Alarm tripping the battery???

Post Reply
Nemus
Enlisted
Posts: 18
Registered for: 6 years 10 months
Car Make: VW
Car Model: 6R Polo 1.6 Comfortline

Alarm tripping the battery???

Post by Nemus »

Hi all

2011 Polo 1.6
I had something weird happen on the car yesterday.
I pressed the unlock button on the remote, which resulted in the alarm siren going off. Pressing unlock, lock, lock, boot, nothing worked. Eventually when the siren stopped (for the 2nd time), I used the key and manually unlocked the door. As soon as I opened the door, I spotted my trip counter reset to 0 and the time reset to 00:00. This tells me something to do with the battery, so i check the terminals, and no issues found there. Both terminals are tight and no acid residue.
I get back in the driver seat, swing the key and no problems. All lights go up like christmas and car starts 100%. I drive home (50kms) no issues. Since then, no issues at all.

So... if the battery is not the problem, yet all temporary dials reset to 0 and the alarm went crazy simply by unlocking using the remote, could it be that the alarm shorted the electricity supply?
Nemus
Enlisted
Posts: 18
Registered for: 6 years 10 months
Car Make: VW
Car Model: 6R Polo 1.6 Comfortline

Re: Alarm tripping the battery???

Post by Nemus »

Update:
This morning, while driving, the car lost all electrical power. Lights, power steering, radio and instrument cluster died. I turned the key to "Off", back to On and everything came back. This resulted in trip reset to 0. Car was fine after this, what scares me is if this happens in the middle of an intersection...
Anyone have ideas?
User avatar
panic-mechanic
Panic's Place
Posts: 26715
Registered for: 21 years 8 months
Membership No: 79
Location: Benoni, putfontein.

Re: Alarm tripping the battery???

Post by panic-mechanic »

Ignition switch possibly.
Also make sure the earths are good. Test them or use a bypass like a jumper cable form the battry negative to the body and engine. Don't just look at an earth cable and declare it ok becuase it is present. There was guy last week with a similar issue and thenearth cablemwas not making contact on the one side anymore.
Last edited by panic-mechanic on Mon Jul 17, 2017 11:40 am, edited 1 time in total.
Stephan van Tonder - Jhb - Putfontein Benoni
'05 Audi A6 3.0L TDI Avant
'09 Touareg 3l TDI
'13 VW CC 2l tdi (repair project)
'05 Touareg v10

Perfect Power dealer. I do dyno tuning.
Nemus
Enlisted
Posts: 18
Registered for: 6 years 10 months
Car Make: VW
Car Model: 6R Polo 1.6 Comfortline

Re: Alarm tripping the battery???

Post by Nemus »

Thanks. I haven't thought of ignition yet.
I've checked the fuses and they seem fine.
The battery terminals feel fine, but i'll be sure to sand them clean this evening and tie again..
I've also noticed that when I turn the steering, the lights dim..
User avatar
panic-mechanic
Panic's Place
Posts: 26715
Registered for: 21 years 8 months
Membership No: 79
Location: Benoni, putfontein.

Re: Alarm tripping the battery???

Post by panic-mechanic »

The last point is starting to point to an earth issue.
Stephan van Tonder - Jhb - Putfontein Benoni
'05 Audi A6 3.0L TDI Avant
'09 Touareg 3l TDI
'13 VW CC 2l tdi (repair project)
'05 Touareg v10

Perfect Power dealer. I do dyno tuning.
User avatar
Neuk
Treasurer
Treasurer
Posts: 49805
Registered for: 18 years 4 months
Car Make: Volkswagen
Car Model: Touareg 3.0 V6 TDi R-Line
Membership No: 806
Location: Johannesburg

Re: Alarm tripping the battery???

Post by Neuk »

Earthing and battery check as a start before moving on to more complicated causes.
Current Garage:
Daily Drive: 2014 VW Touareg 3.0 V6 TDi R-Line
Project Fes: 1982 VW Golf GLS 1.5
Project FeO: 1966 VW Type 2 Transporter Kombi Split Window

Previous Garage:
Roxy: 2015 VW Golf R
Vagon: 2005 Audi B6 A4 1.8T (140kw) Avant
Project XXXX: 1967 VW Type 3 Variant (Squareback)
Project Betty: 2005 Polo 1.9 TDI (PD130) Sportline
Weekend Warrior: 1993 Volkswagen Caddy 2.0 16v ABF on ITB's
Nemus
Enlisted
Posts: 18
Registered for: 6 years 10 months
Car Make: VW
Car Model: 6R Polo 1.6 Comfortline

Re: Alarm tripping the battery???

Post by Nemus »

Ok thanks julle. I'll check the terminals, as well as the other end of the cables this evening.
Besides the cable directly hooked to the battery, where else should I check for earthing issues?
User avatar
panic-mechanic
Panic's Place
Posts: 26715
Registered for: 21 years 8 months
Membership No: 79
Location: Benoni, putfontein.

Re: Alarm tripping the battery???

Post by panic-mechanic »

Eish. There are lots of points scattered through the car but usually it is the main connections that goes body to battery.
Stephan van Tonder - Jhb - Putfontein Benoni
'05 Audi A6 3.0L TDI Avant
'09 Touareg 3l TDI
'13 VW CC 2l tdi (repair project)
'05 Touareg v10

Perfect Power dealer. I do dyno tuning.
Nemus
Enlisted
Posts: 18
Registered for: 6 years 10 months
Car Make: VW
Car Model: 6R Polo 1.6 Comfortline

Re: Alarm tripping the battery???

Post by Nemus »

Thanks Panic-mechanic. I'll feel around this evening with all connections.
User avatar
panic-mechanic
Panic's Place
Posts: 26715
Registered for: 21 years 8 months
Membership No: 79
Location: Benoni, putfontein.

Re: Alarm tripping the battery???

Post by panic-mechanic »

Feeling a connection means nothing. That is basically what I was explaining earlier. You have to measure the resistance between the cable and connector and get 0 on a multimeter set to ohms. Or simply add a jumper cable to test if that is a possible issue.
The fact that you can see and feel a conenction tells you nothing of it's electrical conducting properties. Unless you have very special hands.
Stephan van Tonder - Jhb - Putfontein Benoni
'05 Audi A6 3.0L TDI Avant
'09 Touareg 3l TDI
'13 VW CC 2l tdi (repair project)
'05 Touareg v10

Perfect Power dealer. I do dyno tuning.
Nemus
Enlisted
Posts: 18
Registered for: 6 years 10 months
Car Make: VW
Car Model: 6R Polo 1.6 Comfortline

Re: Alarm tripping the battery???

Post by Nemus »

Thanks panic-mechanic. I've arranged for a checkup to check the cables' resistance...
Also noticed last night the lights also dim on using the electric windows. So definitely something happening with the electrics.. It' s a new battery, if that makes any difference.
Post Reply