Alarm issues

Maybe your siren is gay's?

Alright so I got a viper 5901 a couple weeks ago, installed it, and it acts weird and I'm annoyed.
-First thing is, sometimes when I disarm, the lights only flash once (they're supposed to flash twice) and the second siren chirp is weak. Sometimes there is no second siren chirp.

-The siren also doesn't go through all six tones. It just restarts after a few seconds.

-The alarm doesn't go off everytime I open the door. The door triggers work, it always shows ground when the doors open.

-The remote start works fine, but when I arm or disarm the alarm while the car is running the car shuts down, but then will restart a few seconds later.

-The alarm/siren doesn't always seem to turn off when I disarm or re-arm the car.

I thought these were brains issues, so under warranty I got a new one but I have the same issues.

Any ideas?

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These symptoms are likely the cause of a power or ground issue.

If you have a meter, connect its power and ground terminals directly to the component you are testing ie. the alarm brain or siren . . . watch the volt reading while you are operating the alarm. You should not see more than a 1/2 volt drop, if you do you have found the problem.

If you don't have a meter, connect all of the grounds together and run a temporary wire out to the battery. If this solves the problem, move the ground to a solid location in the car. If not, do the same with the 12 V+ leads.

The only other component that may cause this kind of grief is a data interface, disconnect it and test the alarm.

Best of luck.

I've checked the voltage across the primary power and ground wires going into the alarm and the reading is actually a bit higher than it is when I do the battery. could it be that my battery just isn't up to par?

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Well the battery is the source power, so it the reading are higher at the alarm I would suspect the meter or battery contact where you are measuring. Not a worry yet.

You indicated in one of your responses that your siren works fine when hooked directly to the battery. This being the case, the power or ground must be the problem. The alarm provides the power for the siren, so testing power and ground voltage at the siren will revile the issue.

Connect your meter ground to the battery or a solid ground. Next, connect the positive meter lead to the red siren wire, as close as possible to the siren. Set off the alarm and take the meter reading.

Now move the meter negative lead to the siren ground, again as close as possible to the siren. Set off the alarm and take the new meter reading.

Results: If the meter reading is the same for both, but lower than the battery reading, check/repair your power connections. If the meter reading was higher with the meter negative lead on the batt, repair/replace your grounds.

We typically recommend connecting all of the ground leads together for an alarm system, it makes it easier to "see" and troubleshoot when there's a problem.

And what exactly do you mean by data interference? You mean any wires connected to data lines in the car? If so, they're aren't any (unless I misunderstand). The only connections are to signal wires (ie gound when a door is open)

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I was referring to the remote starter interface, mostly data these days. Just unplug it to test the alarm system. What is the year/make of the vehicle we are dealing with?

It's a 2001 Toyota celica.
Anyway I connected my grounds straight to the battery and the problems seem to have gone away. Guess I just need to find a better ground. It's weird because I tested the spot with my DMM and there was no voltage drop.

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Yeah, the trick is you always have to have the system loaded down (running, turned on, etc.) to see the voltage drop.

Glad to be of assistance.

what did yyou originaly ground to? did you scrap the paint off? i have never seen that issue. i generally ground in the kick. have you checked your ground is the first thing directed is supposed to say when a dealer calls in with an issue. they never do.