Ghost in the Machine - Security System

[ShoNuff]

My v6Tech has been doing some odd stuff lately, and I can't decide whether it's worth a trip to the dealer. Specifically, the alarm is going off repeatedly when the car is parked - for no apparent reason. I generally arm the system by hitting the button on the driver's side handle and it gives its little beep and flashes the lights as normal.

Then... and the timing varies greatly on this, it will just go off flashing the lights and beeping. No one has touched the car, and often no one is anywhere near it - it just starts alarming for no reason I can determine. Sometimes it does it within a few minutes, sometimes it will be quiet for hours before setting itself off. Also, the length of its "active state" varies - sometimes it will just happily beep away until I use the key fob on it; sometimes it will go back to quiet on its own after a few seconds.

This has me mystified, and I know darn well it won't act up when I go to the dealership - the Ghost in the Machine knows when to stay quiet. Is anyone else experiencing this? Any ideas on what it could be? I'm guessing a loose sensor somewhere perhaps.

 

[MattG]

Is it possible that some small creature has the mistaken your Genny for their luxury condo?

 

[ShoNuff]

Is it possible that some small creature has the mistaken your Genny for their luxury condo?

I doubt any small creatures could survive the G-Forces I pull when driving my Genny. Now that Georgia passed this "super speeder" law I really need to modify my driving habits.

 

[dond13]

On the underside of the hood on the drivers side about a third of the way back from the front there is a rubber bumper about 3/4 inch in diameter and about 1 inch in long that depresses a switch when you close the hood. It is related to the alarm and on my car it was missing. It can be pulled loose and maybe got dislocated sometime during prep or something. Check and see if it is there.

 

[moose66]

Additionally, however unlikely on a newer car, frequent false alarms on vehicles are caused by a battery issue. If dond13's suggestion doesn't work, you may want to have the battery looked at. Hope one of these things works and you can find the problem.

 

[ctrcbob]

On the underside of the hood on the drivers side about a third of the way back from the front there is a rubber bumper about 3/4 inch in diameter and about 1 inch in long that depresses a switch when you close the hood. It is related to the alarm and on my car it was missing. It can be pulled loose and maybe got dislocated sometime during prep or something. Check and see if it is there.

I always wondered what that rubber bumper and switch was for.

Now I know.

 

[ttsig]

I've never had the "phantom alarm" issue on my Genny, but my daughter has an Elantra that has recently decided to randomly sound the alarm. Seems to happen mostly on very hot days. Probably not the same problem, but just thought I'd mention it.

 

[ShoNuff]

Thanks for the replies, folks. I was away for the weekend and just got a chance to log in. I'll check that switch under the hood tonight when I get home.

There does seem to be some correlation between heat and this behavior in my Genny. When it's really hot out (like 90F+), it seems to be more likely to misbehave.