Help - Clifford Alarm Probs [Archive]

antnicuk

28th September 2006, 09:02 AM

if i were you i would search the forum as there have been lots of threads on alarms killing engines due to putting too smaller wire from the alarm control box to the coils.

There are many different opinons at the moment but it may be worth looking into.

Try taking it back to the installer and asking them to change the wire going to coil for a start.

I would ask a mod to maybe change the title of this thread to mention alarms probs and add it to the relevant section

666FLO

28th September 2006, 09:19 AM

I cant take it back to the installer as he came out to do from Falkirk, I used the recommended one by my insurance..

Phoned him up and he said that the battery was disconencted, so the FC commander will need to be re set? as far as I'm aware it didnt have any maps in it?

I'm so annoyed as he was blasting the car as well, so I ran out to tell him not to do it as it was cold to which he responded with "oh of course you can do that as long as you dont keep your foot on the pedal for long". He also made a comment about how this wasnt a girls car.

Jsut searching now to see If i can find anything. and I've pm'ed a mod!! thanks :)

Prof

28th September 2006, 09:20 AM

Should report him to his manager - sounds like a right pratt !

Red and Single

28th September 2006, 09:23 AM

He also made a comment about how this wasnt a girls car.

Unreal.....what a w4nker.

Hope you get her sorted.

grinder

28th September 2006, 09:29 AM

thread moved and renamed

not sure if its in the right place - but its close enough :D

Stu

arrouk

28th September 2006, 09:35 AM

Should report him to his manager - sounds like a right pratt !

also may be worth having a power run done on a dyno just to check everything is ok, preferabley with a tuner (maybe at the alarm fitters expense) but deffo complain as he should not have been doing this.:Nono!

matt

Devil's Refugee

28th September 2006, 10:06 AM

Any damage done, sue !

666FLO

28th September 2006, 10:14 AM

Been back on the phone to him, he says that I need to put the setting back in the FC commander because he disconnected the battery? Does that sound about right?

probedb

28th September 2006, 11:47 AM

Tell him to get his arse out to yours and fix it. If he broke your car then he has to fix it. Tell him you're going to write and complain to his manager and you'll be claiming damage from him through your insurer if he doesn't fix it. Or something similar...

Rixio

28th September 2006, 12:33 PM

I think you guys are missing the point a bit...the pop noise would usually only be caused by unburnt fuel in the exhaust system. When you shift it creates a gap in fumes and when you accl again it tries to close that gap (or something similar) It happens to mine and should happen to everyone elses if the exhaust is free flowing enough & and the car is running rich. It may have gone to a base map which is super rich or something just to be on the safe side...my advice is get it mapped propperly...

HTH

Rixio :Thumbs-up

gsb876

28th September 2006, 01:46 PM

If anyone was blasting my car when they were only installing the alarm there would be trouble i tell you, when i had my alarm installed i told the installer that the car should not be moved from its parked position by anyone but me, if they tried to move it and flooded the rx they would be paying for all required bills.

Left the car at 9am came back at 4pm to find the car in the exact spot it was left in :D

antnicuk

28th September 2006, 02:05 PM

the apexi wont loose the map if you disconnect the battery as far as i am aware, if so you would need to go back and have it mapped everytime the Battery is disconnected.

a weak spark could cause popping.........

666FLO

28th September 2006, 02:35 PM

thanks for the advice. I contacted one the dealers of this site who set the car up and they said it wouldnt be the commander thing. So ive been on the phone to the installers and told them the story and requested a different engineer as i didnt want him near my car but apparently he is the only one in scotland, so he is going to phone me and come back.

oh the other thing he told me yesterday was that it only took 5 secs for the car to warm up as well.. WTF? oh and then on the phone today he admitted that there was wiring and stuff that he didnt know about, yet he carried on installing it anyway.. I think this mess is going to take a while to sort out.

oh someone mentioned flooding the car? He did have it running for about 10-15mins? would that have caused it?

DC-TYPER

28th September 2006, 02:44 PM

Have A Male Friend With You Next Time, Dont Let The Car Out Your Site. And Dont Let Him Take The P!ss. You Pay His Wages And He Shouldnt Treat You Like This. And As For The Female Comment! I Bought The Fd For My Missus She Would Have Had Him...grrrrr. He Is Only Jealous!

kermit

28th September 2006, 02:50 PM

Apexi will not loose the map if your battery is disconnected. It take a lot longer than 5 seconds to get the REX warmed up and the kn*b shouldnt have had any reason to give it a blasting anyway - I would be well ****ed off if someone did that to my car.

Flooding happens when you start the car up and quickly turn it off without giving the car the chance to warm up. 10-15mis would not cause flooding.

666FLO

28th September 2006, 04:59 PM

gsb876

28th September 2006, 06:38 PM

Its seems women get ****ed about alot more than blokes. or maybe im just a wimp lol!

I was well annoyed to say the least but not knowing enough about the car i couldnt say if he had been bull****ting me or not, if you know what i mean.

Anyway Still no contact from him despite the company saying he would be. I should have guessed he wouldnt, as he didnt contact me in the first place when I ordered the system, I ended up having to phone up and get his number and then arrange it myself

I had one guy hang out of a window shouting at him to stop "blasting" it while I was running down the stairs to tell him.

I would take it somewhere else to get it looked at ( or mapped etc) but as it stands at the moment I think it would cause me more problems as then they can say oh it wasnt him someone else has been in the car etc. so Im not moving it til he has been out.

Thanks for the advice, its much appericated :) you lot are ace!

Dont let people take the pee because you are a woman Flo, everytime my wife takes any of the cars to a garage they try to bulls4it her until i turn up with their receipt and and say "what the f**k is all this cr4p" ??? soon change tune when someone who knows what they are talking about turns up.

Just take a bloke with you next time even if they know nothing sometimes it makes a difference.

Gurj

ianelvar

28th September 2006, 09:21 PM

Dont let people take the pee because you are a woman Flo, everytime my wife takes any of the cars to a garage they try to bulls4it her until i turn up with their receipt and and say "what the f**k is all this cr4p" ??? soon change tune when someone who knows what they are talking about turns up.

Just take a bloke with you next time even if they know nothing sometimes it makes a difference.

Gurj

I totally agree. The poor lady who manages the company cars at work had awful problems with some cowboys who did the brakes on our Laguna, and they warped after 100 miles. It took me to step in before they eventually backed down and did it under warranty. It shouldn't be like that.

Flo - My girlfriend, Laura, says hi, and she hopes you get it sorted soon. She was pretty angry for you when I showed her the thread. It's Laura that owns the FD that I've been working on, and I've been showing her loads of stuff so she can put all the "do you know it's got a rotary, luv?" idiots to shame. I'm really proud of how much she's picking up, and it's hilarious watching these fools run away with their tails between their legs.

Give him hell, we're all right behind you. If I lived closer to Scotland I'd volunteer to help you straighten things out with the guy, but I'm pretty much the other end of the country. :(

Good luck, hope all works out well in the end!

Rixio

28th September 2006, 11:33 PM

Havnt you got anybody with car "knowledge" that can be there whilst this guy is around? Or why not get a guy to ring them up see if anything turns around...so he admitted going ahead even though he didnt know what he was doing! When hes round next time record the conversations with him as proof incase it goes to court...

Theres not much under the dash stuff that needs to be done anyway iv worked on fd's before doing alarm installs...its not like much is different to any other cars...did he do any specific stuff like full closure or anti hikack etc?

What alarm did he fit?

Where abouts in scotland are you?

My older bro is a car sparky so if worse comes to worse im sure we could trek up and see what the score is...aslong as its not like Thurso or something :Laugh

Prof

29th September 2006, 06:41 AM

Dont let people take the pee because you are a woman Flo, everytime my wife takes any of the cars to a garage they try to bulls4it her until i turn up with their receipt and and say "what the f**k is all this cr4p" ??? soon change tune when someone who knows what they are talking about turns up.

Just take a bloke with you next time even if they know nothing sometimes it makes a difference.

Gurj

Thing is it shouldn't be like this. Why do garages and car specialists seem to think that women should be treated differently to men. It really F**KS me off. My wife drives a 300zx and she gets some of this crap as well - but she doesn't take it :) -she is more than capable of holding her own and giving it back ! LOL

I hope you get it sorted FLO - and I hope that dick head has not damaged your car by revving the nuts off it cold. We should all turn up at his house and turn his stereo up till the speakers brake, mess about with his telly controls, flatten all the batteries in his remotes and generally take the p!$$ until he gets the message !

666FLO

29th September 2006, 09:57 AM

PMSL you lot never fail to put a smile on my face..

ianelvar :-
Tell her I said hello back, thanks for getting angry on my behalf and that for once I wish I had PMT then he would be sorry!!!! :Laugh!! ..

My mate has been showing me and teaching me stuff and I do know stuff about it but not enough to put an arrogant women hating bloke in his place! I'm only little.! pmsl

Rixio :-

Yes, I have but as they all work I dont know if they will get the time off when he eventaully turns up.
The alarm fitted was a Clifford concept 650 with no extras on it. eg remote start.. ( he also installed central locking on one door) He had the door panels, the whole of the dash off, he was under the car and in the engine. He had the engine on twice as far as I can remember, the first time was when he blasted it the 2nd time he had it just sitting for about 10-15mins. ( took him in total approx 4hrs to do it) The only time he spoke was when I had to run out of my work to ask him not to blast it. which he clearly didnt like as he got defensive and the told me I was speaking rubbish basically. He also said he has fitted heaps of Rx7 and Rx8 with these alarms.

Anyway sorry for moaning at you all, I'm sure you are all gettin sick of reading this.. ! Women, eh once we start we never shut up..! !!:Laugh.

Thanks for the offer Rixo, its appreciated but I wouldnt want you putting yourself out. :Laugh no not as far as Thruso, Aberdeen, So you were only a couple of hundered miles out.. hehe

Well I've still not had a phone call from him, so he has til 12 then im back on the phone to his company and I might phone the insurance company as well as they recommended them in the first place. When he does turn up and if I cant get a male friend to be there I was going to get him to write down what he says and sign it? :)

Thanks again and I will keep you posted ( even if you are sick of reading about it!! :Laugh) :)

kev-yorks

29th September 2006, 10:05 AM

I should get onto the insurance anyway, give them hell. If they ring his company they'll listen then, plus if anything has been damaged in the install they are more likely to get it fixed than yourself. Other option if you paid by card get the card company on there case.
Kevin

666FLO

29th September 2006, 12:50 PM

updated called twice an no-one is answering.

Grizzly

29th September 2006, 02:09 PM

if i were you i would search the forum as there have been lots of threads on alarms killing engines due to putting too smaller wire from the alarm control box to the coils.
Is this a Clifford Problem or is it common throughout the Alarm world?

Got me worried now, I've got a Clifford 650 and when i bought the car the engine had already gone not too long after the alarm etc had been fitted??

I'll have a search but if anyone has Experiance with 650's it would be great if you could point me in the right dirrection. I realy don't want to be rebuilding my engine again becouse of some thing that will take ten minutes to sort out.

Cheers
Chris

oldone

29th September 2006, 02:39 PM

Never been to Scotland before.....:rolleyes: Sounds like the oldone should be there when the alarm tech arrives to sort the car..???:yes :guinness Should be able to help him right in my usual 'make friends' attitude !:yes

666FLO

29th September 2006, 02:55 PM

okay he is still trying to blame the commander, but is coming up too look at it. He was also telling me to go look at things in the engine.. erm. no i dont think so.. pmsl!!

anyway here is a video that was taken the first time we drove it after the alarm was fitted.. lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2-Tu4xAmYI

ps the car has been warmed up

oldone

29th September 2006, 03:06 PM

Not working for me..........:rolleyes:

666FLO

29th September 2006, 03:11 PM

:Laugh, erm try now it wasnt on public viewing, I think thats y.. lol

oldone

29th September 2006, 03:15 PM

Bloody hell..!!!! You have got a prob it seems to me....somewhere something has gone #i#s up ...:Hammer

gsb876

29th September 2006, 03:53 PM

It shouldn't be doing that at low revs, they might do it after you have had a blast and let the throttle go but not stationary and low revs.

Hope he hasn't fooked something right up :3Confused

666FLO

29th September 2006, 03:57 PM

Any idea what though?

TRex

29th September 2006, 03:58 PM

This thread is very misleading....

Just to make this clear...

'Alarms cannot kill your engine or wreak your car, no way!'
If any tuner says different, take your car elsewhere........
.
.

gsb876

29th September 2006, 04:07 PM

Any idea what though?

If when trying to drive the car is lumpy try the boost sensor it might have been disconnected when the guy was fiddling about, had this prob with Rixio's car after the dyno session at Thor, the sensor was disconnected but they forgot to re-attach and we had to pull over cause car was lumpy and had no boost. (think it was the boost sensor or map sensor, located at the passenger front side of the engine bay at the very top end rear the windscreen behind the plenum, black sensor which should be wired in )

Is this the same as yours ???

checkpoint-direct.co.uk

1st October 2006, 11:00 AM

Stuff like this relly gets on my :censored::censored::censored::censored:! We are a vsib accredited alarm installer and a clifford 650 takes our egineer a full 7 hours to install a 650 and he has been doing it for 20+ years! I hada acobra cat 1 installed in my on recently and not had a problem. Tell the company you want the alarm removed and the car back to the way it was and we will do the job with a first class service and make sure your car is as ggod as it was when it came in! Regards Dave

Rixio

1st October 2006, 11:01 AM

^^^ What he said!!!

Prof

1st October 2006, 12:33 PM

That video - it sounds like your fuel / air ratio is all over the place when lifting off at low revs.

The alarm installer guy has either disconnected something important - maybe a sensor somewhere, or a hose maybe popped off when he was thrashing the begeebers out of it.

I think the solution would be to slap the engineer concerned and have someone who knows FD's give it a thorough once over for disconnected leads or hoses.

Rixio

1st October 2006, 12:46 PM

Flo have you checked the map sensor? Its directly next to the throttle body elbow connected to the bulk head...small black box 1 pipe and a cyldrical thingy attached to it...check that! From that video it sounds exactly the same as what i had at Thor after a dyno session...lost control of it, no power car wouldnt move, smoke & very irratic idle...then wouldnt start! CHECK THAT ASAP!

Edit: Just read Gurj's post above :Laugh

666FLO

1st October 2006, 10:47 PM

Dave i will send you a pm tomorrow if I had known at the time that you did them i would have taken my car 2 u straight too u but I didnt and i Wish i had known sooner. That is the last time I ever used someone recommended my my insurance company. by the way it was GAP security in case anyne wanted to know.

I will check what you have said on Tuesaday when he comes out im not touching anything til he is there but the car drives fine, its a bit funny when its cold but once it warms up thats when all the pooping starts.There isnt any smoke.

666FLO

2nd October 2006, 09:45 AM

If when trying to drive the car is lumpy try the boost sensor it might have been disconnected when the guy was fiddling about, had this prob with Rixio's car after the dyno session at Thor, the sensor was disconnected but they forgot to re-attach and we had to pull over cause car was lumpy and had no boost. (think it was the boost sensor or map sensor, located at the passenger front side of the engine bay at the very top end rear the windscreen behind the plenum, black sensor which should be wired in )

Is this the same as yours ???

Oh I miseed this one!!

I havent turned the boost on yet, that was just running it standard but will check this stuff tomorrow! thank you :)

666FLO

2nd October 2006, 09:47 AM

oh and the car start fine no problem there either.

666FLO

3rd October 2006, 09:49 AM

Well he has been and its all fixed! :) He was very nice this time and he sorted the problem without a complaint :)

Which was the A/C, he connected that back up when he was fitting the alarm. Not sure how that works, Something to do with the computer not taking into account the power that the A/C needs because it wasn't set up with that connected to it. So when im clutching it etc, its using more power than it did before, messing up the computer and casuing it to mis fire. or something along those lines. If someone can explain it better then please do, I'm not the best at explain car related faults!.. :Laugh

So all sorted now, the guy was nice and freindly, so I feel bad now! lol you cant win but never mind! It sounds a bit louder than what it did before but I will take it for a Proper run tonight.. I can't wait!! :)

Thanks for all the advice and support everyone. :)