Vehicle Alarm Keeps Going Off

[NPNelson]

I seem to have a new issue. The car alarm keeps getting triggered. I'm not quite sure how. At first I thought I might have had an extra sensitive key fob, but now I'm not so sure. At least the FordPass app tells you when the alarm is triggered so I know to walk out and reset it. I'm sure this one will be a pain to troubleshoot since I can't reproduce it at will. The dealer will think I am crazy.

 

[blwnsmoke]

I seem to have a new issue. The car alarm keeps getting triggered. I'm not quite sure how. At first I thought I might have had an extra sensitive key fob, but now I'm not so sure. At least the FordPass app tells you when the alarm is triggered so I know to walk out and reset it. I'm sure this one will be a pain to troubleshoot since I can't reproduce it at will. The dealer will think I am crazy.

I had this issue on my F350.. took me over a year to figure it out. Door sensor was going bad and randomly for a millisecond would trigger and that's all it took. I'd drive and hear a chime but by the time I looked down, it was gone. Finally I caught it... a quick door ajar alert. Not saying this is your issue but it is a good possibility

I dont think many of the campers at the campground were happy with me at 3am lol.

This will be a hard one to trace.

 

[NPNelson]

Thanks for the idea. I will experiment tomorrow. Too bad the FordPass app isn’t more specific as to what triggered it, it just says the security system has detected a threat and triggered an alarm.

 

[NPNelson]

Thanks for the idea. I will experiment tomorrow. Too bad the FordPass app isn’t more specific as to what triggered it, it just says the security system has detected a threat and triggered an alarm.

I realized (obvious in hindsight) that I should lock the car when it's in the garage to try to reproduce the issue. So far, it's gone off three times in the last 15 minutes while just sitting in the garage . Once when closing the garage door, once a few minutes after. I went out and shook the car and doors and nothing, although I wonder if it has some sort of timeout to make sure the alarm isn't constantly going off.

I'll keep a detailed log and then call the dealer. I can't keep going like this.

 

[peterk9]

...............I'll keep a detailed log and then call the dealer. I can't keep going like this.

I'm sure the neighbours will appreciate it too. Good luck.

Peter

 

[NPNelson]

More interesting findings - It started a few days ago (took delivery July 12) and seems to happen after I drive the car and park/lock it. The alarm goes off within a minute or two of me locking the car and then goes off at 10 minute intervals. This evening I set a record of 4 times every 10 minutes before I ended the experiment. I will say the FordPass app makes it a lot nicer because I get notified when the alarm goes off and it keeps a history.

Now the car has been locked in the garage for a couple of hours and no alarms.

Makes me wonder if a sensor vibrated out of tolerance and then gets tripped as the car cools down from the drive. I'm certain there is some sort of 10 minute lockout period after an alarm is tripped, it can't be a coincidence that it goes off at 10 minute intervals. I don't know what kind of sensors it uses to set the alarm, so it's still mostly a wild guess.

The investigation continues Thursday, and although I can't reproduce it on demand, it happens a lot, so I should be able to demonstrate it at the dealer.

 

[peterk9]

I haven't checked the 2020 Manual, but on the 5th gen., the Battery Saver program turns off power to most items left on. Not saying there is a connection but when you mentioned 10 minute cycles, that popped into my head.

Peter

 

[NPNelson]

I just called my dealer since I can fairly reliably reproduce it now. After driving, the alarm will go off either right after I lock the car or 10 minutes after I lock it and then go off at 10 minute intervals at least another 3 or 4 times.

Called the dealer and they told me I couldn't take it in until August 28th. I can't say I like that at all. I think I am going to escalate the issue to my sales guy or possibly Ford customer service. Actually, I think I'll just drive it to the dealership this afternoon or Friday....

 

[NPNelson]

I was able to convince the dealer to look at it yesterday. Of course, when I took it in, I couldn’t reproduce it after being able to reproduce it for days. They were able to query the computer to see that the alarms were triggered by the rear hatch (which I rarely open, but actually realize now that the alarms stopped after I opened and closed it).

They offered to replace the latch, but I declined for now since it isn’t doing it. If it acts up again, replacing the latch will be the next step.

 

[Anthony Lomangino]

I was able to convince the dealer to look at it yesterday. Of course, when I took it in, I couldn’t reproduce it after being able to reproduce it for days. They were able to query the computer to see that the alarms were triggered by the rear hatch (which I rarely open, but actually realize now that the alarms stopped after I opened and closed it).

They offered to replace the latch, but I declined for now since it isn’t doing it. If it acts up again, replacing the latch will be the next step.

I replaced the latch last week..started occurring again...Have you had any success here? I will need to go back to dealer it looks like

 

[peterk9]

I replaced the latch last week..started occurring again...Have you had any success here? I will need to go back to dealer it looks like

Keep in mind that you are in the 6th gen Forum and the Explorer setup may not be exactly the same as your 5th gen. I was going to move your post to the correct Forum but will wait to see what NPNelson has to say first.

Peter

 

[NPNelson]

I replaced the latch last week..started occurring again...Have you had any success here? I will need to go back to dealer it looks like

In my case, all it took was open and closing the rear door to re seat it and it hasn't happened since (which was over 10 months ago now).