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Accord Coupe Alarm Misbehaving "FAULT"


CharlesM

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The central locking sometimes un/locks the driver door sometimes not.  Today it didn't so I locked the door.  Three times now the alarm has gone off.  It might be as the car is right by the road and people do storm past or it might be because of the locking issue, or indeed something else.

Any insights very helpful, but in the short term is there an easy way to disable the alarm?.  I hate them with a passion having lived in streets in London that might have been arcades for all the house and car beeping going on, and my poor neighbours (who are so good its untrue) might have their sleep disturbed.  

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Assuming you have the original factory alarm :huh: as temp thing you could remove one of the interior light switches the easy option :lol: or disconnect the bonnet latch switch some are easy to spot like a button sticking up near the n.s headlight but if not remove the bonnet release mechanism and disconnect the wire going to it or follow the wire from the latch and cut if its easier access ;)

Hope that helps for now m8y

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  • The title was changed to Alarm issue on Accord V6 Coupe
  • 4 weeks later...

A couple of days ago, the alarm began misbehaving on my cg4.  Here is the CHRONOLOGY

  • The car had been stood for over a week, but as far as I remember, it locked and armed as normal when last used.
  • I unlocked the car with the remote fob, then opened the bonnet to check fluids.
  • Shut the bonnet and locked car with remote, as normal.  (I cannot remember if the indicators flashed to indicate that the alarm had armed, but I believe that they must have done)
  • A little while later (within an hour), one of the kids came to tell me that the alarm was sounding. It stopped sounding before I could get the key, so I did nothing. 
  • The car was then unused for a couple of days, but has since been used a couple of times. 
  • Whenever the car is now locked with the remote, the indicators do not flash.

In the past, I noticed that the indicators would not flash when locking the car if one of the doors or the boot was not shut.  However, I have checked that all doors and the boot are shut, but still no flashing of the indicators.  The door plungers both operate the interior light correctly, so the car knows that both doors are shut. I haven't found the switch for the boot yet, and have been unable to persuade anybody to be locked in the boot to see if the light is extinguished.  

Wondering if my opening of the bonnet is connected...... is there a switch to detect that the bonnet is open or closed?

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You can simulate the boot lid being shut by using a screwdriver blade in the latch to replace the striker - this should put the light out if the switch is working ok. Bear in mind the latch has 2 positions similar to the doors and the light may not go out on the first latch but will need the screwdriver pushing further into the latch to hit the second latched state.

If memory serves correctly there should be a "pin switch" under the bonnet on/near the slam panel. Simply unplugging this will simulate the bonnet being shut.

Once you've established the switches are all working correctly and/or unplugged the bonnet switch, with all doors, boot bonnet shut (or disconnected for the bonnet) firstly make sure the remote operates the alarm and locking then try pressing the lock button on the remote 5 or more times in rapid succession. Try unlocking/locking the car again to see if the indicators now flash with lock/unlock. If not try the unlock button several times rapidly.

This is a generic reset procedure and works with most vehicles, i just hope yours isn't one of the ones it doesn't work on! ;):D

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All good points there Dave ;) the bonnet latch itself is the switch and the connection does get corroded and if you're having no joy fooling the car into thinking the boot is closed regards the interior boot light, just drop the rear seats and look in the back when the boot is closed ;)

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3 hours ago, hughezee said:

if you're having no joy fooling the car into thinking the boot is closed regards the interior boot light, just drop the rear seats and look in the back when the boot is closed ;)

I did think of that, but it is easier said than done due to the quantity of car boot sale stuff presently in there:mellow:. Anyway, I had another idea to avoid the playground gossip of ^daddy locked me in the boot.......^:wacko:. I remembered the dash light to warn that the boot is open. This is lighting and extinguishing at all the correct times, so I think the fault must lie elsewhere.  

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3 hours ago, Laird_Scooby said:

I forgot you could drop the back seats in the Accord Coupé 

This was one of the appealing features of the car when I bought it. The huge boot and folding seats did carry some weight with the missus, who wasn't convinced that a coupe would make a suitable family car.  That said, I haven't made much use of the folding seats, but the capacity of the boot is regularly exploited.

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14 hours ago, Laird_Scooby said:

You can simulate the boot lid being shut by using a screwdriver blade in the latch to replace the striker - this should put the light out if the switch is working ok. Bear in mind the latch has 2 positions similar to the doors and the light may not go out on the first latch but will need the screwdriver pushing further into the latch to hit the second latched state.

If memory serves correctly there should be a "pin switch" under the bonnet on/near the slam panel. Simply unplugging this will simulate the bonnet being shut.

Once you've established the switches are all working correctly and/or unplugged the bonnet switch, with all doors, boot bonnet shut (or disconnected for the bonnet) firstly make sure the remote operates the alarm and locking then try pressing the lock button on the remote 5 or more times in rapid succession. Try unlocking/locking the car again to see if the indicators now flash with lock/unlock. If not try the unlock button several times rapidly.

This is a generic reset procedure and works with most vehicles, i just hope yours isn't one of the ones it doesn't work on! ;):D

Didn't know that the boot has two positions,  anyway, I think I've ruled out a problem with the boot switch.  

I'll  have a look for the bonnet switch, and try the reset procedure.  

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13 minutes ago, welland99 said:

I did think of that, but it is easier said than done due to the quantity of car boot sale stuff presently in there:mellow:. Anyway, I had another idea to avoid the playground gossip of ^daddy locked me in the boot.......^:wacko:. I remembered the dash light to warn that the boot is open. This is lighting and extinguishing at all the correct times, so I think the fault must lie elsewhere.  

Good point there, but strangely I had the warning when it was closed and failed bulb warning and turned out to be a connection that has oxidised enough to trigger it and since you said it played up and suddenly stopped working, there could be connection problem somewhere and I would check the bonnet release mechanism connection ;) 

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  • The title was changed to Accord Coupe CG4 Alarm Misbehaving
  • 2 weeks later...

I had a look for the switch in the bonnet release mechanism a couple of weeks ago, and amazingly, I did spot it through the layers of dried oil and muck. However, I couldn't see how to remove it or unplug.  Is there a diagram of this area available to highlight it better? 

Anyway, I doused the area with loads of WD40 substitute (that made no difference) and I ignored it.  (Weather too bad recently to spend much time on outdoor car maintenance).  The alarm has consistrntly not been setting....... until today.  (I have used the car daily)

When i locked the car at work this morning, the lights flashed at me.  :o.  So I unlocked and locked it several times to see if it would continue working, and it did.  :rolleyes:.  At home this evening, they flashed again.   :D

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In that case i would repeat the previous treatment and/or find the connector, pull it off, clean the contact faces and anything else electrical you can find in that area - also lube the bonnet hinges and locks as well as the catch where the switch is. ;):D

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It's  misbehaving differently now. There are still no flashing lights when locking the car, but the alarm is sounding periodically:

1) when locked with the remote key fob (even though the indicators dont  flash)

2) when locked with the key.  

3) when the car isnt even locked at all!

Apart from being an indicator of a malfunctioning alarm system, could this mean something else? As an interim measure, I'll  just disconnect the alarm sounder.  

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What's your battery like? A battery that's beginning to fail can cause all these symptoms even if it still starts the car quite well - had exactly that on my Coupé recently. Every time i started it from cold, i would need to reprogram the windows and sunroof. The radio retained its memory and code so everything was pointing to the window lift ECU. I decided to be lazy and wait and see what happened. In the end it started to become difficult to start and wouldn't start without the jump pack. I noticed then the windows no longer needed reprogramming after the first start of the day so it had to be the battery. One new battery later all is well!

Just like to point out i'd previously removed the same battery from my Sterling as it was causing different problems on that - alarm activating for no apparent reason, battery not charging (although that could have been down to the alternator or perhaps it was this battery that finished the alternator off!), misfiring, general engine power loss and several other symptoms i can't recall now.

I'm not saying it definitely is your battery but if the age of the battery is suspect then it would certainly be looking at! ;):D

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  • The title was changed to Accord Coupe Alarm Misbehaving "FAULT"
  • Founding Member

A new battery can make all the difference to lots of things.  I remember when I had Bluey (2.0ES) and he started not firing first time some mornings, which was unusual.  I took it to a local independent battery shop and although the alternator was fine, the volts on the battery were below normal.  Think it was just age related as they deteriorate with age and lose their capacity to hold all the charge.  New battery then whoosh, no problems.  

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Funny thing Geoff, although i've just replaced the alternator on the Sterling and all has seemed well for a few days, with this sudden cold snap it's getting tricky to start and with it has brought the alarms (both of them!) on randomly and a few other things. I think i might be lucky if i get the battery off and set it on a long, (48-72 hour) slow and low rate of charge with the desulphator connected i can probably recover it. If not i'm a bit snookered as although the battery is still within warranty, firstly i've not used the car because of the alternator problem and secondly it's possible the old alternator caused a battery fault. Both are "get out of jail free" cards for the battery supplier. :rolleyes:

If not it looks like yet another new battery! ;):D

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