Who is at fault with my alarm fault?

[Bongoing Mad]

Hi Folks
We had an alarm fitted yesterday (Portman car alarm from Maplins) and also I fitted a Willinton Kit as well.
Woke up this morning to find that our bongo would not start, I called the AA and he found out that the main battery is having 0.3 volts drained from it even when the Willinton kit is disconnected, which means that it must be the Alarm draining it.

My worry is that when I go back to the fitters (which cost £150) they will just say sorry mate it must be the type of alarm you gave us to fit, and we cant help it if the alarms not compatible.
Or; we don't no what's wrong and as its not one of our alarms all we can do is disconnect it for you.

I would be grateful to know what the panel thinks my position is in this situation.

Cheers
Martin

[kelv]

Does the alarm have a fuse you can take out to stop the draining, or at least to prove that the alarm is definitely causing the draining ?

Reason being, I had an immobiliser fitted and started getting flat bateries so I initially blamed the immobiliser.
As it turned out, the alternator was on the way out so it was not charging the battery up to it's full amount.
Nothing to do with the immobiliser at all in my case.
I would "prove" to yourself that it is the alarm before condemming it.
Check the retention of charge ability in the batteries
Check the alternator.
Surely these alarms must be fitted to lots of vehicles without them all going flat .................

It's frustrating so I hope you find a sloution, maybe some of the above ideas may help

[westonwarrior]

All ways dodgy to get some one to fit something they havent supplied

They can say that its the unit and if it needs replacing charge you for the work of removing and fitting the new one as its not their fault.

the maker or Maplins will not entertain a claim for the cost of fitting removing etc that will be in their terms of sale and guarentee terms.

You would need to prove the fitter was at fault to have any real claim over them
I would contact them and hope they are customer aware and look at it for you

If they had supplied and fitted the alarm then there would be no question as to asking them to put it right.
Or if you can see how its fitted and feel confident enough take it out yourself and get it replaced

My opinion only

[kelv]

That makes sense Rob, it's a bit of a minefield like you say.
I think firstly Bongoing Mad needs to ascertain without any doubt that the alarm is actually is causing the flat battery problem.
Is a 3A draw enough to flatten a battery in good condition over a 12 hour period ? maybe a leccy expert can give a view ?
My immobiliser wasn't causing my flat battery, although at first I was convinced it must have been as it was the last thing fitted etc.

Anyone fitted a starting handle to a Bongo

[bongolow]

Please clarify - do you mean 0.3 amps? 0.3 volts is fairly meaningless as it's current (amps) that drains a battery.

My leisure battery became flat after a few days of not using the Bongo and I traced it to the new radio I had fitted the previous week - it was drawing nearly 0.3 amps when switched off (0.210A to be exact). I've fitted a little switch in the main 12v feed to disconnect it if I'm not using it for a while (there is another 12v feed to the 'memory' circuits which I don't swith off, so maintain my pre-sets. It only draws 10mA now).

My alarm/immobiliser is fed from the main battery and doesn't drain it even after two weeks without use so I would be very surprised if this is your problem.

[kelv]

My mistake Bongolow.
The original poster said that 3 volts were being drawn.

Woke up this morning to find that our bongo would not start, I called the AA and he found out that the main battery is having 0.3 volts drained from it [ Bongoing Mad]

[Bongoing Mad]

Hi folks
Yes it was 0.3 volts being drawn and before alarm was fitted everything was fine with no problems from the batterys (new lesure and starter battery was checked.
Also now that I have willinton kit radio is on the leisure battery.

[g8dhe]

Yes it was 0.3 volts being drawn

That doesn't make any sense in electrical terms.
If you mean 0.3 Amps, then that wouldn't flatten your battery over a single night, over several days yes.
If you mean 3 Amps then yes it could cause you problems overnight, it would use up about 1/3 of the charge in the battery over 12 hours.

As the previous replies suggest you need to find the fuse that will have been installed, or possibly the circuit and fuse they have hung it off, take a look under the dashboard - chances are you will see a new in-line fuse holder leading to the box they fitted. Then measure the current being drawn with and without the fuse in place.

[Bongoing Mad]

Thanks for the info folks I went back to the alarm fitters today and the guy could not find any drain on the battery so now I dont know if it was somthing that was left on when the AA man tested it or the alarm guy was fobbing me off! Trouble is we are supposed to be going on holiday today I can't test anything as my voltmeter does not seem to be working and even if it was I dont really have a clue how to use it So have decided to buy a decent battery jump starter and hope for the best. If I do get a drain again the alarm fitter did show me what wires to cut to disconnect the alarm. But I wont get any money back on it. Any one know of an electrical book for dummies?

[stringman]

This has always been a bone of contention with us auto electrical installers. Just the other day I had a customer who bought a hands free kit from e bay which I installed for him. He then refused to pay me for my time when the kit did not work and expected me to get the kit changed under warranty even though it was a grey import!

Back to your problem, could it have been that the battery level dropped while the work was being done, maybe if the interior light was left on for a long period of time? I have known this to happen many timess. Has the battery gone flat again since.

If the AA man said you had a drain measured in volts he does not know what he is talking about as a battery drain will, as mentioned above, be measured in amps. You will therefore need an ammeter, not a volt meter to measure this.

I would suggest to all forum members that unless you want to fit your alarm yourself, find a specialist and get them to supply and fit. This will save you time, money and hassle in the long run and you will get a better quality product with a full warranty back up service fitted by an installer who has almost certainly been trained by the alarm manufacturer.

I don't fit alarms any more but I know plenty of fitters who do and will happily recommend someone in your area.