Alarm Problem

[Richmond]

My (OE) alarm went off 3 or 4 times over a couple of days earlier in the year, and has done so 3 times in the last week. It's most unlikely to have been a genuine alarm.

 

I suspect the tailgate; on each occasion, reshutting it has solved the problem, although it is firmly shut when the alarm goes off. A bike carrier sits on the tailgate and the extra weight may make the door bounce a little when it's slammed shut (by my wife; she has always been the last one to shut it).

 

Has anyone else had a similar problem with a different cause?

 

What (if anything) sets the alarm off apart form a door contact being broken?

 

Can I test the alarm system somehow?

 

Will the diagnostics tell a Ford dealer what's going on? The car's under warranty for a few more months so I'd like to get it sorted. As the problem is occasional, it's going to be tricky unless the diagnostics help.

[Ivor_E_Tower]

Check your microwave oven for leaks! There are sensors on all opening panels (doors, bonnet etc) and interior ultrasound/microwave sensors - not sure which.

All I can say is that at the last place I worked, one of my colleague's car alarm often went off during the lunch hour. Not far from it was the window of our "rest room" in which we had a fridge and a microwave oven. We suspected that the oven was leaking microwaves because the alarm was only triggered when someone was heating their pie etc in the microwave......

[Richmond]

Thanks for that. The last time was 4am today so microwaves unlikely (although not impossible).

[seatkid]

If you have the internal movement sensors (ultrasonic) they are prone to go off when there is an abrupt fall in temperature, usually in the evening and when a sunroof or window is not properly closed.

 

If it is a nuisance, turning the key in the door lock twice in the lock direction disables the alarm (led will no longer flash and deadlocks are also disabled).

[Ivor_E_Tower]

..or if an insect or spider gets into the car and you lock it - when it/they move, the alarm can be triggered. I note with some relief that there is either no moton sensor, or not a very sensitive one, as my alarm has not yet gone off at night when one of the neighbourhood cat jumps onto the roof, slides down the windscreen and bonnet....... (trail of pawprints gives them away)

[hampstead]

Since you already suspect the tailgate...I think I have read on here somewhere that the pipework for the rear screen washer is prone to coming adrift/leaking.

 

That happened on a Mk4 Golf we had, and water collected inside the tailgate round the handle and caused a sensor to short, which then triggered the alarm. It may even be the same handle on the Galaxy and Golf.

 

 

Now the possible pathways for water to get from the washer piping to the handle don't look as 'easy' on the Galaxy as the Golf, but it might be worth you removing the inner trim of the tailgate to see if there is any water in there.

 

As for the bike carrier, does it hook round the top of the tailgate? Maybe it could have dislodged something there.

 

HTH