Help fixing alarm and battery drain issue - I need this fixed once and for all!!
07-23-2007, 03:54 PM
#1
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Join Date: Mar 2004
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Help fixing alarm and battery drain issue - I need this fixed once and for all!!
Ok, so basically here it is..
I have a '99 Mustang GT. I had a CompuStar 2WSS-AS alarm/remote start/turbo timer that was installed but never worked right. The thing would always go off about 10 minutes after arming it, so I've never used it. I also have The Witness tracking system installed by the same person (which appears to work properly). Going back to where it was installed is not an option (long story), but they WERE authorized CompuStar and The Witness installers.
Besides the fact that the CompuStar alarm goes off every 10 minutes after being armed, it seems like a feat of near impossibility to program the thing using the remote. It seems to simply stop accepting button presses from my remote after a number of times.. So to enable the turbo timer which takes something like 7 button presses after waiting for a beep in between each, it would stop responding to presses after about 5 or 6 beeps.. I FINALLY got it after about an hour of trying in a vacant parking lot.
THE BIGGEST PROBLEM:
My car battery dies after like 2 or 3 days.. I am fairly certain that this started with the install of the CompuStar and The Witness system. Has anyone heard of one of these 2 devices killing a battery? I've had the rest of the car gone over with a fine tooth comb and nothing else appears to be drawing power. I have a brand new alternator and Optima Yellow Top and the battery is STILL dying after like 3-4 days!
I'm sick of places that seem to know little to nothing about the car audio/alarm work they do. I'm sick of places taking shortcuts and hackjob installs. I need this problem fixed properly and now by a team of ninjas who eat/sleep/breathe this stuff and know it inside out and backwards. People who don't take shortcuts and don't need to be told to do a job right. I am a perfectionist and I expect things to be done 110% perfect when I am paying for a job.
I am on the east side in Durham (Ajax/Pickering area).. closest to this area is preferable.
I have a '99 Mustang GT. I had a CompuStar 2WSS-AS alarm/remote start/turbo timer that was installed but never worked right. The thing would always go off about 10 minutes after arming it, so I've never used it. I also have The Witness tracking system installed by the same person (which appears to work properly). Going back to where it was installed is not an option (long story), but they WERE authorized CompuStar and The Witness installers.
Besides the fact that the CompuStar alarm goes off every 10 minutes after being armed, it seems like a feat of near impossibility to program the thing using the remote. It seems to simply stop accepting button presses from my remote after a number of times.. So to enable the turbo timer which takes something like 7 button presses after waiting for a beep in between each, it would stop responding to presses after about 5 or 6 beeps.. I FINALLY got it after about an hour of trying in a vacant parking lot.
THE BIGGEST PROBLEM:
My car battery dies after like 2 or 3 days.. I am fairly certain that this started with the install of the CompuStar and The Witness system. Has anyone heard of one of these 2 devices killing a battery? I've had the rest of the car gone over with a fine tooth comb and nothing else appears to be drawing power. I have a brand new alternator and Optima Yellow Top and the battery is STILL dying after like 3-4 days!
I'm sick of places that seem to know little to nothing about the car audio/alarm work they do. I'm sick of places taking shortcuts and hackjob installs. I need this problem fixed properly and now by a team of ninjas who eat/sleep/breathe this stuff and know it inside out and backwards. People who don't take shortcuts and don't need to be told to do a job right. I am a perfectionist and I expect things to be done 110% perfect when I am paying for a job.
I am on the east side in Durham (Ajax/Pickering area).. closest to this area is preferable.
07-23-2007, 05:34 PM
#3
I recently went through an alarm issue and it's no fun at all...I feel your pain (kinda...My problem wasn't half as bad)...
Bottom line, just because someone is an authorized dealer it doesn't mean the tech working on your car knows what the hell he/she is doing...Well, this was the case with my alarm along with everyone else at the place.
It makes me wonder what kinda of follow-up, training, testing companies like DEI and Compustar have with the retailers that represent them.
My problem basically revolved around the fact that I took my car to one shop for the main alarm install and then I took it to a place down the road from my work for various DEI add-ons. I assumed since they were an authorized dealer a couple basic add-on would be a breeze - Boy was I wrong. It was a nightmare, expecially with the DEI Glass Sensor. After my second return to the shop, it was blatantly obvious they were just guessing. Nevermind the ****-poor install that left wires hanging and poking out...
Anyway, brought it back to the shop that did the original install and is was literally a 5 minute fix that steemed from the in-dash siren being wired wrong.
Best of luck my man...Keep us posted...
Bottom line, just because someone is an authorized dealer it doesn't mean the tech working on your car knows what the hell he/she is doing...Well, this was the case with my alarm along with everyone else at the place.
It makes me wonder what kinda of follow-up, training, testing companies like DEI and Compustar have with the retailers that represent them.
My problem basically revolved around the fact that I took my car to one shop for the main alarm install and then I took it to a place down the road from my work for various DEI add-ons. I assumed since they were an authorized dealer a couple basic add-on would be a breeze - Boy was I wrong. It was a nightmare, expecially with the DEI Glass Sensor. After my second return to the shop, it was blatantly obvious they were just guessing. Nevermind the ****-poor install that left wires hanging and poking out...
Anyway, brought it back to the shop that did the original install and is was literally a 5 minute fix that steemed from the in-dash siren being wired wrong.
Best of luck my man...Keep us posted...
Last edited by JLatsOne; 07-23-2007 at 05:56 PM.
07-23-2007, 06:50 PM
#4
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Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 43
It's not even just alarms. I took my car to a couple places in this area that were supposedly reputable. I wanted the job done right with NO RATTLES and a picture perfect install.
First time, I went to pick up the car and put in a CD.. It rattled.
I told the guy.. I don't care what it takes.. I don't want to hear a rattle when I come back and pick the car up!
2 days later.. I come back to pick up the car, put in a CD.. It rattled. I'm like WTF!! Seriously... What is so difficult to understand about this? I told the guy I don't care how much it costs to stop the rattle.. Just get rid of it!
Second car audio place.. I explain what I want for an install of 2 amps and a molded sub box, new trunk floor, etc. The idea was to have a modular but secure amp rack and box install where it maximizes trunk space, have full access to the spare, protect the amp with a plexi window so I could still use the trunk without worrying about the amp getting damaged, have the ability to remove the box if needed (to replace speaker). Again.. had to go back like 3 times and I was still not satisfied.. They hampered access to the spare tire and wasted a ton of trunk space, box was not easily removable.. They blocked off access to the rear shocks so the entire system would have to be removed to get at them. I mean seriously.. Do I need to spell this stuff out? Is everyone completely and utterly retarded? Some of these people are so stupid, they should just be put to sleep. Why can I not just take my car somewhere and everything is done properly.. 110%. Wires cleanly installed and tapped properly, screws put back properly, box installed in a modular way so it is easy to get at critical car components, etc.
But I digress... I need help with this stupid alarm and battery problem. Are there no places that have car audio/alarm gurus who are so intimately knowledgeable with this stuff that they can fix this?
First time, I went to pick up the car and put in a CD.. It rattled.
I told the guy.. I don't care what it takes.. I don't want to hear a rattle when I come back and pick the car up!
2 days later.. I come back to pick up the car, put in a CD.. It rattled. I'm like WTF!! Seriously... What is so difficult to understand about this? I told the guy I don't care how much it costs to stop the rattle.. Just get rid of it!
Second car audio place.. I explain what I want for an install of 2 amps and a molded sub box, new trunk floor, etc. The idea was to have a modular but secure amp rack and box install where it maximizes trunk space, have full access to the spare, protect the amp with a plexi window so I could still use the trunk without worrying about the amp getting damaged, have the ability to remove the box if needed (to replace speaker). Again.. had to go back like 3 times and I was still not satisfied.. They hampered access to the spare tire and wasted a ton of trunk space, box was not easily removable.. They blocked off access to the rear shocks so the entire system would have to be removed to get at them. I mean seriously.. Do I need to spell this stuff out? Is everyone completely and utterly retarded? Some of these people are so stupid, they should just be put to sleep. Why can I not just take my car somewhere and everything is done properly.. 110%. Wires cleanly installed and tapped properly, screws put back properly, box installed in a modular way so it is easy to get at critical car components, etc.
But I digress... I need help with this stupid alarm and battery problem. Are there no places that have car audio/alarm gurus who are so intimately knowledgeable with this stuff that they can fix this?
07-26-2007, 10:52 AM
#6
The BCM of the car pulses the dome light wire to see if the door is open every 10 minutes - actually its 14, its not enough to turn the dome light on, but it is enough to set off a aftermarket car alarm. Yes, you should take it to a qualified tech...you have to add an relay to the door trigger to filter out the pulse.
85 - goes to (-) while armed
86 - 12 volts
30 - goes out to alarm input
87 - goes to the same polarity as the alarm door trigger you are using, either positive or negative
If you do not understand this, take it to a professinal, if you do...awesome...here's your fix.
85 - goes to (-) while armed
86 - 12 volts
30 - goes out to alarm input
87 - goes to the same polarity as the alarm door trigger you are using, either positive or negative
If you do not understand this, take it to a professinal, if you do...awesome...here's your fix.
07-26-2007, 01:53 PM
#7
You got a few issues your complaining about.
1 the fix above will fix the false triggering.
2 if you took it to shops and had your electrical gone through and they didnt find a problem then they dont know what they are doing. You need to measure the current draw. check it in 20-30 minutes so any computers go to sleep. If it is still too high you pull fuses untill it goes away. Once it does you find what is on that circuit and start checking them.
3 as for your request on an install, use of spare tire box easy to remove amp under plexi and beable to have room all in the back of a 99 Mustang.......
Let me know how it works out. you see only way to do it would be build a small box to drop in and slide back and mount the amp to the rear seats. But you would still have to take box out to get to spare or shock bolts also. Not all cars are as easy as it seems to put systems into.
1 the fix above will fix the false triggering.
2 if you took it to shops and had your electrical gone through and they didnt find a problem then they dont know what they are doing. You need to measure the current draw. check it in 20-30 minutes so any computers go to sleep. If it is still too high you pull fuses untill it goes away. Once it does you find what is on that circuit and start checking them.
3 as for your request on an install, use of spare tire box easy to remove amp under plexi and beable to have room all in the back of a 99 Mustang.......
Let me know how it works out. you see only way to do it would be build a small box to drop in and slide back and mount the amp to the rear seats. But you would still have to take box out to get to spare or shock bolts also. Not all cars are as easy as it seems to put systems into.
07-26-2007, 10:14 PM
#8
I am 100% right, I worked for a Alarm/Starter company at the manufacturing level during those years in which this truck was built. And it was an issue we had to solve. Yes it will filter out the issue and stop the "falsing"...do not waste your time, checking the current draw etc.
07-27-2007, 01:12 AM
#9
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Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 43
Thanks guys for the advice.
Westec, I have no doubt this will solve the alarm going off every 10 mins. StreetDreamsCC was offering advice on some of the other issues I was asking about (the battery dying problem).
Do you know if this alarm would keep a '99 Mustang GT computer from going to sleep and perhaps drain the battery? Do computers in a '99 stang even go to sleep?
Current draw is about 0.03 amps when the car is off (regardless of how long it has been sitting). I do not know if it would be less than that after sitting for awhile without the alarm because I don't have a stock mustang to test it on.
Westec, I have no doubt this will solve the alarm going off every 10 mins. StreetDreamsCC was offering advice on some of the other issues I was asking about (the battery dying problem).
Do you know if this alarm would keep a '99 Mustang GT computer from going to sleep and perhaps drain the battery? Do computers in a '99 stang even go to sleep?
Current draw is about 0.03 amps when the car is off (regardless of how long it has been sitting). I do not know if it would be less than that after sitting for awhile without the alarm because I don't have a stock mustang to test it on.
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