S40 (New) Engine 2.4 : Alarm system service required

[S40wit]

Originally Posted by SonyVaio

Will pop the pics up in a minute.

Excellent!! Thank you!

[ADBS65]

Thanks for posting the diagrams. I have done this job today successfully. I will post a number of pictures and details later. Andy

[ADBS65]

Remove the windscreen wipers, washer bottle top and the plastic trim covers either end of the brace bar. There are 4 stud type fixings along the front face of the scuttle panel, using a nail knock the centre pin through, [I saved 2 but the one's at either end were lost into a void] & extract the studs. In the centre of the panel are two cross head plastic fixings, these need to be rotated 180 degrees.
The edge of the scuttle panel runs along the bottom of the windscreen. At the corners, the scuttle panel is flexible enough to be pulled away and levered around the corner of the bonnet. By lifting the scuttle panel front face it then unclips and can be removed. I have attached a picture of the underside of the scuttle panel so you can see the white plastic clips.

The alarm is located on the nearside bulkhead and is held in place by two 10mm nuts. Unplug the connector and remove from the vehicle.

Remove the alarm from its metal housing.

To separate the alarm I used a hacksaw, cutting carefully around the recess [I had tried to split the two halves but without success] then using a flat blade screwdriver I levered the top off gaining access to the battery.

I checked the battery; mine was marked as 4.8volts and 250 mAh. I went to Maplins and bought 2 x 2.4volt 600 mAh battery packs, designed for use in cordless phones.[Infapower batteries £10.99p each] Having joined them to create 1 x 4.8 volt battery I charged them up then put them back into the alarm housing and glued the lid on, zip tying it for extra security.

Reassembly was fairly straightforward, refit in reverse sequence to removal. I used cut down round nails to replace the two pins lost to the void. Once it was reassembled, I reset the alarm by locking unlocking multiple times which removed the error code. Everything seems OK, if you have the batteries to hand allow around 3 hours to complete.

[S40wit]

Good stuff Andy!!

I'll be getting batteries next week and will then tackle the job.

Did you find any other systems on the car that stopped working when this alarm came on? The automatic rain sensing function stopped working on my car when the alarm came on.

[SonyVaio]

Nice one, well done.

[ADBS65]

No mate, nothing happened other than the alarm service message. Let me know how you get on and thanks Sonyvaio for your diagrams.
Regards
Andy

[S40wit]

Originally Posted by ADBS65

Remove the windscreen wipers, ...

I removed the alarm unit today, opened it, and found NO PROBLEM!!! Battery still measured 7.2V.

Installed new batteries anyway, locked and unlocked three times and the alarm message is gone.

It would seem therefore that if simply started off by locking and unlocking three times first, I might have saved myself a bit of work!

[SonyVaio]

You'll probably find that the battery off and battery on is what cured your problem. Might have been able to be tackled another way but never the less you've achieved the aim.

Well done for getting the siren unit out anyway.

[S40wit]

Originally Posted by SonyVaio

You'll probably find that the battery off and battery on is what cured your problem. Might have been able to be tackled another way but never the less you've achieved the aim.

Well done for getting the siren unit out anyway.

Could be!

The punch-out pins fall into the cavity behind the wheel arch lining. The one on the left fell out onto the floor but the one on the right is still there.

I managed to cut open the one flat side of the alarm unit with a carpet knife and I could get a screwdriver in there to crack the rest open.

Really appreciate your input here.

[S40wit]

Originally Posted by S40wit

... locked and unlocked three times and the alarm message is gone.

Spoke too soon. The alarm message is back. Looks like I have other issues.