Temporarily disable volumetric alarm?

[BaldyDave]

Hi Folks,

Picked up my FR TDi yesterday and am loving it! Grin not left my face since!

Just want to pick your collective brains and ask if I correctly understand how to lock the car without enabling the internal volumetric alarm sensor, whilst leaving the rest of the car alarm active. Sometimes I leave the windows open a crack to keep the car cool when I have a dog in the back and don't want the car alarm going nuts!

If I am reading the manual correctly (it isn't exactly clear) you have to push the lock button on the remote key twice in quick succession to enable this feature? Is this correct?

Being an IT engineer I am normally good at understanding manuals, but the author of this manual appears to have had a frontal lobotomy!

 

[Nutkin]

Problem with car muals is they are based off the KFCs and they are written by engineers so what an engineer believes the public understand is different to what a proper engineer would understand.

and then in this case its translated to english !!

But yes twice on the fob should disable volumetric allarm.

 

[Deleted member 33999]

You should here a *click* on the second press as the deadlock mechanism disengages, that's what I always listen for

 

[BaldyDave]

Ah right! The deadlocks disengage in case the occupants inside need to escape!

Seriously though I guess if you have locked the doors and have left humans inside the car instead of pooch, it would be good if they could get out if needed!

Thanks for your help guys, it really is appreciated. I'm new to this site and I have to say I am impressed with the sense of community and warmth I get from it. Makes me all warm inside! hehe

 

[nightflight]

aahhh so that's why when i press the lock button, then press it again it makes a clicky noise, then the enxt time it doesn't, then the next time it does.

 

[BaldyDave]

I agree - definitely more of a clicky noise than a *click*!

Tested out the "fix" by locking my partner in the car using with 2 pushes of the remote, and then got her to bounce up and down in the back. No alarm!

Suggested that we might both try another "testing" method that involved some bouncing up and down on the back seat by us both, but that just generated a "look" and lots of laughter!

Hmmmm, well at least I didn't get a slap! Maybe I should have left her locked in there after that!

 

[Nutkin]

I agree - definitely more of a clicky noise than a *click*!

Tested out the "fix" by locking my partner in the car using with 2 pushes of the remote, and then got her to bounce up and down in the back. No alarm!

Suggested that we might both try another "testing" method that involved some bouncing up and down on the back seat by us both, but that just generated a "look" and lots of laughter!

Hmmmm, well at least I didn't get a slap! Maybe I should have left her locked in there after that!

you must be a midget if you can fit in the back of the ibiza with her !!! It's tiny!


I believe the locks are fly by wire on some of them, so the clicking noise might just be the relays flicking in the doors.

 

[BaldyDave]

Actually I'm a six-footer! LOL She's only 5ft 2 though!

Sometimes part of the fun is improvising a way! You could always slide the front seats forward etc... Would probably have to visit a Chiropractor afterwards, mind you!

Anyways it was all said in fun anyway (mostly!).

 

[Ibiza06]

What is the differance between a volumetric alarm and the normal kind? Mine never seems to be set off!

 

[BaldyDave]

The Volumetric Alarm has a sensor inside the cabin (mine is where the roof light is) which senses movement within the car. Some Volumetric systems use ultrasound to do this, some sense small changes in air pressure caused by windows geting broken, movement inside car etc... I think the sensor in my car detects air pressure variations.

If your car's sensor is in the same place as mine, you are looking for two openings roughly the size of a 5p coin in the overhead cabin light housing.

Some cars with more basic alarms will just monitor door openings and possibly have a "tilt" sensor to momitor any movement of the car which may indicate somebody moving around inside the car.

Does your user manual not give you a clue as to what type you have? Then again if your manual is as poor as mine you might not be any the wiser after reading it on some topics!

 

[Ibiza06]

Yeh my manual seems to be written so only the author can understand.remember the brochure sayong mine had volumetric alarm so willl look when im driving next

 

[BaldyDave]

The two cars I have had before my current MK5 FR were a Golf GT TDi and a MK4 Ibiza FR TDi. Both cars had the volumetric sensor and neither of them were prone to giving false alarms. The only times the alarm went off was the time that I accidentally locked the car and forgot to disable the volumetric sensor with a dog in the back in the MK 4 Ibiza. Five mins later the alarm went nuts! The Second time was the Golf. This time I had left a window open a crack and there was a strong wind. Again a few mins later the alarm tripped. Nice! Especially since it was 3AM at the time ... I am sure my neighbours were very impressed! Think the wind must have changed the air pressure inside the car...

As part of the test on my new FR, my partner kept still for a few mins initially, but the alarm went off instantly when she started moving.

What I took from my experiences are that the alarms are sensitive without being hair-trigger. There also seems to be a delay in the internal volumetric sensor arming from when you lock the car. Possibly this pause establishes a stable air-pressure baseline reading before checking for variations which may indicate an intrusion.

I guess this is a long-winded way of saying don't be surprised if you haven’t had any false alarms as these volumetric sensors don't seem prone to them.