drained from the engine. But the cause of the alarm going off was the absence of any circulation of oil! A replacement oil filter stopped the warnings despite the engine apparently being grossly overfilled.

So yes, 1.4 TSI. As it's ULEZ compliant and I live in and mostly drive in London I would prefer to keep it on the road for as long as possible.

So I believe. The paperwork if I could find it would confirm it. I now have the VIN which should do so I think. Taken from the dashboard at Breezy Pete's suggestion : TMBGJ21Z6A2108116

Cheers nta. The paper is always at risk with my cooking skills. As soon as weather permits, my mech mate says, he will crawl about underneath to complete what he hasn't finished. Then he and I can take it from there. And thanks to Breezy Pete. It's extraordinary what one forgets. There was the VIN staring at me. Perhaps I should clean the car more often.

While searching without success for the VIN (online as well as in an extremely disorganised 'Steptoe & Son' heap of documents) I found this plate under the bonnet to add to my worries:

Which tool I luckily have from my earlier incarnation as an inveterate fiddler.

Well worth watching, thank you. And the advice is welcome too

You are definitely correct about the stress. To ensure my family had the outing I had promised them for the wife's birthday I had to hire a car. A Merc CLA automatic. Not terribly comfortable for a car of that (supposed) quality. And bloody expensive to hire.

Reg is: SL10 GDU

I have wanted to do that for the past few days but I am unwilling to risk damaging the car further by driving it. My mechanic friend works a short walk away and should be willing to do this work - at price of course.