Alarm keeps going off!

[Felipe2105]

So, it's 3am and my car alarm has gone off 3 times tonight, waking me up (not in a nice way!). There's nobody around so is there a reason for this? 

Also, considering its the middle of the night is there anyway I can just lock my car but not activate the alarm?! I need a quick fix. 

It's a 2014 focus mk3 (pre face-lift) 

[alexp999]

Probably a faulty sensors a Ford dealer will be able to plug the car in and read the alarm log to find out what's causing it.

Unfortunately security systems are restricted so you can't read it with a normal code reader or forscan that I know of.

[Comares2001]

5 hours ago, Felipe2105 said:

So, it's 3am and my car alarm has gone off 3 times tonight, waking me up (not in a nice way!). There's nobody around so is there a reason for this? 

Also, considering its the middle of the night is there anyway I can just lock my car but not activate the alarm?! I need a quick fix. 

It's a 2014 focus mk3 (pre face-lift) 

Perimeter alarm is automatically activated  as soon as car is locked so no way to deactivate. Only thing you can turn off are interior sensors ( if fitted) via settings menu. As already suggested sounds like sensor fault.

[Felipe2105]

1 hour ago, alexp999 said:

Probably a faulty sensors a Ford dealer will be able to plug the car in and read the alarm log to find out what's causing it.

Unfortunately security systems are restricted so you can't read it with a normal code reader or forscan that I know of.

Yeah, my bluefin diagnostic didnt' show anything up, so i'm guessing it's a trip to ford...sadly

 

17 minutes ago, Comares2001 said:

Perimeter alarm is automatically activated  as soon as car is locked so no way to deactivate. Only thing you can turn off are interior sensors ( if fitted) via settings menu. As already suggested sounds like sensor fault.

Thanks, i've disabled this now so fingers crossed it's just an internal sensor that's playing up. I need some sleep!!

[Tizer]

1 hour ago, alexp999 said:

so you can't read it with a normal code reader or forscan that I know of.

I don't know about the MK3, but you can view the last 4 Alarm Events with FORScan on the MK2.5 and see whether the perimeter sensors are showing as open or closed. This may have changed for the MK3.

I had the same problem with my MK2.5 and it was the passenger door sensor that was faulty. I followed some advice I found on YouTube and flooded the door sensor with WD40 everyday for a few weeks and the problem never came back.

[pragmatix]

Faulty bonnet catch is often the cause, you can just connect the two wires together to bypass the sensor.

[Felipe2105]

On 10/23/2019 at 9:17 AM, Tizer said:

I don't know about the MK3, but you can view the last 4 Alarm Events with FORScan on the MK2.5 and see whether the perimeter sensors are showing as open or closed. This may have changed for the MK3.

I had the same problem with my MK2.5 and it was the passenger door sensor that was faulty. I followed some advice I found on YouTube and flooded the door sensor with WD40 everyday for a few weeks and the problem never came back.

i've got a the forscan software now as well as a relevant ecu adaptor. What tests do i need to do to check the alarm logs? There's so much on here!

[Tizer]

There are some instructions on the FORScan website under the Documentation heading, but they are a bit out of date and not that easy to understand.

I normally use the Android version but the Windows version works on the same principles. You need to connect to your car first then open the Dashboard, then set up Gauges.

The Alarm ones should be in the BCM or GEM Module, although in the newer versions of FORScan you can read PID's from all modules although there will be so many that it will take you ages to find the relevant ones, but there is a search function. 

Once you open the module you can scroll down and tick the ones you want, then press Start and the information you need should be there.

As well as the Alarm PID's you should be able to check the status of the door/bonnet/tailgate switches and there may be further information but it is a long time since I have had to check for alarm problems that I can't remember.

[Felipe2105]

50 minutes ago, Tizer said:

There are some instructions on the FORScan website under the Documentation heading, but they are a bit out of date and not that easy to understand.

I normally use the Android version but the Windows version works on the same principles. You need to connect to your car first then open the Dashboard, then set up Gauges.

The Alarm ones should be in the BCM or GEM Module, although in the newer versions of FORScan you can read PID's from all modules although there will be so many that it will take you ages to find the relevant ones, but there is a search function. 

Once you open the module you can scroll down and tick the ones you want, then press Start and the information you need should be there.

As well as the Alarm PID's you should be able to check the status of the door/bonnet/tailgate switches and there may be further information but it is a long time since I have had to check for alarm problems that I can't remember.

Wow, you're a legend. Instructions were bang on! It was the 'hood ajar' that's set the alarm off the last 5 times! All other sensors seem fine. Looks like I know what the problem is!! 

Thanks for the detailed answer, much appreciated! 

Just need to research how to sort it now but I think I've seen others with the same issue. 

[Tizer]

4 minutes ago, Felipe2105 said:

Wow, you're a legend. Instructions were bang on! It was the 'hood ajar' that's set the alarm off the last 5 times! All other sensors seem fine. Looks like I know what the problem is!! 

Thanks for the detailed answer, much appreciated! 

Just need to research how to sort it now but I think I've seen others with the same issue.

That's good news, FORScan is awesome. Assuming that it is the switch in the Latch, the Electrical connectors should be easily accessible and you should be able to do a temporary fix by bridging them with a Paperclip, but you need to tape them up so that they do not short out on the bodywork and they will not trigger the alarm if someone opens your Bonnet.

You should be able to get a new aftermarket Bonnet Latch complete with the Alarm contacts quite cheaply on eBay,  just remember to mark the position of the old one so that the new one lines up.

 

[Felipe2105]

2 minutes ago, Tizer said:

That's good news, FORScan is awesome. Assuming that it is the switch in the Latch, the Electrical connectors should be easily accessible and you should be able to do a temporary fix by bridging them with a Paperclip, but you need to tape them up so that they do not short out on the bodywork and they will not trigger the alarm if someone opens your Bonnet.

You should be able to get a new aftermarket Bonnet Latch complete with the Alarm contacts quite cheaply on eBay,  just remember to mark the position of the old one so that the new one lines up.

 

Cracking, thanks! The wires are easily accessible so that's a good start. Without sounding like a complete noob what are the next steps to bridging it with a paperclip. I assume you cut the wires then tape them up, where does the paperclip go though?

Thanks again for your help. In case you hadn't guessed, i'm not great at this stuff 🙂

[Tizer]

4 minutes ago, Felipe2105 said:

Cracking, thanks! The wires are easily accessible so that's a good start. Without sounding like a complete noob what are the next steps to bridging it with a paperclip. I assume you cut the wires then tape them up, where does the paperclip go though?

I wouldn't cut the wires, you will need them if you have to replace the Latch. The connectors are normally  spade shaped and you just need to make sure that they are in contact with each other electrically, so press the paperclip into both connectors so that they complete the circuit. 

[Dan wolf]

On 10/23/2019 at 3:02 AM, Felipe2105 said:

So, it's 3am and my car alarm has gone off 3 times tonight, waking me up (not in a nice way!). There's nobody around so is there a reason for this? 

Also, considering its the middle of the night is there anyway I can just lock my car but not activate the alarm?! I need a quick fix. 

It's a 2014 focus mk3 (pre face-lift) 

Similar issue on my 2010 focus. 5am, 7am, 6pm,11pm... No one around. I've checked the doors, bypassed the bonnet sensor, no results. One day, one of my neighbors just parked his car and he said to me: mate, your alarm goes off every time we lock/unlock our cars ! Appointment to Ford dealer, one day service, they said that now my sistem is updated with a new program. After 10 beautiful days with no alarms, again, bip-bip-bip... I'm back where I was before. Now I've got my own FORScan , test it, and it shows on DTC the PCM  P1260-20 with possible causes to be checked: key battery or key transponder. Nothing wrong with my key I would say, but strange fact about the neighbours remotes. No one I've asked have ever heard about this issue, not even the guys from Ford...

At the moment I'm stuck. I don't know what to do more than that. Any ideas?