Hi, MX-5 that I’ve just bought came with an aftermarket alarm/remote lock. I changed the battery on the remote, it lights up but doesnt do anything. When I serviced it, they couldnt fix it, as it wasnt Mazda’s stock system (but maybe they didnt have time to look into more detail, dont know).
So, how can I investigate what is wrong with it? Where would I start? What could be the most obvious reason?
Or where would I take it to get fixed?
(System has remote, there is a red light (not working) in the central dash new climate control, and 2 motion sensors).
Did it come with full (decent) instructions, and did you check everything was done as advised? Also, was it S/H or new? If S/H then I would say ‘good luck’ but I’m not being negative about that. If it was new, then contact the supplier, or failing that, the manufacturer, it should be under guarantee surely? Rhino 99 may be able to help, but he will need to know the make to see if he’s familiar with it.
Unclear where you took the car for service, was it a Mazda dealer or a private garage? A dealer would probably say “It isn’t a Mazda part” whereas a garage may recognise it, but they should have an auto electrician on staff to be sure of what they are looking at.
Most ‘add on’ devices like immobilisers and alarms are sealed units, no known circuitry inside, which includes Mazda parts also, so if the unit is faulty, we can’t tell you, all we can say is “is the external wiring correct as per instructions” - if there are any?
Hi, I probably wasnt very clear in my original post.
I bought MX5, and previous owner said that he had installed an aftermarket alarm/remote door lock. But it didnt work anymore, so I should change batteries etc. However when I changed the batteries, it still doesnt work. (This wasnt the reason why i bought the car, so not too gutted, but still would like it to work).
Then, I got my MX5 serviced at Freelance Mazda (that everyone recommends), and on top of everything else, I mentioned if they could have a look at the alarm. However they couldnt help me, as they havent seen it before.
So now, all I know is - I have an aftermarket alarm system, that doesnt work. Where do I start to look? I read that there might be something behind the glove box? Where else I can look to at least identify the system installed?
Realistically,if the system is not able to be identified,and probably parts no longer serviced,throw it and move on and get a new system fitted.Plenty of alarm/immobiliser units here.;http://toadalarm.com/product-category/car-security/
Oh! You bought the car with the system installed. Have you any idea what make it is? I value Freelance Mazda highly, as I reccomend them myself, but I can understand their point of view if they don’t recognise it.
Presumably you have no instructions from the previous owner? My reaction would be get rid of it, and start again. However, that’s not very helpful I know, but without wiring diagrams and visual checks there’s no easy solution. What batteries have you changed by the way? Most alarms and immobilisers are powered from the car battery, not separate ones.
I’m not familiar with alarm and immobilisers myself, so I can’t make any suggestions I’m afraid, only suggestions are of external wiring, but as systems vary, so does the wiring.
Not sure what exactly isn’t working. Alarm, immobiliser or remote locking. But if it’s not had a good battery in the fob for a while, it’s probable that the solenoids which throw the door locks haven’t moved in a long while. Pulling off the door cards and going at any of the moving parts with WD40 might free something up. Spraying the internals of the fob with a contact cleaner might also help. These kits are relatively cheap, and some are very unsophisticated, while others are what was at the time state of the art. Knowing what you have and finding a manual for it would help tremendously. Mine was made by Lazerline and most parts and the manuals are still around. It might be worth investigating a little.
My stock immobiliser is working (dash-key-light turns on and off when starting the car).
Central locking is working, when using a key.
Changed batteries in the remote, so remote’s light lights up when pressing buttons on remote. But nothing happens.
Could it be that both, central locking and alarm were added later? And remote part of it stopped working? I tried looking under the glove compartment, but as Im new with this, I couldn’t tell much.
I understand that not much can be done with no information that I am giving you, but maybe you could tell me where and what should I be looking if I wanted to at least find out what system I have in place? Where would it be hidden?
This is how the remote looks like (the two button one)
Puzzled me from the start - AFAIK all cars come with immobiliser and alarm installed and some with central locking - as OEM. Sounds to me like someone added this kit so they had remote setting, but it doesn’t ‘handshake’ with the OEM system, nor apparently does it have any effect either.
You’ve said you changed the batteries, and also it has a warning light, I assume the batteries (puzzle) are part of the add-on, so starting from that point I would take out all the wiring associated with it (be careful about existing wiring that may have been joined with this) and rip it all out, Find the nearest recycle bin, and dump it.
If - though you haven’t mentioned it, the car - as OEM - doesn’t have an alarm system then you need to think carefully about ripping it out, but as you say nothing seems to happen, then it may be useless anyway. Previous owners are often to blame - Like I sold a van years ago, and a few years later got a phone call from the latest owner (not the one I sold it to) who accused me of fitting an alarm system and it wasn’t letting him move the vehicle - I told him “Not guilty - sorry, I didn’t fit any additional equipment to it”. He hung up - leaving me with the feeling he still thought it was my fault. C`est la vie!
Another thought - the OEM system will override any other system that tries to control it - e.g. central door locking: the key sets the door locks, they will remain set regardless of how many times you press the remote push, as the doors are already set to lock. For the remote to work, the wiring has to be in series with the OEM wiring, which means two wires, and two connections in each door locking mechanism. Same with the immobiliser, and alarm if OEM fitted. It’s still open to question if this method is good or bad, as the original OEM equipment has been set by the key, so if you don’t also use the key to turn off the OEM system then there’s always a risk the car could lock itself, immobilise - whatever.
While two systems provide ‘fail safe’ (in critical circumstances) fail safe in a car is undesirable in this instance - you don’t have it.
The MK2 didn’t have central locking and alarm as standard. At least my 98 didn’t. Might be standard on the FL 2.5. Problem here is we don’t know which model this is as the OP is keeping it to himself.
Favourite location for any add on alarm/immobiliser system is under the false floor ,next to the engine control unit,on the passenger side.Be careful when removing the metal floor plate.The edges are very sharp.
