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[mkaminski100]

Hi. I have Omega 2.0 1999 (estate). My neighbour told me that my car alarm wails every night. It is only happening when the engine is cool and the car is locked for ca 8-10 hours, especially, at night when it's cold and dump. I though about these small sensors on the back windows but after cleaning the connection it went off again.
Do you know how I can disable alarm or lock the car without arming alarm?
I know that all of these have a faulty diagnostic. I found old invoice from Vauxhall and they have just deleted some errors without fixing it (but charged £40). Do you know how I can diagnose my alarm? Would the "paper clip" test be helpful?
And a second question: I want to but a PC cable to connect my car to a laptop and check my engine, sensors, alarm. Do you know any good one in reasonable price? I am thinking about Opel Scaner (http://www.techgsm.com/Opel_Scanner,7451.html or http://www.viaken.pl/sklep.php?lang=en&kat=20&prodid=187 - sorry about polish) for about £80. What do you think about it?

[Golfbuddy]

I seem to be alone in my diagnosis for this problem but both my Omega and my wife's Astra had the same problem with the alarm going off in the middle of the night. In both cases it proved to be a faulty battery that was losing voltage over night. When the voltage dropped below a critical level it caused the power sounder to operate as it 'thought' someone had disconnected the battery.

How old is the battery? Can you check the voltage after the car has been sat for a few hours? I guess that if you posted up the voltage on here, someone could tell you if that was the problem. Of course, it's just possible that something else is causing the battery to lose volts. But, as you state, it normally happens on a cold damp night, not the best conditions for an old battery.

Others have cited the rechargeable battery in the powersounder itself as being the culprit for this but it is difficult to change just the battery and the unit itself is quite costly. So, if I were you, I would check the condition of the battery.

[Danny]

bonnet sensor can be a pain

[mkaminski100]

Thanks! Where I can find the battery? How does it look like (big, small?)
I also think about the bonnet sensor, but it looks like new. I will try to dismantle it today, clean it and put some oil (or grease). Unfortunately, I can’t find any spot on the where the sensor is touching the bonnet, but I think that if it wouldn’t been adjusted then the alarm would go off instantly.

[Golfbuddy]

Thanks! Where I can find the battery? How does it look like (big, small?)
I also think about the bonnet sensor, but it looks like new. I will try to dismantle it today, clean it and put some oil (or grease). Unfortunately, I can’t find any spot on the where the sensor is touching the bonnet, but I think that if it wouldn’t been adjusted then the alarm would go off instantly.

I mean the main car battery. The big square one at the front right of the engine bay. Is it holding charge over night? It will fire up on quite low voltage so don't think that just because it starts the battery is fine.

[davlad22]

The vauxhall 'tech 2' engine software reads all stored alarm logs and reports faulty components (hopefully!). Perhaps your suggested aftermarket unit will do so as well. I think that is a little expensive though, many people have found units on 'the bay' for around £30 or enlist the services of one of the senior members on here to give your car a diagnosis. Your laptop will have to have a dedicated 'serial' port for correct operation however.

Though as mentioned above, there are alot of people reporting faulty 'powersounders', (the bit that makes the racket ) The internal batteries fail in the sealed unit and sometimes other problems with the circuitboard, replacement is really the only option.

Is your car a 'facelift' model or old shape? To lock your car without setting the alarm, switch off engine, press button on centre console (picture of man running away!) or on older shape, can't just remember but I think it is a tiny button on the interior map-reading light panel? Press the button, get out and lock the vehicle. Can still be deadlocked by pressing remote fob twice. (immobiliser is also still active).

[Marks DTM Calib]

1) Unplug the bonnet sensor......

and if that does not fix it

2) Press the alarm button on the dash before locking the car to disable the ultrasonics (to rule them out).

Two easy and free steps to help pin point the problem before splashing out any cash.

My money is still on the bonnet switch though.....

[davlad22]

Where's the alarm button on a pre-facelift then Mark?

[mkaminski100]

My car battery is ok (indicator on the battery is green) and it starts the engine without any problem. Anyway, I wil check the voltage today. It might be other device that stays on and takes some energy, but then the alarm would go off once the voltage would be below some level. I assume that it might be the car alarm (siren) battery, but I can't find it. Davlad22 - you said that it's sealed, but it is together with the alarm unit? alarm unit is..inside (I know that I whouldnt write where exactly but I think that you know) Where I can find the alarm battery?.
My Omega is a "facelift" model. I read that when I will press the "alarm" button then the alarm itself will arm, but without inside sensors (with kids or pets inside). My friend is locking his car by boot lock.
Tech-2 - do you mean full Opel/Vauxhall unit or just a small box with cable which you can connect to your laptop? Firs one is very, very expensive (around £2000-3000), and second one only allows to read faulty codes, and delete some of them (like air-bag). The one, I showed allowes to check the sensors (readings not just faults), and to change some settings.

[Marks DTM Calib]

Where's the alarm button on a pre-facelift then Mark?

Pre-facelift its above the radio....its got a picture of a bloke running away.

[bigall]

It will be the powersounder - Oh what a wonderful gift Vauxhall put in our cars,
Basically it, the sounder, contains two rechargeable batteries - that over the goodness of time loose their ability to remain charged and slowly discharge until about some hour of the night they trigger the powersounder - the rest is history

two options

- 1 IIRC someone on this site removed the powersounder and all was well. Search the site using "powersounder" plenty of threads.

   2. Change it for a new one about £50 from Vxall (Vaux only part I'm afraid) and iirc needs tech2 to associate it with your car

[Wayne]

i had the Alarm problem, and all i did was press the "runnin man" button on the dash and its never gone off since  
when TB ran a Tech 2 check on me car it said that there was a break in the wire of the alarm system at the back of the car somewhere, or something like that, trouble is for me it just isnt worth fixing it.......
i have spent a bloody fortune on my car in the last few weeks, im beginning to think the OMEGA is plagued with many many problems, if it aint one thing its something else!  

to be honest, me crappy old Sierra 2.0 ghia was more reliable and was A1 when i had it, such is life i suppose  

[Taxi_Driver]

Doesnt it depend if its the siren (power sounder) or horn (car alarm) going off?

[TheBoy]

Bonnet switch is most likely (unplug it for a few days), followed by powersounder (unplug that for a few days).

Presumably, the garage didn't say what the alarm codes were?

[TheBoy]

i had the Alarm problem, and all i did was press the "runnin man" button on the dash and its never gone off since  
when TB ran a Tech 2 check on me car it said that there was a break in the wire of the alarm system at the back of the car somewhere, or something like that, trouble is for me it just isnt worth fixing it.......
i have spent a bloody fortune on my car in the last few weeks, im beginning to think the OMEGA is plagued with many many problems, if it aint one thing its something else!  

to be honest, me crappy old Sierra 2.0 ghia was more reliable and was A1 when i had it, such is life i suppose  

Alas, yours is suffering from 6 years of 'garage servicing', and needs a little TLC to bring back up to spec.