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[antdav]

Firstly - hello the all the fellow members of this board, I'm Anthony and I this is my first post.  

I have a 2.2 DL on an 02 plate which had got a bloody annoying alarm problem. Annoying in that it keeps going off fo no apparent reason and as such I have to leave it unlocked   so as to not annoy my neighbors.

I have tried making sure there are no electrical items plugged into cigarette lighter sockets, all the windoes and doors are locked, the boot is locked etc, radio off to name but a few of the checks I have made.  :-/

I am at a loss as to what to do next other than to look for the fuse box and try removing the alarm fuse before calling the RAC or biting the bullet and taking it into the Vauxhall dealer!

Anyone have any ideas??? They will be greatly received.  

[Jimbob]

Bonnet sensors are a very common cause of this.

You can either unplug it, or tilt it up slightly to make better contact.

I would unplug it to start with, if that proves its the issue, you can then adjust its height.

It's a small plunger by the power steering resivoir.

As for leaving it unlocked, no need....Just exit via a door other than drivers which you can lock using the door buttons.
ie push down drivers door button, all doors lock, then lift the passenfer or rear one, exit and redepress button and close the door, just make sure your keys are in your hand when you do this!

[Golfbuddy]

I suspect this is a problem with the car battery. Has it ever been changed or is it still the original? At five years old yours is probably getting a bit long in the tooth IMO.

I had this problem on both my Omega and the wife's Astra. The car alarm is designed to sound when someone disconnects the battery and if it doesn't hold it's voltage and drops below a certain level then the alarm will sound as it thinks the battery has been disconnected. Once we replaced the car battery the problem went away within a day or so and now our neighbours can sleep soundly again.  

If this is not the case, I belileve that there is a rechargeable battery in the power sounder that could be faulty and as Jimbob says it could also be a problem with the bonnet sensor not being lined up properly.

Perhaps the first thing to do would be to check the battery condition first thing in the morning to see how much votage is left which will give you an idea of battery condition. I am reluctant to get this done at a battery outlet as I'm always afraid that they will just try to sell you a battery.

Oh, and welcome to the forum.

[bigall]

Powersounder - an alarm that Vaux have put in your car that is supposed to go off if anyone ,say, removes your battery etc. You should see a sticker by your radiator informing you of such.
The sounder contains rechargable batteries which have a habit of dying - hence alarm goes off.
The sounder is located under the black bezel drivers side - right underneath the wiper pivot.

It can I am led to believe by others on this site it can mearly be disconnected but if you want to change it its a vaux only product at about £55 plus fitting.You may even need tech2 to set it up in the car.
use search facility with "powersounder" for other forum topics on this issue

If you know a garage with tech2 (Vaux garages have it but costs an awful lot to be used) capability they will be able to confirm it is the powersounder or another part

Finally welcome to the club

[tomoco]

  Hi Anthony and welcome to the site...

      Tell me, do your indicators flash when your alarm is going off at 3 in the morning. If they DONT flash its your back up sounder thats gone (Duff Nicad Batteries). Just disconnect it until you can get hold of a new one. There is a main Alarm Horn (Flat round Disc shapped) right next to the sounder (Fat Rectangular thing). so your alarm will still sound,although my main alarm horn was also duff. Put a new one in (fifteen quid from vauxhall) . WARNING.. Just before you are about to disconnect the sounder make sure you turn your ignition on then off and disconnect within 15 seconds. otherwise the sounder will go off untill the batteries are completely dead .Mine went off for about an hour (very loud close up)..
      If your indicators DO flash then it's quite often the bonnet switch (usually when cold - at night - or hot - left in the sun for a long time.

 hope this helps......Mark

[antdav]

OK.. I feel I need to add a little bit more info.

Firstly I would like to offer my sinceer thanks to all those who have taken the time to reply to my plea for help I am most grateful!  

I note that when the alarm goes off the indicators are flashing AND the red LED inside the car on the centre console flashes.  :-/

So far I note my problem might be one of the following.....

• Faulty bonnet switch
• Weak or faulty battery (unlikely, seems to have plenty of life in it, cranks the old diesel up no problem!
• Sounder batteries need replacing.
• Someone likes it so much they want to nick it.... Nah I think it would be gone by now!

I'll take some time to look at it tomorrow with hope I don't need to take it to the Vauxhall dealer.
(Not the done thing after I got stitched up by them having charged me £380 to replace two back coil springs last week!) I didn't realise most of the £££'s were fitting!! ... Yeah I know I must have had a white stick or something!

[Eliteman Steve]

My Omega used to do the same , was the power sounder battery , whipped it off and problem solved

Quick tip though , if you have some ear plugs , put them in before you start the job . The alarm is bloody loud when you've got your head stuck under the bonnet and I nearly knocked myself out on the bonnet when I jumped through the roof!! then at least if you cock it up like I did you wont look like a complete burke

[Golfbuddy]

OK.. I feel I need to add a little bit more info.

Firstly I would like to offer my sinceer thanks to all those who have taken the time to reply to my plea for help I am most grateful!  

I note that when the alarm goes off the indicators are flashing AND the red LED inside the car on the centre console flashes.  :-/

So far I note my problem might be one of the following.....

• Faulty bonnet switch

• Weak or faulty battery (unlikely, seems to have plenty of life in it, cranks the old diesel up no problem![/highlight]
• Sounder batteries need replacing.
• Someone likes it so much they want to nick it.... Nah I think it would be gone by now!

I'll take some time to look at it tomorrow with hope I don't need to take it to the Vauxhall dealer.
(Not the done thing after I got stitched up by them having charged me £380 to replace two back coil springs last week!) I didn't realise most of the £££'s were fitting!! ... Yeah I know I must have had a white stick or something!
>:(

So did it on both of our cars. Once changed no more 3.00am alarm calls.  ;)

[antdav]

Just thought I'd let you all know that it was indded the sounder unit that had failed, I took it to my local dealer who replaced it with a new one.

Alas, no more upset neighbors!